How do i defend my vegetarian lifestyle?

Question

Hey, i've been on going vegetarian for about four years now, and in the process i've been belittled, teased and mocked for my personal lifestyle. Is there any advice you could provide for me to enable to outwitt the non-vegetarians in order to defend myself?

Cheers.

Answer 1

Type viva in to yahoo or google, and there is a website (it may just be www.viva.com.
This gives a list of all the questions that meat eaters are bound to ask you, and clever answers. They are so true and really help.
the best thing to do is just to say, look im not going to get into an argument about this. It is pointless you trying to see my point of view;if you want to eat a dead body that is up to you.
Many people are shocked that i dont persuade them to be vegy with me!!!
Its hard to know what to do, but i guess you just have to deal with it. Thre are always people who ask dumb q'd. I was once asked 'if there was a dead chicken in front of you, and noone else was going to eat it, so it would die for nothing, would you eat it?' and its like, duh?! no, and anyway, would that ever happen?

Facts you could tell them:
We are not designed to eat meat(our teeth) just because we can digest it doesnt mean we should eat it (we can digest cardboard!!! would they eat that?)
half a million chickens are killed every day for mcdonalds.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Answer 2

Why Defend your lifestyle.. there are over a billion Vegetarians. My x was a Vegan and I was a full vegetarian for seven years. I now eat egg and fish. Whats your reason for being a veggie? Animal rights. Don't like the taste... No-ones business. Hopefully you don't ridicule non veggies.
Tell them to get a life and leave yours alone. Out Witt - MAKE the many hundreds of Yummy dishes for Vegetarians, they would be surprised.
Cheerio

Answer 3

Uh... I don't think anyone is in a position to tell another person what to eat. You don't have to defend yourself. Let actions be your defense. You should be more nice to people, more so parents that are giving you a place to stay. You can try and educate them on why your a Vegetarian, don't press them to be one. Just explain nicely you can eat healthier and get just as much nutrients from better sources.

Answer 4

I don't think that jumping into the fray by trying to out-argue people is going to do a lot of good, since most of them don't care about the facts and just want to pick on someone. Like with any other bully or ignorant person, take the higher road and tell them you're not interested in their comments and have heard everything they have to say a hundred times already. That should hopefully shut them up as they feel less clever.

Answer 5

For me, it is a personal life choice and if I have to defend myself I just say that "It is my personal choice and I would appreciate it that since I don't shove my views down your throat, you wouldn't shove yours down mine." or something to that effect, you might have to make it simpler for more *ahem* simple people.
Usually it will shut people up, or if it doesn't at least they'll shut up when they're with you. I don't think vegetarians and vegans are necessarily healthier, I just made the choice because I feel better when I'm not eating the flesh of another living thing. And if you take them to a slaughterhouse or whatever just to preach your point, they will only try to preach theirs further. Trust me, I live with a health-nut idiot uncle who does not understand that it is not always a choice for health that you must make, but for morals too.

Answer 6

Great Question.... I feel like I am always put in this situation...and I always have a million descriptivly disgusting things I could say about the bloody meat process--but I never say them... everyone around would probably throw up--- You can simply say....
"I save about 96 animals a year by being a vegetarian---how many do you save?"

Answer 7

My response is why should you? I eat meat. So what? Unless a militant vegan is physically attacking me, or violently abusing me verbally I don't bother apologizing for what is legal, moral, or for the life enhancing choices I make in my life.
Tired of the witless opposition to your lifestyle? Simply let them know...
"you have the right to be wrong, that's the price of freedom. Now leave my freedom alone thank-you very much".

Answer 8

I refuse to "defend" how I eat, but if someone presses me on the issue, I simply tell them "It makes no sense to me to eat the blood, pus, urine and fecal matter found in meat, and nothing had to die in order for me to stuff my face". That usually causes a rapid change in coversation

Answer 9

Yes I do have the perfect solution. Make a day of it. Take a sunny day and bring your family and friends to the slaughter house for the day, let them see what we do to our defenseless creatures. Second be the healthiest you can be and that should speak for itself. Plus make some print outs about the dangers of cows having cancer and often is sold to the general public. Take them to see how chickens are kept row on row and their beaks are sawed off and they do not have room to even stand. Then ask them after you have completed all this..which would you rather have a delicious nutritious veggie meal or a dead animal plate?

Answer 10

poison apple
pointy carrot
strangle someone with celery string
let a bunch of cows out of thier pen
throw cherries at the sizzler or chop house
espouse the protien properties of rice and beans
give them hell
I am on my way to becoming one myself and it's difficult to get off the meat and avoid the stigma of wanting to be a vegetarian, kudos