6 Questions You Can Ask Almost Any Non-Vegan
"Ignorance is less blissful when lives are on the line."
-Dr. Michael Greger,
How Not to Diet
*Note on Phrasing
When possible, try not to use "why" or "how" questions. Asking, "Why do you do this?" or, "How can you do that?" sounds accusatory and confrontational, which is exactly the tone you don't want to have. Instead, ask, "What is your reason for doing that?" to give them a chance to explain without feeling like they're being attacked; it sounds like you are truly interested in their answer, which will likely lead to more productive conversations.
The Questions
What's in animal-based products/services that you can't find in plant-based products/services?
Whether this question is applied to food or any other animal product or animal use, it's a great place to begin understanding where this person's concerns lie. You'll learn their most pertinent reasons for not being vegan, which you can then discuss, and, hopefully, you will assuage their worries by explaining how and why they can get whatever they want or need from non-animal sources.
What is it about animals that makes using them seem essential to your wellbeing and/or happiness?
Most people never question how or why they, and society as a whole, use animals; it's just what we do. By forcing them to question the specific perceived necessities of using animals, they're thinking about an issue they've never thought of before. Again, you'll learn what they see as the most important or essential reasons for using animals, which you can then (gently) refute.
What is the difference between humans and all other animals that justifies our treatment (exploitation) of them?
This opens up the conversation so you can learn more about how they perceive animals, particularly regarding their relationship to humans. There are myriad responses to this question -- such as intelligence or consciousness or sentience -- but you can still ask them if those perceived differences, even if they're totally speciesist or inaccurate, truly make animals deserving of torture, exploitation, and death. Or, you can ask the next question:
If we were talking about the mass slaughter/abuse of dogs or sea turtles or even human babies, would you still believe these things?
Speciesism is strong, but, luckily, it clearly shows our cognitive dissonance and implicit biases for or against different types of animals based on species alone. This question can lead to many different topics of conversation, such as introducing the person to the evils of vivisection or the horrors of industrial aquaculture, but it's important to keep challenging their hypocrisy in caring for some animals and not others.
There are millions of vegans on the planet, so surely they're not all dying of nutrient deficiency, right?
Though it's important to approach outreach from a perspective of veganism as a lifestyle and not just a diet, one of the greatest barriers to veganism, for most people, is the diet. So, we still have to confront the myth that plant-based diets are inadequate for humans. Ask them about why they think eating vegan isn't nutritionally appropriate, offer to show them your bloodwork, watch a health documentary with them, remind them of how the most deadly diseases are often caused by dietary choices. These anti-vegan beliefs are unfounded and based on popular conjecture, not the facts.
If everyone else, or just everybody you know, was already vegan, would you still be making this argument?
Most people aren't actively aware of just how dependent they are on others -- particularly people they admire -- to determine their own perceptions and actions. And it's very likely that they indeed would be vegan if everybody else was vegan; as herd animals, we hate being apart, distinct, different from the group. Though it's highly likely that, to spare their pride, they'd respond by saying that they wouldn't be vegan even if everyone else was, you can then probe around to figure out why they believe they've chosen to not be vegan.
be conscious, be kind, be vegan
Related posts you may enjoy:
"9 Kinds of Carnists & How to Deal With Them"
"How to Talk About Veganism with People You Know"
"How to Discuss Veganism Online"
"What Vegans Can Learn About Activism from Political Discourse"