How can i convince my parents to let me go veggie vegan

How To Convince My Parents To Let Me Go Vegan?

this is going to be a long answer so i'll try not to go into tooooo many details.
Most important thing that i need to get out first is that there is some research connecting veganism to eating disorders. So you parents and doctor might have legitimate reasons to oppose going vegan. In research its beens shown that some teenagers use veganism as a disguise for their eating disorder. It is a very restrictive diet and gives someone an excuse not to eat a lot of things. It also might appeal to people thinking they need to lose weight because the perception is that it includes a lot of salads.
Anyway, if you are sure you are doing it for the right reasons and want to eat a lot of the right foods to make up for all the wrong ones you aren't eating than I applaud your decision and hope I can help you with your problem.

I think the best bet is to take your time, be patient and think long term.

Do your research. Then maybe once a day, or maybe just once a week drop a "factoid" when everyone is together. Start off easy. I think use the non-threatening ones, like "if we ate one less burger a week, it would be the equivalent of taking your car off the road for 320 miles". Don’t use the scary ones, like "Most cow's milk has measurable quantities of herbicides, pesticides, dioxins, antibiotics, blood, pus, feces, bacteria and viruses".

With your situation you should to concentrate on factoids on your own health, like where you will get your calories, protein, minerals etc. Again, not all at once, just meter them out.

Try to drop these factoids in front of the whole family but be careful. If you over do it they will stop listening, so meter them out slowly. You might even try bringing up to your mom and sisters, cruelty free products.

Next time people need a birthday present or something, get your mom a copy of "Thug Kitchen" Get your dad a copy of "Fast Food Nation"3

See what DVDs are at the library (or Netflix) and try to get the family to watch things like "Forks over Knives" or " Food, Inc." with you. Stay away (at least at the beginning) from videos like "Earthlings".

Order some free vegetarian and vegan starter kits (you can find them online) and leave the pamphlets in the bathroom as reading material. :)

In the meantime, just eat the non-meat things in the house.

How can i convince my parents to let me go veggie/ vegan?

You're making 2 mistakes here, 1 of which is very fixable. The other is not.

First, stop telling them that the food they serve is unhealthy! It's insulting, even though you don't mean it that way. When you say they always have a good comeback, this is because they know a lot more than you give them credit for.

The bigger problem, though, is you may not even realize what you're asking of them. Just as one example, I'm sure ketchup sounds like something you could eat, but it isn't. It contains "natural flavors" and the FDA doesn't require them to identify these. They are normally meat byproducts. So you'd need to eat organic ketchup. Have you ever compared the price of organic ketchup to generic, store brand stuff?

That's the big problem. Regardless of what veggies/vegans say, the food is much more expensive. Compare tofu per ounce or pound with chicken or ground beef. So you're basically asking them to spend more on you. And this doesn't even get into the issue of who prepares it every day.

The bottom line is, when you're in a position to do your own shopping, pay for the food, and be responsible for preparing it, then I think you have a very legit request. It also proves your commitment to it if you're willing to go to this much trouble. Until that time, though, you're not in a position yet to make a radical change like this.

How to convince my parents to let me go vegan?

Probably the sticking point is the anorexia. As Jenny pointed out, many anorexics use veganism as to disguise the symptoms of anorexia. For example, when offered something to eat, they would say, "no thanks I can't eat that, I'm vegan". This such a common manifestation that physicians have published papers on it.

The good news is that if they allow you to be a vegetarian you are already half way there.

Giving up milk is about the easiest aspect of veganism. There are plenty of plant milks in the store. And i suppose if you promised and actually drank a half gallon of soy milk each week your parents would be pretty pleased. You could get like a 2-quart container of chocolate or vanilla for drinking straight and a 2 quart container of plain for smoothies and cereal (this is actually what i do.) Soy milk is a great replacement for milk with plenty of calories, calcium, and protein.

Avoiding eggs is also pretty easy. For breakfast, a smoothie or a bowl of oatmeal or cereal is a lot more nutritious. and for baking, there are plenty of products and recipes for replacing eggs.

For vegans, the toughest part of the dairy and eggs, are two things.

First is at restuants. At restaurants there are almost always vegetarian choices. like vegetarian pizza and vegetarian buritoes. but they are not vegan cause they have cheese. Well, you could just get those anyway. No one says you have to be 100% vegan or go all the way - right away. Or you can learn three magic words, "hold the cheese".

The other issue is processed foods. There are so many store bought items that are vegetarian and not vegan cause of milk or eggs or butter or whey. Buns, waffles, cookies, veggie burgers, etc. So again you can just ignore those - those are the kinds of things that are going to annoy your parents the most. Or you can take up cooking. You can make just about anything vegan if you cook it yourself. and your parents would most probably like to see you in the kitchen cooking and showing an interest in food.

Anyway, take your time and be patient. Keep things in perspective. "Work" or your parents a little bit at a time. and the very best advice is to help out with shopping lists, shopping, and cooking. You can learn a lot about being vegan with your parents in your own kitchen. and also your parents will probably be a lot more receptive when you take on some of the extra work.

How can I convince my parents to go vegan?

Okay, first of all, I want to say way to go on your decision to go vegan!! I wish I could say the same. I'm vegetarian but aspiring to one day be able to go vegan! I keep slipping up with greek yogurt. :( Anyways, I would take it slow. Don't expect change in a month, or maybe even a few months. Maybe even a year. Some people are just resistant to change, even when the truth is evident. You are only in charge of your own actions, and in my opinion, you have made a great choice! If anything, try not to pressure them greatly or come on too strong. This will just push them further away from the idea of going vegan. Instead, slowly introduce them to vegan meals. Make vegan desserts to show them that there isn't as much of a sacrifice as they believe.

Good luck! And again, congratulations on your choice to be vegan! I hope one day, I can say the same as you!

How can I convince parents and go vegan?

well just do it.

and vegetarianism means:

NO meat and no ANIMAL product.

it's NOT hard to get your nutrients when you eat a well balanced vegan/vegetarian diet.

there's no protein scarcity!
get it?

whoever started that crap was trying hard to scare people from vegetarianism and veganism.

and to those who think dairy doesn't mean harm? they don't get out enough. but ignorance is bliss.

why not key up VEGAN and VEGETARIAN in google.com?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=veg...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=...


then read up.

eggs, milk, cheese... are also against the rule of vegetarians...

those who laugh... well they're fat and dying.. slowly... it's amazing what is put in meats, dairy.. other foods. processed is pretty nasty stuff.

once i stopped many of my health problems ceased. (not all) and i've lost quite a bit of weight... my teeth aren't trying to fall out any more... my acne is gone... (adult acne is pretty nasty) feeling tired all of the time isn't a problem any more..

much improvements in all areas. ;)

i went fresh.. as much as possible.. i am weary of organics.. since i found out most organics are just the regular product with a different label.

want organic? make your own garden, but it's much more high maintainence without the chemicals to help it along.

oh yeh.. fishing does hurt... :D and besides fish is an animal... if you're going to do the veggie thing.. go all the way.

http://fishinghurts.com/

http://www.milksucks.com/


oh and unfortunately watch out for some soy products... they're not all vegetarian/vegan.

How can I convince my parents to let me become a vegan?

ALFyakuza, sh*t man, that's a long one. Yes, the nail.

Well, you gotta do what you gotta do. No matter if it's giving up animal products or wanting to take violin lessons instead of piano, just do it.

You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force it to drink. They cannot force you to eat what you don't want to eat.

"my parents are dead against it"
Why? It's like ALFyakuza said, they see it as you going against their ways; against what they have brought you up with.

Please read this and related links:
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

How do I convince my parents to let me be a vegan?

Hi, coming from a 15 year old girl i know how difficult it is to convince your parents.


I've been a vegetarian for a year now, and the transition can be hard. Believe me, my parents hated the idea at first. My dad grew up on a farm that raised cows and chickens and my mom raised chickens too. My whole life i never liked meat, and i never really ate it that much. Last year, i told my parents i wanted to make a lifestyle change, and it was to be a vegetarian. At first my mom was ok with it, and i knew i would get to her eventually. I would recommend going to the more generous parent that has a "sweet spot" for you. Try to get them to agree to be on your side throughout the whole process. It was my dad i had a harder time trying to get to adjust. He thought it was ridiculous and we often got into fights at first on how "man was made to be a carnivore". He couldn't do anything about it because if he'd shove meat in front of me i would go and make myself a salad. If you've done it many times before and have failed i would recommend trying Boca burgers or meatless crumbles. They work in pretty much every recipe and don't taste gross at all. Boca brand or Morning Star are great brands to try the next time you go to the store. When you start out make slight transitions, first go vegetarian in breakfast for a week, then lunch for a week, (if your school has salad bar) , then make dinner that way too, but remember to get your parents involved. It won't be great at first and i wouldn't recommend going vegan right away, especially since you're still growing and you might need the extra protein from milk and eggs, and if you're in sports like i am i wouldn't recommend going vegan at all, since i tried for a couple of weeks and i lost a ton of muscle and i felt extremely weak. Google vegetarian recipes, get your family involved, and remember that at first you will feel tired, but just keep going with it, i know you can do it (:

Sorry this was extremely long hah (:

Does anyone know how i can convince my parents to let me be a veggie?

You probably want to start by doing a lot of research on vegetarianism and what you need to eat to stay healthy(trust me its not that difficult). I would advise against starting a power struggle with your parents. While it should be your choice weather you eat meat or not, by simply telling your parents you will not longer eat meat, going on a hunger strike, etc, it will most likely just cause tension between the three of you and make it less likely for them to give in.

I would suggest sitting down with your parents(after getting all the info on nutrition/health), and having a mature talk with them. Open up with them and allow them to see your point of view(don't just discuss animal cruelty, but also nutrition). Try to use "I" statements(they sound less confrontational), for example, "I feel as if I would like to become vegetarian". Let them know that you are willing to eat a healthy vegetarian diet. It may be helpful to get some recipe books(there are quite a few for teenagers). You could also see a nutritionist to help you make a meal plan and ease your parents fears.

As far as protein goes, it is very unlikely that you will lack protein as a vegetarian. The average person only needs about 50 grams of protein per day. Protein is in everything, just look at the side of boxes. In todays world it is very hard to be protein deficient if you are eating a wide variety.

High protein foods include:
soy milk, tofu, nuts(Almonds, Cashews, Filberts, Hemp Seeds, Peanuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds, Walnuts (black)), seeds, legumes(Garbanzo beans, Kidney beans, Lentils, Lima beans, Navy beans, Soybeans, Split peas), grains(Barley, Brown rice, Buckwheat, Millet, Oatmeal, Rye, Wheat germ, Wheat, hard red, Wild rice), vegetables(Artichokes, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Green peas, Green pepper, Kale, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard green, Onions, Potatoes, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnip greens, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini), fruits(Apple, Banana, Cantaloupe, Grape, Grapefruit, Honeydew melon, Orange, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, Strawberry)

Trust me protein deficiencies are rare in the U.S and are mostly found in third world countries that suffer from famine.

For teens: how did you convince your parents to let you go vegetarian or vegan?

My parents were actually quite supportive. Of course, I started out by just giving up red meat. Then I gave up birds and fish. I didn't die or lose a lot of weight. So now they're okay with it.

It definitely helps that I don't mind other people eating meat around me, and I will take part in the preparation of meat. As a bonus, since I'm the family cook, I insist that they buy organic, local, pasture-raised. The really funny thing is that they've actually said that it tastes better.

In short, my parents were down with it. I think the biggest objection parents would have is probably a worry that their kids weren't getting all of their nutrition. Kids and teens who want to go vegetarian should really do their homework and be able to demonstrate to their parents that they know what they're talking about. As a parent, I would not be okay with my child making a significant decision regarding their health unless they demonstrated that they had done their research. Show me the benefits, show me the possible problems, and show me how you're going to get around them. While you're at it, show me how it's not going to be a heck of a lot more work for me... If my child showed that s/he was dedicated enough to start doing some things for themselves, I'd be a lot more willing to accept certain decisions.