I think it's generally easier for people to understand and respect another religion than a science-based ethical framework. You tell them you do or don't do som

I think it's generally easier for people to understand and respect another religion than a science-based ethical framework. You tell them you do or don't do something because of a religion, they'll just nod and shut up. You tell them you don't do it because of environmental or animal reason X, Y, Z and they'll look at you like you're from another planet. At least if you have a health reason for it (cholestesterol, etc.) they can empathize and probably pity you as opposed to judge you. I think most kids are raised with an understanding that many people they meet will have different religious beliefs and that they can't be rude about it. Comparatively, only what, maybe 10% of the world is vegetarian, and of those, maybe 2-5% are vegan? And except in rare cases (Hindu, some Buddhists), those beliefs aren't usually backed by the force of mainstream belief. Makes for an easy target. Even when I travel to Asia, in the more rural areas it's hard to convey an accurate meaning of Western vegetarianism, and especially veganism. Different cultures have different categorizations for meats, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, etc., like many don't really consider fish to be meat. As a proxy, I often have to ask for something to be made "Buddhist vegetarian" instead (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_vegetarianism#Common_practices https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_vegetarianism#Common_...) – again a religious practice, and unfortunately one that excludes delicious toppings like garlic, onions, etc. Elsewhere in the world, where there's no religious proxies, it's even harder. You're basically left with specialist vegan restaurants or nothing to eat at all.