The 3 biggest barriers to going vegan
It's not what you think
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase (at no extra cost to you).
Most people I talk to will say they care about animals and agree with veganism in principle.
Yet, when it comes to actually changing their behaviour, many find themselves stuck.
There are countless reasons people give for not going vegan, but after reflecting on my own experience and conversations I’ve had with others, I’ve found that it usually boils down to three main barriers.
In this post, I want to explore these challenges openly.
Sometimes we need to understand what’s really going on beneath the surface in order to reflect on our choices without ego or defensiveness, and in a way that truly aligns with our best selves.
1. Food addiction
“It is easier to change a man’s religion than his diet.”
—Margaret Mead
In my experience, this is painfully true.
It’s important to start by being clear: veganism is not just a diet.
At its core, it’s the ethical principle that humans should live without exploiting animals.
Yet in practice, the biggest obstacle to living by that principle is often what ends up on our plates.
Over the past few years, I’ve seen that diet is typically the single most important factor in whether someone actually follows through on a vegan lifestyle—and it’s the barrier most people struggle with.
When you strip away all the excuses, taste is usually the real reason people are resistant to change.
Support for veganism in other areas often comes much more easily. People are happy to say no to fur, to buy vegan or cruelty-free cosmetics, or to back animal welfare in ways that don’t directly impact their daily comfort.
But food is different.
It’s intensely personal, emotional, and primal. Our relationship with it runs deep, shaped by culture, memory, and pleasure.
In our society, I see a near-obsession with food.
It is arguably our most acceptable and normalised addiction.
Overeating has become routine, but it comes at a cost: to the suffering of billions of animals raised to satisfy our appetites, to our own health, and to the planet. It’s a problem that’s ethical, physical, and environmental, yet largely ignored because it’s socially acceptable.
I love food myself, and I don’t think enjoying it is wrong. But since going vegan, I’ve made a conscious effort to approach it with more respect—for my body, for the food itself, and, of course, for the animals.
I’ve started practising intermittent fasting, eating within specific windows and controlling my portions—simple habits echoed by people in the Blue Zones, where people live the longest and healthiest lives.
All the most worthwhile things in life require some level of self-discipline—and food is no different.
Changing our eating habits isn’t about restriction or punishment; it’s about creating a more intentional and conscious way of living.
2. Caring too much what other people think
Another major barrier to going vegan—or living any unconventional lifestyle—is worrying too much about what other people think.
A lot of this comes down to your individual personality type.
Some people hate standing out and feel anxious about being judged, while others barely notice what others think.
I’ve often heard people say this is their biggest barrier: that they fear being seen as the odd one out in their friendship group, inconveniencing others, not getting invited to events, or being labelled as ‘extreme’ for holding a position that challenges the norm.
In these kinds of situations, it helps to remember that we are wired to conform. Survival in tribes depended on being part of the group, so the need to fit in is deeply hard-wired into us.
But in modern life, we need to ask ourselves: should we ignore our own ethical code just to fit in?
If we think about any injustice in history, fighting for change has always required people to stand up, be courageous, and often experience discomfort or criticism.
It’s why it’s so important not to blindly conform in life.
You can’t truly form your own opinions—or live intentionally—if you haven’t first accepted that it’s okay not to be liked by everyone.
When it comes to food, the pressure to conform often shows up in very practical ways: family dinners, nights out with friends, or social events where non-vegan choices dominate. Many people cave in to meat-centred meals or a drop of milk in their tea simply to avoid confrontation.
Recognising that real courage sometimes means saying no, making different choices, or even standing up for your position—is a reframe that can make a huge difference.
Your actions may, in turn, also empower someone else to do the same.
Ultimately, standing by your ethical choices is about honouring your own values and living authentically, rather than constantly measuring yourself against the expectations of others.
It’s uncomfortable at first, but each small act of integrity builds confidence, strengthens character, and makes the path to living intentionally that much clearer.
3. Overcoming conditioned beliefs
The third barrier is the most intangible, yet potentially the most difficult to overcome: our conditioned beliefs.
The challenge is enormous because much of this conditioning is so deeply ‘speciesist’—the idea that humans are inherently superior to other animals, thus justifying their unequal treatment—that people don’t even see animals as victims in the first place.
Part of what makes these beliefs so invisible is that most of us are disconnected from the reality of animal exploitation. By the time products reach supermarket shelves, they often no longer resemble the animals they came from. This disconnection reinforces the conditioning, making it harder to question long-held ideas and leading to apathy.
On top of that, habit and convenience play a powerful role.
We reach for what’s familiar, what’s quick, and what everyone else around us is eating.
Over time, these choices start to feel automatic—so normal that we barely even recognise them as choices at all.
But the truth is, we don’t come into the world with opinions about food, animals, or ethics.
In many ways, we start out like blank slates. As we grow up, beliefs and assumptions are gradually installed—like computer software (or should I say malware?)—by parents, schools, traditions, advertising, and the culture around us.
And added together, it’s powerful.
From an early age, most of us absorb the idea that eating animals is normal, natural, and necessary. We’re taught that milk is essential for strong bones, that meat is required for strength, and that some animals are for companionship while others are for our use—whether for food, clothing, or other purposes.
These messages are so deeply ingrained into the structure of society that they don’t feel like beliefs at all; they feel like common sense.
Breaking free from this conditioning requires a willingness to step back and ask uncomfortable questions.
It means recognising that many of the things we’ve always accepted as truth are, in fact, cultural stories rather than universal facts.
A few years ago, I started out on a journey to seek truth in all areas of my life.
For a while, I followed a pescatarian diet, and it was my beliefs about what counted as healthy food that broke down first.
Even then, my ideas about the ethics of using animals showed few cracks.
It wasn’t until I began examining these ethical beliefs more closely and learning about the argument for veganism that I started to challenge my assumptions.
Over time, this breakdown of old ideas led me to embrace a fully vegan lifestyle—which, looking back, feels like an inevitable destination.
But I often see people defending their beliefs about exploiting animals to the bitter end, arguing as though these beliefs are genuinely their own.
I think it’s important to understand that in many ways, they’re not just defending what’s on their plate; they’re defending a worldview they’ve internalised over decades.
It’s about identity.
Challenging those beliefs can feel like a challenge to the ego, to the self. It feels threatening, as if admitting we might have been wrong all along would make us “bad people.”
Of course, that’s not the case—but the resistance is real.
It takes real openness and humility to revisit beliefs you’ve carried since childhood, and to make new, more thoughtful choices as an adult. Taking the time to examine the “programming” we’ve inherited is essential—not only when it comes to ethical issues like veganism, but in every area of life.
If we never pause to reflect, we risk living by the scripts we’ve been handed, rather than becoming our own person.
Choosing veganism, in this sense, isn’t just about animals or food. It’s part of a larger journey of breaking free from conditioning, seeing clearly, and living intentionally—and that’s not a road many choose to willingly travel.
If you want to understand why veganism matters, start with this article here.
Watching documentaries like Earthlings or reading books such as How Not to Die is a big first step—being open to new information allows you to challenge your understanding and see things from a different perspective.
More broadly, stay curious about the belief structures you haven’t yet examined—those ideas running quietly beneath the surface of your life, shaping your beliefs and actions.
Have I missed anything? I’d love to hear your perspective, or what barriers you’ve encountered in the face of going vegan.