Every vegan I know gets the protein question on the regular. I know it gets old so here’s my mindset that keeps me from feeling too frustrated: Since most people completely avoid disagreement and thus any vegan-related topic, ANY question is an opportunity so, thank you protein (and nutrition in general) for being so damn confusing. I don’t know if I have a perfected response to this but my general approach is to acknowledge and expand upon what the person is saying. First of all, if I’m feeling frustrated, that’s really my problem. The person doesn’t know I’ve heard this concern ad nauseam. Protein is, in fact, an important nutrient and animal products do provide a huge amount. There’s also a lot of marketing targeted at making us think it’s the only source so, I get why it comes up. A lot. I might ask, “What are your specific protein concerns?” which usually illuminates some common misconceptions. If the person is an athlete, I’ll recommend they watch “Game Changers” on Netflix. It’s not usually practical to get into the finer points of nutritional requirements when I’m talking with someone at a table but I find a simple handout comes in handy. You can find the information here: https://vegan.com/health/protein/
I need a lot of protein
