How to quit meat, and become vegetarian?
I've already tried beforehand, and both times my aunt was disappointed in me and my mother felt the need to yell at me to "quit being a retard and eat meat, you know you like it anyway" despite the fact that I absolutely despise having to eat meat whether it tastes good or not. My aunt, being someone I respect, felt bad considering I wouldn't eat half of what she cooked because the majority of her meals revolve around meat. What would be the best possible way for me to stop eating meat, become a vegetarian, and do so without my family either reacting in such a way or that it affects me so I feel that I must eat meat in order to please them? Eating meat conflicts my personal beliefs and does actually affect me negatively because I do think about the animals that are dying because I am eating the meat, and feel guilty about it; at the same time, I do not want to displease my family. I have no health issues that may come into conflict and I do not believe that a vegetarian diet would affect my body, physically, in a negative way. I do know that I will have to have a lot of protein in my diet to compensate for the lack of meat, which I know tends to be a big issue. Also, I am merely speaking vegetarian, not talking about cutting immediately to vegan and cutting out milk, cheese, and other such things; simply meat.
Why do vegans try to convince meat eaters to quit eating meat and meat products but rarely hear of meat eaters trying to convince vegans to eat meat?
You know the answer to your question.It’s because vegans believe there are ethics involved around food and meat-eaters do not, or there ethics are significantly less intensive.If someone believes that killing animals unnecessarily is wrong, then they are going to have a problem with other people killing animals unnecessarily.On almost any other issue where people have a strong ethical stance, they are not simply content to not engage in a behavior themselves, they also don’t want it to be okay for people to do it. Take theft. Many people are not content to just not engage in theft if they don’t agree with it, they also don’t want anyone else to be able to commit theft without consequences.Vegans don’t typically believe in there being consequences for those who eat meat. They just want there to be more education about where that meat came from, the lack of quality and enforcement of animal protection laws as it applies to animals used for food, the environmental damage being caused by meat-eating and a transparent introspection around the ethics of the unnecessary slaughter of sentient beings.Many people don’t agree with vegans on the ethics surrounding the consumption of meat. But there is a difference between not agreeing with their ethics and pretending you can’t understand why they take their ethics seriously.Take almost any other issue that involves causing harm to others and think critically about how many people take a “free choice” stance. Robbery? Adultery? Assault? Even DUI?When there is a victim or the potential for there to be a victim most people do not shrug their shoulders and talk about how it’s that person’s choice if they want to do those things to others. They argue that once that behavior has the result of causing harm to another person, it’s no longer a simple matter of free choice.Vegans simply extend the same logic to animals, on the basis that animals are sentient and can be harmed similarly to humans. They argue that animals should not be made to suffer or experience harm for unnecessary purposes. Most meat-eaters do not agree that animals can be victims, or they have inconsistent ideas around what it means to victimize an animal (for instance many would object to beating a dog).So while people don’t agree with vegans that animals can also be deserving of victim status, it’s not at all difficult to understand why, from the perspective of a vegan, killing animals would not just be a matter of live and let live.
What is your reason for not eating meat?
Let me tell you my story.I was born in a vegetarian family, where eating meat was prohibited until a few years back (now it's not).No one in my family would ever think about eating meat, let alone actually eating it.My mom had made it clear (to my brother and me, of course) that she would not drink in the same glass as we drink water in, and eat in the same plate as we used to eat in, if we decided to eat meat. And, we would have to cook in our own rooms, using our own utensils.I always felt like eating meat was religiously and morally wrong, until one day, when I began to question it.Why was it wrong to eat meat when so many people were eating it? Were they all eventually going to hell? No, it sounds ridiculous.Animals eat meat. Aren't they evil? And technically, we are also animals. Shouldn't we eat it when so many other species are eating it?It started then, and I started reasoning; eating meat was just like eating any other food. If we don't eat meat, the food web will be destroyed.I am an atheist now and so, my religion does not prohibit me from eating anything.I started eating egg, because eggs are considered vegetarian in some countries, and technically, they don't have life.And then one day, I decided that I wanted to eat chicken, and I was ready to eat it.I had always heard that chicken was the most delicious thing ever. I had heard of several chicken recipes which were savoury, according to my pals. And I strongly felt like I was missing out something by not eating what my friends were eating.And then I saw how chickens were killed—I cannot describe what it felt like, seeing a living body forcibly chopped so that someone could eat it —and threw up, instantly.I wanted to stop the guy who was chopping the poor body of the chicken.How much pain did it endure before its death?For weeks, my mind kept wondering about the poor bird's body. I saw it floundering there in front of me, confused, wishing to live while being mercilessly slaughtered for someone's food.If I had eaten it that day, I would've thrown up.It was then that I decided to not knowingly slaughter any animals for my food and clothes.PS: I don't eat egg now.
What are some good reasons to continue eating meat and not become vegetarian/vegan?
In the words of Vincent Vega, “Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.”To some extent, that’s what it boils down to, but I’d suggest that it’s a more profound consideration than it sounds. One can, at least theoretically, eat a healthy diet with or without meat. It’s a question, in either case, of paying attention to what you eat and making sure you get enough of the right things. With a vegan diet, you may need to pay closer attention to what you eat and add some dietary supplements, but it’s doable.But there are two considerations which rise out of that. First, we live in a society which doesn’t serve vegetarians well and is even worse for vegans. People following a vegetarian diet have very restricted choices if they’re going to eat outside their own house, and vegans are more restricted still. For some people, available vegetarian and vegan options simply aren’t what they’re willing to choke down, nor do they care to put up with the difficulty this poses for their social lives, always being an exception when going out to eat or having meals with friends and family.Second, you’re talking about what you’re putting in your mouth every day. For people who treat food merely as fuel and will eat whatever’s around and not really care what it tastes like, that’s not a problem, but for others, that’s a major quality of life issue. Certainly, there are any number of tasty vegetarian dishes, and vegan food doesn’t have to taste bad, but it’s limiting. Liking A doesn’t mean I don’t also want B. For people who care about how their food tastes, it can be like a painter deciding only to use shades of green, or otherwise eliminating large swathes of color from their palette. It can, over the long term, prove profoundly dissatisfying.
Why is it when you don't eat meat for a long time, and you eat it accidentally, you get sick and puke?
MOst scientific journals reprot that your pancreas (the organ responsible for making enzymes to digest foods) is about three days behind in making enzymes for the foods you eat. That means if you haven't eaten meat for longer than three days, you ability to digest that meat is going to be lacking as your pancreas has not made fresh enzymes to digest it. Some people's pancreas always make the enzyme to digest meat and some do not. I would imagine yours does not and needs a small piece of meat every once in a while to prime the enzymativ pump. This is of course up to you to decide if you wish to eat meat or not.
I want answers from people who managed to quit eating meat even if they liked it end enjoyed eating it....?
I used to LOVE meat. Every meal I ate had to have meat in or I didn't even think of it as a proper meal. Then one day I gave up meat and 7 months later, when I found out about the suffering involved in the dairy and egg industry, I became a vegan. I don't know what would work for you but I can tell you what worked for me. Firstly I stopped seeing animals as meat. When I first became a vegetarian I was in Thailand so there were meat stalls everywhere and the streets would all smell of it. At first it was hard to switch my thinking but eventually I'd see these dead birds etc and could start imagining them still alive, doing natural things like rearing young. It still was hard but then I just thought to myself what a spoilt brat I was being. When I was smelling this meat and thinking I wanted to eat it, I just realized I was feeling sorry for myself. "Poor me, I can't have something I want... who cares? There are people worse off than me!". Eating meat is purely for the satisfaction of your tastebuds which I started to see as very selfish... I was putting my desires before my morals. Desires can multiply to infinity.... there can always be more and more things that you want and what happens when you don't get what you want? You get upset or annoyed, just like kids do. The only way to cure this is to change the way you think... if you control your desire then you won't get upset when you don't get it. This takes training. I found that everytime I looked or smelled meat I wouldn't start thinking about how much I wanted it but just told myself to stop being a brat and get over it. Every time I did this I felt myself get stronger and stronger until it got to the point when I didn't even notice anymore... I trained myself to not see animals as food anymore. I think this has made me stronger in general too because if I don't get something I want, I don't act like a baby and get upset I just think "Ok, fair enough" and move on with my life. I don't know whether this will work for you... maybe you're just not ready to give up meat yet. I tried to go veggie when I was younger but it didn't last because I was too immature and selfish at the time. I'm not saying these are bad things but as people grow up they do usually calm down a bit and see things differently so this may happen to you too. Good luck :o)
Im thirteen and I no longer eat meat and now what are the bad things about becoming vegan?
I have been vegetarian or vegan most of my life, and I am healthy. There is nothing to fear at all, as everything a person needs can be found in a plant-based diet, with the exception of a reliable source of vitamin B12. Any vegan should start with making sure they eat a small amount of vitamin B12 either in foods that are fortified with it-- read your food labels-- or take a very small daily vitamin supplement of it. Then learn a bit about nutrition, plan to eat healthy, and eat enough food! That's especially important for you during this part of your life. Plan to eat healthy-- Do not just take the meat off the plate of food you're served at home, and eat the broccoli that's left on the plate- and nothing else. Everyone needs to eat a variety of food. Hopefully you have some support at home! Here's a guide from Vegan Outreach http://www.veganoutreach.org/guide/ From the US Department of Agriculture http://www.mypyramid.gov/tips_resources/... From the Nemours Foundation http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/... detailed info from the American Dietetic Association http://eatright.org/ada/files/veg.pdf from the Mayo Clinic http://mayoclinic.com/health/vegetarian-diet/HQ01596 from the American Heart Association http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4777 from the Vegetarian Resource Group http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm This is also a vegan guide from Vegetarian Times, even though it says vegetarian on it http://www.vegetariantimes.com/2007/pdf/vegetarian_starter_kit.pdf http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-food-pyramid.asp You are not alone. Millions and millions of people have chosen to go vegan. Ask a registered dietitian if you need to feel more confident about what you're eating.
How can i give up eating meat?
Protein is in virtually every food you eat, with the exception of oil. As long as you're not eating junk food all day and you're not starving yourself you are getting enough protein. The average American gets 2 to 3 times as much as they need, which stresses the kidneys and is one of the reasons we have the highest rate of osteoperosis. How to stop eating meat is more of a psychological question then a health one. Some people can just be done, others need to ween off it. You've been eating meat most of your life, so it's something you're used to. Many of your recipes call for it, you don't think much before eating it, etc. I found it was much easier to be veg when I thought of it as a different way of eating, rather then a diet 'without meat' I'd recommend trying new foods (Indian food and many other ethnic foods are much less reliant on meat then American foods) Try new fruits and veggies. Rework old favorite recipes to be without meat (veggie lasagna, beans instead of meat for tacos, etc.) Spend a little more time researching nutrition. I'd get a good book on vegetarian diets (I like Going vegetarian for dummies)
What is it like to eat meat again after being vegetarian for a long time?
It’s awesome! For context, I was a vegetarian for self-control reasons – not for moral or religious ones – so my switch back to meat-eating wasn’t too hard for me:I’ve discovered that pig meat is delicious: I’d actually never eaten pig meat before in my life (even though I’d eaten other meats from birth through high school). My first piece of pepperoni was eye-opening, my first piece of bacon a revelation. I don’t experience a lot of true “firsts” on a daily basis anymore – not the way I did when I was much younger, anyway. Getting to try these foods for the first time was really exciting, in a way that not many things in the daily grind are.Going to restaurants is much more fun: When I was a vegetarian, going to restaurants could be kind of a bummer. There were often only a couple of substantial items on a menu that I could eat, even in vegetarian-friendly locations like New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. Vegetarian food at restaurants is often salad-based or generally “light,” which can be a little depressing when everyone else at the table is eating a burger or steak. Now, I can eat literally anything on a restaurant menu, which is pretty fun.I feel more full after meals: I can take down a massive volume of pasta and still crave more, but I feel full after a relatively small volume of meat. It’s not even like X volume of meat results in the fullness that 10X volume of pasta gives me. For me, there is simply no volume of pasta that results in the same fullness that meat gives me at the moment. It’s just a different feeling.
Why do vegans make food that imitates & tastes like meat? How is making a vegan steak different than a vegan dog or vegan cat meat? If a vegan would be repulsed to eat meat to taste and look like dog meat, then why is he not repulsed by vegan steak?
Most vegans grew up as non-vegans, so they’ve eaten meats before. When it comes to food, there are a lot of cultural influences. Meat has been a part of the human diet to one degree or another for hundreds of thousands of years. Food is an integral part of many traditions, events, social outings, and holidays—and many of those include meat-based foods.Some people choose to eat vegan for health reasons. Some of them may miss the flavor of meat and/or the foods that are meat-centric, such a as spaghetti with meatballs or turkey at Christmas. I can’t speak for all vegans of course, but many still want to participate in the traditions and the culinary staples that are important to their families, and meat replacements enable them to do so without violating their diet.Some vegans are vegan for ethical reasons. Many of them opt not to eat imitation meat products, especially those who have never cared for the taste of meat in the first place. Although many of these products come close to the taste and texture of real meat, there is still a difference in taste. Even some non-vegans (such as myself, currently) prefer those flavors—for example, I much prefer the taste of black bean burger patties over beef burger patties. Everyone has their preferences.As far as wanting beef replacements but not cat or dog meat replacements, I’d have to say it’s a cultural thing, at least in the countries that serve a lot of meat replacements (such as U.S., Canada, U.K.). Eating real dog or cat meat isn’t a part of the culture there, so most people have never eaten dog or cat and don’t feel the desire to have imitation dog or cat meat. I’d turn the question around: why are most meat eaters okay with eating cows, chickens, pigs, and turkeys but not dogs, cats, or horses? The answer, when it comes down to it, is that it’s just how the culture is (because there are some countries that would find it absurd to eat cows, but have no problem eating dogs).