Other reasons my mom dont let me mbe vegetarian...?

Question

1.Meat has lots of protein-We would need to eat lots of other stuff to replace a peace of meat(Gosh this is a stupid one)
2.We also kill plants by eating them
3.Vegetarians are always pale and have heath probs.
4.I eat eggs,and those are baby chickens(Is this supposed to make me become a vegan?)
5.Ill die(How nice of my mom to say)


Please help me reply to all this..

Just to set thing straight:
I didnt ever call my mom stupid,Im not doing this to annoy her or whatever.
I like my mom but she'll just have to deal with this.

Answer 1

OK.

1. Soya products-such as tofu and tempeh-contain all the essential amino acids found in animal protein and are actually higher in protein than some meats.The human body doesn't actually need much protein-it only has to make up about 5-8% of your diet.The typical western diet has far too much protein not too little.

2. Yes but unlike animals plants (and fungus like mushrooms) have no brains or nervous systems so they cannot feel pain or fear.

3. Nope only those who become vegetarian without researching the ways to have a properly balanced vegetarian diet do.Most vegetarians are as healthy as omnivores.Sometimes more healthy as they take less fat and cholesterol etc.

4. Virtually all eggs sold in stores are unfertilised and would NEVER hatch. (Having said this I am vegan but that's not a path for everyone)

5. Erm.....no you won't.-refer her to my answers to points 1 and 3 as to how you could be perfectly healthy as a vegetarian.Well obviously you'll die eventually but not because your a vegetarian.Vegetarians and vegans often live a bit longer than omnivores as our diets mean we are less prone to certain cancers and to heart attacks caused by high fat intake etc.

Having said all this it will be tricky to be a vegetarian if your under 18 and still at home and she is determined to stop you. If she makes it impossible then settle for eating vegetarian meals as much as you can-for lunch at school,when you go out with friends etc-and become vegetarian when your 18 and it is no longer her business what you eat.

Answer 2

Answers to issues raised by mum:

1. Beans, lentils, eggs, tofu, soya etc all have protein in them.
2. Plants aren't killed by us eating them, they wouldn't be grown in the first place if people didn't eat them.
3. Vegetarians who make sure they get all of the nutrients and nourishment they need AREN'T always pale and have health problems. I eat meat and still look pale and have quite a few health problems.
4. Eggs ARE NOT baby chickens!! They haven't been fertilised and therefore would never develop into chicks.
5. Your mum will die, you will die, I will die, everyone will die. That's just the way it is with life. Being veggie won't speed up the process. Things happen that cause an early death, many people live long and happy lives and it doesn't matter if they eat meat or not!!!

If you want to be a veggie, for whatever reasons you may have, research the best diet you could have to ensure proper nutrition, that would help show your mum that you're serious about this. All the best.

Answer 3

1. chick peas etc have protein in them, meat doesnt have as much protein in it as people seem to think!
2. plants dont have a heartbeat or a face that can look at you
3. Anthony Keidis isnt pale and hes very muscular and he's vegan! Andre from outkast, he's vegan and well..black lol
4. This is a hard one, for a start it's not a baby chicken as its not been fertilised say that to her and then ask her to re-explain the birds and the bees to you and watch her squirm lol. Either that or say "fine Ill go vegan then" that'll terrify her lol
5. 3 million veggies in the uk are still alive and kicking lol but yes you will die...eventually...like everyone else on the world will...you know from old age! probably an older age than most meateaters.

My proper advice tho...don't bother arguing, try and ignore her and do what you want, she'll come round, my family did. She's just got to get used to the idea :)

Answer 4

Peta actually have quite a useful fact sheet to answer questions or statements like your mum is making www.peta.org. for instance plants do not have a central nervous system so cannot be compared to animals in the whole pain thing. There are also quite a lot of celebrity vegetarians who look neither pale nor sickly. You can use these as examples to counter balance her arguments too. The best thing to do is research so you don't have to keep going over old ground the vegetarian society and the vegan society have some use full information on meat alternatives to get vitamins and protein. Your mum probably is only trying to do what she thinks is best for you so talk to her properly about how you feel and try and stay calm if you start to argue nothing will get resolved.

Answer 5

A few answers:

1) There are plenty of fake meat substitutes, as well as tofu, tempeh and nut butters for protein.

2) Plants don't have central nervous systems, so there's no comparison.

3) Not all vegetarians have health problems. Point out a few great vegan/vegetarian athletes, like Carl Lewis.

4) Eggs also don't have central nervous systems. (Although, she's kind of got a point on this one...I'm vegan, and avoid eggs due to the cruelty of the production conditions.)

5) No, you won't.

If it makes you feel any better, I almost went vegan when I was in high school, and stopped because my mom was against it to. It took many more years before I finally took the plunge. And I love being vegan!!!

Answer 6

1) You can get protien in most anything. Your body only needs 5% protien intake per day and 6% if you are pregnant. If your body doesn't use it then it gets stored as fat. Here is a website with a list of protiens.
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm

2) Plants have no cetral nervous system and do not feel pain. Animals feel every bit of pain and frustration as they are raised in factory farms and slaughtered.

3) And you've never see a pale meat eater health problems. Anyone can have health problems if they don't eat a balanced diet. That has nothing to do with being vegetarian or not. Skin color is simply pigment and has nothing to do with what you eat. If anything becoming a vegetarian helps prevent health problems such as colon cancer, heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. It also detoxes your body and prevents digestive build-up which can lead to bacterial infections which slow down your bodies immune system making you feel drowsy.

4) Eggs are not baby chickens they are unfertilized eggs of a chicken. It's like the egg passed by a female human during menestration. The egg is not fertilized and no baby can be born.

5) I don't see how you will die. People have been vegetarian for their whole lives. Here is a list of people who were vegetarian who lived long happy lives and even some atheletes.
http://www.veganathlete.com/vegan_vegetarian_athletes.php
http://pw2.netcom.com/~axleplus/stuff/veggie/celebs.html

Answer 7

My answers are:

1. Not true. There are lots of non meat foods with protein, especially legumes (beans and peas).
2. Yes, so? What are we supposed to do, starve to death?
3. Not true; it's just something meat eaters made up. Where are all these pale vegetarians? Show me one. What about black people; do they turn white if they become vegetarian?
4. I guess eggs are baby chickens if they are fertile. Most eggs used for food aren't fertile as far as I know. I don't eat eggs, though.
5. Everybody is going to die. There's no evidence that vegetarians are going to die sooner than anyone else.

Answer 8

1. Protein is really easy to get. Research some major sources of protein besides meat and show them to her.

2. What is your reason for going vegetarian? No one's really going to be able to help you respond to this but yourself. Think about it for awhile, what's the difference between eating an animal and eating a plant to you? Tell her that.

3. Nope! Veggie for twelve years and doing fine. Maybe show her some examples of long-term vegetarians that aren't pale and sickly? There's sites everywhere on the internet of celebrities/important people who are vegetarian. Maybe show her how healthy they look.

4. Eggs are not fertilized. It's up to you if you want to go vegan, but most don't eat eggs to protest the way the chicken who is laying the eggs are treated.

5. Well, everyone will die but I don't think it will be from your vegetarianism. Again, maybe show her examples of famous vegetarians that HAVEN'T died yet?

Answer 9

I don't know how old you are, but if you want to be a veggie, stick to your principles and be admired for it. You get protein from lots of other foods. Vegetarians are usually healthier. eggs that you eat are not fertilised and therefore not baby chickens. I have been a strict vegetarian for over 35 years, full of energy, definitely healthy, feel good about my choice because I personally am not adding to the slaughtering of innocent animals and intensive cruel farming methods. Get your mother a book on what vegetarianism really is. She doesn't know what she's talking about.

Answer 10

1. Meat also has enormous amounts of fat and cholesterol
2. If she really cares about the plants, she'd be a vegetarian, because it takes a lot more grain and wheat to feed cows than it does to feed humans.
3. You could call yourself an omnivore, but if all you eat ate were ham sandwiches, potato chips, and milkshakes, you'd have health problems as well-it's all about what you eat, not what you call yourself.
4. By her logic, every time a girl has her period, she is killing an unborn child-Laying eggs is just a hens way of PREPARING to conceive a chick, not automatically producing one and fertilizing it herself.
5. Well, we're all going to die someday, I guess it's just a choice of how soon, how relatively healthy you'll be when it happens, and how much pain, suffering, and death you'll have caused during your lifetime.
Please don't be put off by people who tell you that going against your mothers wishes will make you a rebellious brat who thinks she knows better than her parents. Just because your mother has opinions on a subject, doesn't make them the right opinions that you have to believe in as well. My parents are old-fashioned when it comes to things like immigrants and people of other nationalities, but I realize that their attitude is wrong, and I can't discriminate against others because of who their parents are or where they were born.
I realize that their attitude toward animals and the meat industry is wrong, and that I can't support the confinement, torture, and slaughter of billions of animals a year.
Please remember that going against your mother's opinions doesn't make you rebellious or a brat-it means that you're making an educated decision and can think and decide for yourself what your life should be like.