She does not agree?

Question

I have been a vegetarian for about two months now, and my mother still has not accepted this. Literally every day, she says something like "You are killing yourself! You know that right?" or "God, you are messing up your body! How am I ever going to send you to college like this? You won't survive!". She has also told me that I am going to die early.

At first she even forced me to eat meat. Some of you may say there is no way she could but trust me, she can... (she did stop this though...)

I have never done anything to provoke this. I do not argue with her.

I want to be a vegan, but she refuses to let me buy soy milk or make my own nut milk. Apparantly "I need my animal protein". According to her and her 'articles' (which she has never shown proof of), there are certain nutrients my body can only use from animal sources. I have calmly tried to show her otherwise, but she won't listen.

I usually listen to her politely or leave the room, but how do you deal with unsupportive parents?

Answer 1

tell her to at least try a meal YOU prepare ..make a tofu lasangna or mushroom crepes ..something to impress her..if that doesnt work ..put her up for adoption

Answer 2

Apparently your mom doesn't know any other vegetarians, or she'd realize that it's not hurting you & you can actually be healthier without eating meat. I know ppl of all ages who are vegetarian, including some bright, active elementary-schoo-aged children who've never had meat in their lives.
Protein from plants isn't inferior to animal protein & it's very easy to get ample protein, vitamins & minerals without meat or dairy. The only nutrient you can't usually get from non-animal sources is Vitamin B12 but there are lots of vegan supplements & if you're still doing dairy you're getting plenty.
Does she have a reason for not showing you the "articles" that she talks about? Maybe you could show her some vegetarian articles or websites. Or have her go with you to a dietician or even a regular Dr. to answer her questions. There also could be performers, writers or other celebrities that your mom respects who are veg but she just doesn't know it yet.
When I was a kitten, I didn't want to eat meat any more after I found out what it really was. My mom insisted that "everybody" in the world has to eat it or they'll get sick & die. To this day, I don't know if she was actually that misinformed or if she was trying to control me through fear.
Good luck, I know it can be tough when someone close to you doesn't understand but keep being patient & maybe your mom will eventually be more supportive of you.

Answer 3

The only nutrient that might be problematic for vegans is vitamin B12. Yes, it's true, that only animal products naturally have this. But many vegan foods--such as Red Star Nutritional Yeast or a good multivitamin--are enriched with B12 (make sure it says as cyanocobalamin). And you need such a tiny amount, most fortified vegan products contain far more than you need, and your body can store it.

Protein--most people get far more than they need. Even vegans get more than they need. And you don't need to combine foods at a meal, or even over the course of a day.

Calcium--countries with the highest rates of milk consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporosis--take THAT, dairy council! Excess protein will literally cause you to pee your bones out. Animal protein is especially acidic, and will leach more calcium from your bones.

Iron--in plenty of vegan foods. Absolutely none in dairy. Just eat your iron-rich foods with vitamin C-rich foods (like spinach and strawberries) to increase absorption.

I don't know how to tell you how to deal with unsupportive parents. I was in my 30s when I had my epiphany and went vegan, so the transition was pretty easy for me (except when I had to visit my family, but that's another matter entirely). But your mom is showing you nothing but disrespect by trying to force you to eat something you don't want and refusing to listen to you.

Answer 4

You are making a healthy choice by opting to become a vegetarian/vegan. It is your choice, not your mother's. Don't worry, you are not killing yourself by becoming a vegetarian. I have a magazine in front of me right now that says "Consuming too much animal protein has been scientifically linked to osteoporosis-according to a 2003 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, vegetarian women had stronger bones than women who ate meat." Animals in the meat industry(cows,pigs,and chickens)are injected with artificial growth hormones to make them grow faster and larger. These hormones are found in the meat and they are unhealthy for the body. Vegetarians obtain healthy proteins from whole grains, soy milk, tofu, beans, nuts, seeds, and certain vegetables. "For humans, drinking cows milk has been linked to heart disease, some types of cancer, diabetes, and even osteoporosis"(PETA magazine). Also, meat eaters have been proven to have 3 times the obesity rate of vegetarians, and 9 times the rate of vegans. Maybe you can try telling your mother that being a vegetarian is healthy, as long as you get protein from beans and other vegetable sources. I have not eaten red meat in 9 years, and I am only 16....I stopped eating chicken and fish nearly 4 months ago and I am perfectly fine. I get protein very easily from vegetarian foods. Good Luck!!

Answer 5

I really think shes overeacting. If you want to be a vegeterian or vegan it's your choice.I personally am not a vegeterian or vegan but i agree that people have the right to choose.Anyways your not sopposed to eat to much meat.I think that you and your mom should sit down and have a long talk and if that dosen't work....well I don't know.But may be you should try to convince her to let you go on a herbal diet.It's the same as being vegeterian but there is a website that is dedicated to the herbal diet.And Im even thinking of trying it myself.It's super good for you.All you eat is herbs,fruits and veggies.The herbs are so good they clear your body from all the horrible toxins that have damaged your insides over the years.And you loose all that nasty body fat.Go to: http://thefigtreeonline.com Click on the first result you see.I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 6

Parents can be extremely difficult when it comes to a vegetarian diet. I have been one for more than 15 years and I STILL get comments from my mom and dad. You are not alone. I recommend printing out some articles and either leaving them around the house right under her nose, or directly handing them to her. Print out a vegetarian food pyramid and post in either in your room or on your fridge and follow it ..so everyday you can say, "See mom, I got everything I needed today..how about you? Did you get your 5 fruits and veg today? Betcha you didnt" and then print out articles about how meat eaters get cancer more readily than veg do. I think that should help shut down some of her arguements, or when she starts in, leave the room immediately. She is not being respectful of you, so why should you be respectful of her?

Answer 7

Its a difficult question, because you can make her understand only if she's willing to. I think your best bet is not to avoid her, or just listen, or leave the room.

She's been a non-vegetarian all her life, and in her beliefs, so its unlikely that she is going to be kind to other thoughts.

You can talk about the following:

1. The only "advantage" that the proponents of non-vegetarian foods claim is a better quality and quantity of animal protein, over plant protein. This usually ignores that animal foods also contain more urea, fats and are far more likely to contain more disease causing germs.

2. The theory of "Protein Combining" that vegetarian food is deficient in different amino acids and so different vegetarian proteins like rice and beans should be eaten together, has long been junked.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_combining

3. The myth of high protein needs of humans (110-150g/day) was conceived about 100 years ago by Dr Voit, without any scientific basis, and has been positively contradicted by experiments suggesting a low protein diet (35-5g/day) by Prof Chittenden at Yale.
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/031200puprotein.htm

4. Largest animals in the world are vegetarian. They live longer and are stronger. For example elephants are vegetarian, and live 70 year or more. Compare them to lions who are non-vegetarians and live 10-14 years in natural habitats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephants
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions

5. Humans are primarily designed to be herbivorous. Carnivorous animals have small alimentary canal, and lots of canine teeth. Also most carnivores have claws, strong sense of smell and hearing to help them hunt. Humans have large alimentary canals, only 2 canine and incisors and mostly molars and premolars. They don't have claws, or strong sense of smell and hearing to help in hunting.

6. Finally, in this age of global warning, it is important to realize that every pound of beef requires much much more energy and water to produce, compared to vegetarian food, and production of non vegetarian food produces much more greenhouse gases like methane. At least she can understand you're turning vegetarian to save the world !!

Answer 8

Show her your articles that say that you can take vitamins or eat vegetables such as eggplant and chick peas for protein. Show her actual proof from legitimate sources becuase she might question the source. Otherwise live your life the way you want to and help her understand your journey.

Answer 9

my parents were the same way.

1. get a job to buy your own food
2. get a license so you have transportation
3. refuse to eat if she tries to have you eat meat.

worked for me,
i've been a veggie for almost 3 years now : )

Answer 10

Ohhhhh wow. What you need to do is tell her why this is important to you. I've been a vegetarian my whole life and I'm perfectly healthy. So tell her why you want to be vegan and how much it means.