A vegan's bizarre rant claiming a meat-eating woman is guilty of cultural 'appropriation' because she enjoys tofu has gone viral.

College student Anna Del Rey, 17, from Michigan, shared screenshots of the extraordinary messages she received from a vegan on Facebook Messenger, which accused her of 'stealing' food from vegans.

She was first contacted by the mysterious vegan, whose identity she has protected, after sharing a recipe for 'tofurkey' - a meat substitute that looks like turkey and is usually made from tofu - with a vegan Facebook group.

Screenshots, which have been shared more than 3,500 times since they were uploaded on Wednesday evening, show how initial pleasantries between the two quickly escalated into a baffling rant when the vegan found out that Anna eats meat.

Anna (pictured) shared the exchange on Facebook as she was astonished to receive the angry messages after revealing she eats meat and enjoys tofu at the same time

A vegan launched a bizarre attack on Anna Del Rey after finding out she was a meat-eater who enjoys tofu. Anna shared the screenshots on Facebook, which have now gone viral

The bizarre exchange began when the vegan contacted Anna to praise her tofurkey recipe, which she had shared online.

Presuming Anna did not eat animal products, she then asked how long she had been vegan for.

When Anna responded to say that she wasn't vegan, the anonymous correspondant then asked if she was vegetarian.

Anna, who had apologised for not being vegan, then explained that she simply 'doesn't like the taste and texture of most meats'.

It was at that point that the vegan dropped all pleasantries and accused Anna of 'pretending to be a vegan because it's cool and in'.

The militant Facebook user, who revealed she's been vegan for three years, then went on to stress that veganism is not 'hip or cool' but 'important'.

Anna was accused of pretending to be a vegan and stealing vegan food simply because she enjoys eating tofu

Tofurkey is a meat substitute that looks like turkey but is made from tofu

Reddit users were flabbergasted by the exchange, and questioned why the vegan was so angry

Remaining cool, Anna denied pretending to be a vegan as many of her public posts that she eats beef.

But the vegan wasn't satisfied, and then launched into a baffling attack where she claimed that plant-based foods such as tofu are only for those who don't eat animals.

She said: 'Tofu is strictly for vegans vegetarians [sic].

'You are basically admitting to appropriating us and stealing what we need for your own selfish use.

'I'm going to request to the admin that you are removed from our group.'

A now-angry Anna responded: 'With all due respect, I'm not appropriating anything, I'm eating food I like, you absolute f***'.

She then shared the exchange on her public Facebook profile with the sarcastic caption: 'Apparently veganism is a culture and I’m appropriating it by eating tofu.

'I’m proud of this girl for standing up for what’s really important. This moved me. It changed me. Iconic.'

The screenshots have now gone viral, and have also been re-posted on several Reddit threads.

Reddit users were flabbergasted by the accusations being levelled at Anna, as tofu is regularly eaten alongside meat in Asian countries.

Others were confused as to why a vegan was criticising someone for drastically reducing their meat intake.