Being surrounded by family and friends during Thanksgiving and Christmas is great. However, as the holidays are centered around food, family and friends often use the dinner table as a place to ask about my veganism... In my experience, especially when you're a first-time vegan, the questions that some people ask make it really easy to become overwhelmed. Likewise, I have been in places where I almost felt like I was taking a test, and the experience can just be kind of stressful.

But, after surviving one holiday season as a vegan and several as a vegetarian, I decided to write this article. Down below, I have detailed the top 10 questions that I have been asked repeatedly over the years. Overall, I hope that some of you can use it as a source for your questions and answers, and will dispel some stress during your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

1. What is veganism?

As simple as it sounds, some family and friends may be in the dark about what being a vegan actually means. By definition, a vegan is "a person who does not eat any food that comes from animals and who often also does not use animal products." This means that we refrain from meat, dairy, eggs, and sometimes honey, while also (usually) not using leather, wool, and other products harvested from animals.

2. Is veganism healthy?

As with any diet, a vegan diet takes planning. Like everything else, processed vegan food can be extremely unhealthy, but the correct vegan food can be considerably healthier than the normal American diet. For example, an Italian study recently demonstrated that a vegan diet significantly reduces a person's risk for heart disease and cancer.

However, refraining from meat, dairy, and eggs can cause a person to be deficient in some crucial nutrients, such as B12, if they don't plan carefully. Yet, with a vitamin regimen and a doctor's visit to check all of your levels, veganism can be perfectly healthy for a person.

3. Wasn't it hard to become a vegan?

Everyone has a different answer to this. For some, the transition is fairly easy; for others, the process is difficult. However, I just urge people to just take baby steps. Most people cannot quit all animal products cold turkey (pun intended). I encourage people to be a vegan one day a week, or simply cut out meat in one meal when you feel comfortable. Whatever steps a person takes towards veganism is great, and you will never know how easy or hard the process is until you try it.

4. Where do you get your protein?

This is THE KING of all questions, but the answer is simple: Not all protein comes from animal products. Whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds are all high in protein, and a vegan can easily get their daily amount.

5. It's natural for cows to produce milk/hens to lay eggs, so why is it bad?

Cows only produce milk when they have a baby, just like humans do. Thus, the dairy industry artificially inseminates their cows so they produce a constant supply of milk. In other words, they impregnate the cows over and over again until they are physically unable to produce milk anymore, and then they are killed.

Likewise, hens lay eggs naturally. However, the conditions that these hens are in is atrocious. They are packed into battery cages, where they are forced to live in their own excrement and filth. These battery cages are about the size of a plain sheet of paper, which is how much space a few egg-laying hens have to live in for their entire lives.

So, even though producing milk and eggs is natural for cows and chickens respectively, the conditions in which they live in are not. Even free-range or organic choices, which are often considered the better choices, are usually not what they seem. By going vegan, we are not going against the natural life processes of these animals, we are simply just not partaking in the industry in which they are abused and mistreated.

6. If you were stranded on a desert island, would you eat an animal?

This is by far my favorite question that I have ever been asked, because who can actually affirmatively say what one would do in a survival situation?

I honestly don't know what I would do, and I cannot say to what length I would go to save myself. All I know is that, in my current situation, I have the ability to refrain from all animals products, so that is how I live my life.

7. Aren't humans natural carnivores?

Human beings were not made in the same way that the carnivores we think of were made. Real carnivores, like lions and wolves, have sharp claws and teeth for tearing and piercing their prey. Humans, like other herbivores, have flat teeth and nails, mostly used for grinding plant protein.

8. When is this "phase" going to be over?

A lot or family members and friends will expect that your going vegan is a phase... It's just the truth. In my experience, I've just learned to tell others that veganism and something that I believe in, and it's what I'm doing for myself. Likewise, if I can give one piece of advice, I will say to just be a vegan for however long that you want to be a vegan, and don't let others destroy your spirit.

9. Why don't vegans eat honey?

Some vegans do eat honey, but most do not. It all depends on the person, and whether or not they believe that it is right to take the honey away from the bees. Many people argue this answer, and some people don't even consider bees to be animals (yikes!), but with whatever route you take, just make sure to tell others that eating honey is all up to the individual.

10. Isn't being a vegan expensive?

Sometimes being a vegan is pricey, but it just depends on what you buy. Alternative meats and cheeses are usually more expensive, but vegetables, beans, grains, and fruits are usually pretty cheap, especially if you buy them in bulk.