I'm considering becoming a vegetarian...?

Question

I love love love animals. And when I read up some on all the pain they have to go through when they're made into burgers, I nearly cried. =[[

Vegan recipes seem pretty healthy, too. For the most part. I'm seriously considering trying the vegetarian lifestyle for a while. But my family thinks it's the funniest idea in the world. Any ideas I can use to prove to them that it's perfectly reasonable?

thanks =]

I know I might get tired of it after awhile.

I'd just be giving it a try. Couldn't hurt, right? And I wouldn't be like strict vegan or whatever. Just basic meat stuff... which I really don't like anyways. I mean, it's some creature's muscle. That sounds awful nasty to me.

Answer 1

Wow. There is SO much ignorance about.

Vegetarianism will improve your health greatly! I've been a vegetarian for 3.5 years and havent eaten red meat since a few years before that.

Vegetarianism reduces & CURES heart disease. Also, it reduces obesity and many other illnesses. Nearly all forms of cancer could be prevented by not eating meat - that's not from me, that's from scientists who have done studies.

Also, it is really easy to get your iron & protein.

Dried beans and dark green leafy vegetables are especially good sources of iron, even better on a per calorie basis than meat. Iron absorption is increased markedly by eating foods containing vitamin C along with foods containing iron. Vegetarians DO NOT have a higher incidence of iron deficiency than do meat eaters.

Beans (eg. red kidney, soy, chickpeas) , mushrooms and lentils are good sources of protein.

You can keep up your omega-3 through having olive oil & flaxseed/linseed oil (cold, heat damages the omega-3 & it's then less benificial.

Having canines does not mean you are supposed to eat meat. If you can rip into an animals hide with those teeth, go ahead. They're just not strong enough.

http://goveg.com/ has some great info & recipe links.

Answer 2

"Don't become a veggie. Just eat Kosher meat. Yay! " and "Eat kosher foods, they are raised organically & killed humanely (i guess that's possible) but so the animals feel no fear & this keeps the animals body chemicals lower in the meat, tastes better too! "
Actually, Kosher meat is not any better than other types of meat. Recently there was a video of a 'Kosher' butcher attempting to slaughter a cow by slitting it's throat and instead just rips out his windpipe through the gash. The cow is fully conscious and feels every bit of it's "Kosher" killing.


"If you were meant to be a vegetarian is all you would have were molars in your mouth. " and " Why do you think you have canine teeth in your mouth?"
If you were meant to eat meat, you would have a mouth set up like a cat. Our teeth are as they are because we *don't* have to eat meat.

"There are many essential nutrients in meats and poultry that cannot be gained by plants. " While this is kind of true, it's more along the line of 'weasel words'. Meaning, it's rhetoric. The only thing that you really can't get from veggies are unenriched grains is b-12. However, this is regularly included in cerals and breads and in multi-vitamins. So, another myth busted.

"our eyes are on the front of our heads because we are mostly carnivores." Actually, if you want to start an evolutionary discussion, we are NOT mostly carnivores. Early humans were 90% vegetarians (gatherers). They rarely made a kill, and when they did, it would only last a matter of days. If you are for the evolutionary concept of omnivorism, then you would only eat fresh kill, killed by you or your husband, once a month. Gorillas also have front facing eyes, yet they are mostly vegetarian. . .

"I'm just smart " Serpents, while I can't comment on your IQ, your arguments have been completely fallacious. A "smart" person would back up their "facts" with proof, not just folklore given to people from old wives tales and the beef council. A "smart" person would read studies by the AMA and the ADA that clearly state that a vegetarian diet reduces all types of cancer and medical conditions (like diabetes).

"And I wouldn't be like strict vegan or whatever. Just basic meat stuff... which I really don't like anyways." Cherie, just understand that the 'basic meat stuff' is in all kinds of things - from 'vegetable' soups to yogurt to jello to some mashed potatoes and so on. There may not be chunks of meat, but it all comes from a slaughtered animal. But, that may come later as you become more endeared with vegetarianism. As far as your family, let them laugh. Lots of people laugh about things, but it doesn't make them right. Just tell your family that if they love you, they'll let you make your own choice. Do the research on being a healthy vegetarian and let them know that you know how to remain healthy. Those who rebel the most about vegetarians are usually covering their own guilty feelings and inadequacies. Do a search for "going vegetarian" and read all that you can so that you know how to be healthy.

Remember, the best argument you can give a meat-eater who tells you that humans can't survive without meat is to ask them how vegetarians are still alive then. Ask how Alyssa Milano, Joaquin Phoenix, and Pink are alive and kicking. After all, if you couldn't get all your protein and all your nutrients being a vegetarian, how could they possibly still be alive???

Good luck to you. : )

Answer 3

when you say "Just basic meat stuff" remember that to call yourself a veggie you need to exclude all meat, including fish, poultry and any product that use by-products in the contents or processing.

Its easy, adn so good for you.

Of course meateaters are going to say its bad for you, they are so narrow minded. How can they possibly know, many of them have never tried it.

Ignore all this "Kosher" advice, the animal does care, its still dead.

Veggie diet is not problem, no suppliments needed. I'm an arable farmer and been veggie for 26 years. There is no problem with energy or health.

Good luck, you'll feel 10 times better and add 15 years to your life

Answer 4

OK, I'm going to try and find you some links to help out! It IS perfectly reasonable - there are LOADS of vegetarians about! And if you do it right, I believe it to be healthier than an ordinary diet.. by "do it right" though, I mean you can't just eat potatoes and peas and stuff... you need to get some variety in there! My parents were raised as omnivores, but decided to become vegetarian, and raised me and my brother and sister as vegetarian right from birth! We are now 25, 24, 20 yrs old, and we're all perfectly healthy (brain-wise too.. I'm an A+ uni student so whatever people tell you about your brain not getting enough stuff without meat is crap!). So just make sure you get in some nuts, seeds, dried fruits, whole grains, greens.. nuts, corn and beans are good protein sources but if you're still eating milk and eggs, they're good protein sources too. And iron is in stuff like raisins, silverbeet, spinach...

OK, here's some links which might provide you with some more info on vegetarianism, and also might be good to help your family come to terms with it!:
http://www.vrg.org/
http://www.vegsoc.org.nz/v2_fctsht_nutri_gen.html
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4777
You may want to have a look around some of the sites (the link for the middle 2 just takes you directly to the nutritional info page, but there's lots more stuff on the site as well) - one of them is a vegan site, but some of the info may still apply.

Hope it all goes well! And have a nice weekend :)

Answer 5

It's a good thing man. Becoming a vegetarian is a wonderful thing to do. Most vegetarians are people full of love for other beings. (Non vegetarian food may be tasty and perhaps a little (a litttttle) more nutricious. But they carry way too much risks than vegetarian food. Did you know that meat could cause cancer?)

But of course, your taste buds will soon ask for meat. So to start, don't worry about anything. Just be a vegetarian as long as you can. Then again try. Then again try. After a few initial stumbles, you'll become a pure vegetarian.

Chinese doctors (those acupuncturists) say your mind will be calm and your body will be lighter if you are a vegetarian. The advantages of being a vegetarian are so many.

So go ahead. Your family will soon follow you. It "is" a bad thing to harm other animals for food.

Answer 6

I would argue that if we were meant to be vegetarians, we would have herbivores' teeth, guts and biochemistry. The human gut is not designed for an herbivorous diet, and our biochemistry is such that there are some vitamins (particularly in the B group) which we have to eat: and that means eating meat. [These days, there are supplements, but the fact remains, we are designed to be omnivores.]
Like it or not, you also have the psychology of a carnivore.
If you are going to be a vegetarian + non red meat eater, ie you include chicken &/or fish &/or shellfish in your diet, there is still the question of cruelty to animals. People happily catch & eat fish, and say, "Cold blooded animals don't have feelings." Rubbish. They do: it's just that they can't yell in air to let us know that they are suffering.
If you are going to become a vegetarian, you will really need to study human nutritional needs carefully, and work out a diet plus supplements that will give you all your requirements. It's more than just looking at some vegetarian recipes & thinking, "Oh, yes, these look healthy."
If you are concerned about animal welfare, I would suggest that you become involved in lobbying for the better treatment of the animals that we use for food, and for the least inhumane ways of killing them.

Answer 7

properly i'll allow you to recognize that i presumed i might want to bypass over fish too. i change right into a large sushi fan earlier growing vegan. yet when I examine articles about the mercury content in fish and the way it continues to be on your body i change into like, gross. i imagine tuna has the utmost mercury content too. i might want to point beginning sluggish, take out one or 2 issues out of your weight-help plan a week. Do it steadily and it will be a lot less puzzling. you are able to tell your spouse and children purely through purely telling them you've wanting to now no longer eat meat. regrettably because you're youthful your mom and father received't grant you with a large purchase of selection (counting on your mom and father anyhow) once you're going to supply up meat I exceedingly advise in some unspecified time sooner or later ditching the milk products besides. Milk is so undesirable once you get each and every of ways all the way down to whats in it, how the cows are dealt with, how no different animal on earth beverages the milk of yet another animal or the milk of its personal species previous infancy, how unfavorable it really is to the surroundings, etc etc... best of success, and welcome to a in good structure way of existence.

Answer 8

I'm a vegetarian and have been exclusively vegetarian (no fish, etc.) for 6 years. My experience is that you can't convince others that being a vegetarian is reasonable (look at some of the answers you've gotten here already.)

If you're relying on others to cook for you, you're asking a lot, because that means that someone is cooking two meals instead of one. So if you really want to be a vegetarian, you need to take over shopping and cooking for yourself. If you're doing that, then it's not unreasonable of you to be a vegetarian or a vegan.

If you decide to go vegan, remember to use flaxseed oil regularly in your diet (or you can take flaxseed capsules.) You should also take B-12, especially if you're a teenager. If you haven't stopped growing yet, you need to watch your protein and calcium intakes more carefully than most adults, too.

If you decide to be a vegetarian (they eat dairy products and/or eggs--vegans don't) then try to purchase organic products from free-range animals and local farms.

Best of luck to you--I love being a vegetarian (and by the way, I don't crave meat.)

Answer 9

I try just giving up red meat first. Try adding meat substitutes. Once you give it up it is hard to go back. I went over a year with out red meat. When I went to a party and figured why not have just some steak like every one else, I got so sick. I lost my tolerance to red meat. So I can never go back, now.

Also try to find Hormone free milk. Those poor cows are milked 4 time a day. That is unnatural. They cramp up, and in pain.

Answer 10

To be honest if my family thought it was funny that I was a vegetarian I wouldn't worry and I would gnore the,. I feel that it is up to each individual what they eat and I certainly wouldn't try to convince anyone to be a vegetarian and I wouldn't expect them to try to convince me to eat meat.

My husbands family are from a framing background and found it difficult to undertstand why I wanted to be a vegan, but they respected my choice and we just don't talk about the issues surrounding it as we know we would not agree.