Vegan conversation

Kristin: You know, we’ve been talkin’ about vegetarianism but being a vegan is a
Whole different story.
Joe: Yeah, you’re right, I mean it’s a totally different ball game, for sure.
Kristin: Yeah, you’ve been one for a while now.
Joe: Yeah, I have, I mean, y’know, it was a little more difficult when I first started.
But, y’know, at this point I don’t even have to think about it. It’s just second nature.
Kristin: Yeah, I can imagine. Well, you know Chris that you met just a couple of
Weeks ago?
Joe: Yeah, yeah, I know who you’re talking about.
Kristin: He’s, he’s the first vegan that I ever met. I actually met him, uh, right after I
Graduated from college. I still wasn’t even a vegetarian and he was already a vegan
At that point.
Joe: Did you even, like, know what a vegan diet entailed at that point?
Kristin: Yeah, it’s hard for me to think back that far, but, probably not. I probably
Learned about it through him.
Joe: Yeah, because I don’t think there, it was, uh, something that was very popular…
Kristin: No.
Joe: …at, at that time.
Kristin: No, it wasn’t. I will say, though, that there were, um, one, oh actually there
Were two vegetarian restaurants in Athens where I was going to college. And, of
Course, Athens being like San Francisco, a lot of the restaurants had vegetarian
Options. But shortly after meeting Chris, there was a vegan restaurant that actually
Popped up.
Joe: Oh yeah?
Kristin: Yeah, it didn’t, didn’t stay very long, but just the fact that one actually came
To Athens was pretty surprising.
Joe: There wasn’t enough interest.
Kristin: I guess not.
Joe: Yeah.
Kristin: Actually, though, I didn’t even think the food was that good.
Joe: Yeah, okay,

well that’s even worse ‘coz then people who actually go in there
Who aren’t interested in becoming a vegetarian get turned off even more to the idea.
Kristin: Yeah, that, and I think it was just kind of a little pretentious which doesn’t go
Over very well in a college town.
Joe: No, you’re right. Well, I mean, I remember when I first made the switch over to
Being a vegan. I didn’t do it, y’know, just… I didn’t go cold turkey. I mean I, I was
Dating someone who decided that she wanted to cut dairy out of her diet. So, ‘coz we
Were both vegetarians already and we ate together pretty much every night… So I
Found that I wasn’t really eating much dairy at all to begin with. So I thought, well,
Y’know, maybe now’s the time to give it a shot. Let’s see how it goes. So I decided I
Was gonna do it for a week or two. And, uh, after about, y’know, maybe five days, I
Decided I really wasn’t missing the dairy. So I made the decision to just, y’know, turn
Over a new leaf and decided, I’m not gonna eat dairy anymore.
Kristin: Oh, interesting.
Joe: Yeah, it went really well. Y’know, one of the things that I’ve found most
Interesting?
Kristin: What?
Joe: When you tell somebody that you have a vegan diet, especially if they’re not a
Vegetarian already, the first thing they say is, “Well, what do you eat?”
Kristin: Right.
Joe: And, y’know, what I’ve realized? The reason they say that is because they look
At their own diet. They remove all the meat. They remove all the dairy. And then
They look at what’s left. And they see, there’s really nothing else left for them.
Kristin: Yeah.
Joe: They don’t consider what else there is to eat, they only consider what…
Kristin: Yeah.