I have an article about that on my blog site:
"According to
psychologist Melanie Joy, PhD, “Carnism is the invisible belief system, or ideology, that conditions people to eat certain animals.” It’s basically the opposite of veganism.
If you’re a vegan teen, you’re likely to be spending the holidays with many carnist relatives. Some may not know you’re vegan yet, and you don’t know how they’ll react. Or they may know you’re vegan but aren’t supportive—or worse, make mean and insensitive comments or jokes about it.
Here’s a short guide on being a vegan teen in an extended family of non-vegans without letting it ruin your holiday spirit!
Dr. Melanie Joy has
a great video on advocating for veganism effectively that you should really watch. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, skip to 49:40 to hear her advice.
The following suggestions are taken from that video, suggestions from my awesome
VeganTeen advisors, and conversations with other vegan teens about what really works for them.
Define Realistic Goals.
Just Surviving May Be Enough.
Some families mean being the only vegan in a hostile room of meat eaters. Veganism means exploiting animals as little
“as far as is possible and practicable.” As a teenager, you have less control over your life than vegan adults. Extreme family pressure or even threats can force us to stay silent about our veganism. Sometimes, they even make consuming some animal products the only way to get through the day. Most families are not this hostile towards veganism, but some really are. You may need to define success as just getting through the day so you can be a mentally healthy teenager who advocates with nonvegans who have open, compassionate minds—not closed, angry and threatening ones forcing you to eat with them.
Forgive Yourself in Advance.
Commit to forgiving yourself if you don’t always think of the brilliant thing to say in the moment, if you lose your cool, if you retreat into silence, or if you deflect and change the subject. Agree to forgive yourself if you end up eating an animal product because pressure from adults makes it too difficult to be vegan in these high-pressure circumstances. It is true that the animals are counting on us to advocate for them, but these are complicated skills, and we may not always get it right. If we screw up, we just have to try to do better the next time or the time after that. We are all learning and growing as vegans and as people."
Here's the link if you want to read more:
https://veganteen.net/coping-non-vegan-relatives-holidays/