I've been a vegetarian for 45 years, except for a couple of years early in my marriage where hubby made me eat meat. I ate vegetarian for health reasons, because I could not digest the fat in meat. I started to get quite sick, so hubby kindly told me to go back to being a vegetarian. I cooked 2 meals most nights, one for me, and one for everyone else. My husband got diagnosed with pre-diabetes, and we attended a workshop to learn how to eat better. Turns out fresh veggies and fruit, high fiber, grains were the way to go! A little meat, and only white bird meat or fish.
So hubby apologized, and we have been eating vegetarian ever since, more or less! (He still eats meat if we go out for dinner!)
I also tried veganism for 6 months. I didn't know what I was doing, and I got hungry for fat. I was very thin, and perhaps I needed the fat from dairy and eggs? Which brings me to the OP. I agree totally that many vegans are in a cult. I have a vegan friend on FB, and I have to unfollow her twice. The first time for all the PETA pics, the second time for the daily posts with baby calves or baby pigs looking at you with big brown eyes and a caption to the effect that, "All animals have souls! How could you destroy this living soul just to eat meat?"
Wrong! Theologically incorrect. I tried very hard to read her posts and become informed, but she just posted meme after meme. It was a religious obsession! And she was in all these militant vegan groups, trying to ban or outlaw meat! Strangely, she was not physically healthy and in constant pain from fibromyalgia. So much for veganism curing all ills!
I am 100% behind the concept that everyone should eat healthy. But my experience with my oldest son was that he didn't do well on a vegetarian diet. He was much happier and healthier eating meat! So I stopped forcing my lifestyle choices on him. It's forcing people to eat a different way that bothers me!