An American girl's exchange with an angry vegan accusing her of "stealing" tofu from the vegan community has gone viral.

The exchanged started innocuously, after a Facebook user privately messaged 17-year-old Michigan local Anna Del Rey, to praise her for a tofu based meat substitute recipe she shared on a vegan Facebook page.

However once the unnamed person discovered Ms Del Rey wasn't also a vegan, they quickly turned hostile.

The angry vegan messaged saying:

"Oh so you're just pretending to be vegan because it's cool and in? I've been a vegan for three years and it was the best decision I've made in my life. Being vegan isn't hip or cool, it's important."



Ms Del Rey responded calmly, saying that she was "never pretending to be vegan", just that she didn't like the taste or texture of most meats.

The unnamed vegan was not satisfied and told Ms Del Rey that, "Tofu is strictly for vegans or vegetarians. You are basically admitting to appropriating from us and stealing from us for your own selfish use."