A different way of easing yourself into vegetarianism?

Question

A lot of people who come here want to know how to slowly become vegetarian.
One of the more followed methods is to drop one type of animal at a time from your diet, starting with cow, then moving toward pigs etc. and ending after sea animals.

Anyway, I was reading something the other day that said it may be even better to start with the chickens and fish and end with cow because each plate of fish = a dead fish, but it takes many plates of steak to equal the death of a cow.

Any thoughts?
People just ask here frequently and I was wondering if this method made sense (to people who want to go veg.)
:)

I forgot how huge tuna fish are, but many fish are small. Chickens are certainly quite small and feed far fewer people with their deaths than a cow.

Then take into account all the very small animals like shrimp... one dinner = the death of a whole lot of shrimp.
:)

lol, "The Lillyian Method".
You crack me up.
:)

Answer 1

Hi Lillyian,

thats am interesting way of looking at it. i guess morally it would be right if you equate each life as eqaul. For some reason many do not.

But, your suggestion has the added benefit of cutting out the animals that are not so obvious first. Every one knows you are not veggie if you eat beef, but some people get confused about fish.

So, if they cut out beef, pig, sheep first, they might not bother with the fish and therefore miss the full benefit.

So yes, your ideas sounds great and it would be interesting to see if it works for some.

shall we call it the "Lillyian Method" and just refer to your question link in the future..sounds like a plan to me.


Personally, i advocate a clean break becasue i feel a gradual move is a constant reminder to some people that they are "giving something up". Whereas in reality it much more postive than that.

Answer 2

Hmmm. I never thought of it like that.
I guess your question could be rephrased to say a different way of easing the enviornment into your vegetarian lifestyle...and that's not a bad thing, of course!

This method does make sense - esp. for people who are ultra concerned about the enviornment. But besides how many people each animal can feed, there are other factors to consider such as the killing and cleaning process - some methods put a lot of pollution into the air while others have minima effects. The harvesting/raising issue is huge as well. I read somewhere that a Scandanavian salmon farm (in a river) was wrecking all kinds of havoc on the ocean that it fed into. I think it would take a lot of research to find out which animal's death (from start to finish) had the most negative imparct on the Earth.

Answer 3

First I was fish, eggs and dairy. Fish were dropped, then eggs, now I'm just cutting dairy but I've broke a couple times. No matter, I'l be full vegan VERY soon. You'll find trying to find direct substitutes is an error. Being veggie requires a whole new palate and lifestyle. You're palate for the old foods goes away over time. It will happen, just be patient and stick to it. When you falter, get back on. Soon you won't even want' to eat that garbage anymore. Then after time you'll wonder how you could have ever eatten it. Potatos are a cheap and easy way to stuff your stomach by the way.

Answer 4

Well, if you look at it from an environmental point of view, it makes sense to stop eating beef first. Cows take a heavy toll on the earth, from the methane gasses they produce, to the vast amount of land used to graze them, to the amount of food and water they consume. Also, many fish are large enough that they can feed a lot of people.

Answer 5

From an ethical viewpoint, environmental viewpoint that makes sense, from a healthful viewpoint it is bad advice. Warm-blooded animals have the highest levels of cholesterol and fat.

I chose vegetarianism for health, the other viewpoints were adopted later. I was concerned with cholesterol, fat. The motivation was there to drop mammalian meat first. Bird's followed that and eventually fish and dairy.

So I would argue that it depends on your reasons for chosing vegetarianism.

I know PETA suggests the method you describe, looking at each individual life instead of the impact on our health. It is a good argument.

Answer 6

I stopped eating mammals first because eating their flesh gave me the more adverse affects initially. Then it started happening when I ate chickens' flesh. I think many people give up cows' flesh first because they belive chicken and fish are "healthier."

There are some people who advocate giving up dairy and eggs first because they're the cruelest to produce (believe it or not!)

You have to decide what feels right for YOU and take that path.

Answer 7

try reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian. That's a really good book that covers all the basics from jumping right in all the way to easing in slowly. It really helped me understand everything.

You can probably find the book at any book store, really. I got mine at Hastings.

Good luck!

Answer 8

Selfishly, I was more concerned with what the food was doing to me, rather than its impact on the environment.

I stopped eating mammals first, because they just aren't healthy. Stopped steak, then hamburgers, then pork, then all mammals completely.

After more than 20 years without eating meat, my cholesterol is 20 points below normal.

Answer 9

Keep in mind, large fish like tuna and salmon are carnivores - farming them is really innefficient.

Answer 10

an easy way of getting yourself into veggie tareean LOL is to start eating more vegtables than you uslly do.
hope i helped :)