How should I answer when someone asks me why I am a vegetarian?

Question

Living in a small town in Oklahoma, I have only met four other vegetarians in my whole life, and none of them are guys either! They all think that meat eating is associated with manliness. (Which, in my opinion, is at the top on the list of stupidest things in the world, second only to the notion that war is ever a good idea.) Very few people here understand vegetarianism and most think it to be stupid. How do I respond to the frequent question of "What would you want to be a vegetarian for?" without completley offending them but still expressing my strong beliefs and values?

Answer 1

i think it is very rude for people to ask a lot of the questions that they ask, but you will probably never be able to answer this question without offending someone, especially since EVERYONE is offended by something these days. when asked this question, i would simply say " before i answer you, i just have to ask, how can you eat those poor defenseless animals, does it make you feel manly? sorry, i know i am a bit of a smart a** but i feel that people need to learn to shut up and mind their own business.

Answer 2

I live in California (the vegetarian capital) and still have found no way to state why without the "meat eaters" getting mad or thinking im crazy. Sorry but most people are selfish. I noticed that if I say I am a vegetarian because I think its wrong to eat animals, I get a more negative response..then if I say "Im a vegetarian because I feel much better and healthier now". I made a website to express my beliefs instead of doing it when people ask me if I am vegetarian. I really dont think theres a way to do it.

Answer 3

There are at least a half a dozen discrete reasons why people become vegetarians! There are religous vegetarians, moral vegetarians, ecological vegetarians, health vegetarians, and others. So I would tell someone the reason you are a vegetarian. Try to put it in a way that expresses your feelings without judging a non-vegetarian asker. (I consider taking the life of another animal for my food to be wrong for me is better than I think meat-eater's are repugnant, for example).

Answer 4

first of all: there is no way to guarantee that no one will be offended. i'm sorry, but it's not possible.

second: do your research. are you a vegetarian because of the health ramifications of the meat-based diet? are you concerned with animal rights? is it a decision based on religion, faith, or spiritual beliefs? did you switch to vegetarianism because so-and-so is a vegetarian? i could care less what the motivation is, but get all your facts. for a while when i first made the switch, i carried around notecards with facts written on them so that i could answer questions quickly and eventually they became second nature to me.

third: answer honestly. you've got your facts. you know your reasons. be confident, but not condescending. people are more open to someone who is well-researched and well-spoken than to a person who it seems is only trying to convert or preach.

Answer 5

Be open and honest with them, without being defensive. When you make what is in this culture a very controversial lifestyle choice, you should be prepaired to explain yourself when you are questioned. Think of it this way, haven't you ever wondered why people ate meat? They are curious as to why you are vegetarian, they're most likely not looking to crucify you for your choice. After all, it is YOUR choice. And, you might just have a golden oppertunity to convert one of us meat eaters to a vegetarian if you explain your reasons in the right way.

Answer 6

Just be frank, and tell em the truth. Of course, if you think you are offending anyone, you could say it's your views..or beliefs, and you ahve no intention of offending any one, which I'm sure you aren.t

Oh and that thing about meat eating being associated with manliness. It is at the top of my list of male stupidity.

Answer 7

"What would you want to be a vegetarian for?"
Your answer should simply be. "why not? it's just preference, my preference, and you don't like meat"

if they press you then ask them, do they like Balut? if they say NO! then say "so it's your preference not to eat a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell?" then it's my preference not to eat meat.

What you are doing is reversing rolls so that they can see that eating food is just preferences. They might prefer to eat certain foods like meat and they have the right to do so and so should you.

You don't need to educate them because they will aways have a way to justify eating meat.


here's more background information on Balut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut

Answer 8

just say that u don't like meat , wts so hard for them to understand , they must be stubborn. tell them that some people dislike some stuff cuz thats the way they r , its not everyone likes everything i m sure that they don't like everything either. try telling them somethings abt how u love animals if u do or wt ever n dont feel like hurting them , or that they don't taste good to me. n by the way , u don't have to explain urself its none of there business if they don't seem to know y people r vegetarians then something is wrong with them. hope that helps

Answer 9

Hrm. properly, the first one is a fact of opinion and for this reason won't be able to be dis-shown. you should claim that different issues are extra important than empathy, or you should target to argue that empathy is wonderful expressed via something except vegan demonstrates love/empathy. human beings absolutely are not meant to be carnivores. there's no way you'll stumble on a lot information on the opposite. you should locate information that exhibits we are perfect for an omnivorous nutrition plan, notwithstanding. Meh, questionable. i ought to favor to understand his reason for this fact to renowned a thanks to argue hostile to it. regularly, notwithstanding, "ought to" isn't frequently an somewhat good argument. As for the fact about denial... this, i imagine, is widely used real. notwithstanding, many objections to meat will be truly eliminated through picking eco-friendly resources. Meat can and could continuously be body parts. you won't be able to get round it. Meat is made from lifeless animals. notwithstanding, that is a threat to get lifeless animals without lots of the nasties which includes hormones/insecticides, manure lagoons, and confinement. If the author means that the "denial about what meat extremely is" is denial that that is lifeless animals, you won't be able to refute the fact, extremely, till you do a polland ask human beings in the journey that they are conscious that pepperoni is parts of a pig's body and also you wind up getting as a rule "convinced" solutions. As for the "ok" fact, again, that is a fact of opinion and ought to't be refuted or shown. I propose, in case you spout a similar drivel about how human beings have eaten meat for hundreds of years, you would smash out with it. it really is rhetorically very susceptible, notwithstanding it would serve the applications of this task.

Answer 10

i think that if you are not vegetarian, you must tell them what you are really. Being a non-vegetarian is a good thing. But being a non vegetarian is also a good thing.
for example, some people say that you must not kill animals. And when you die, God will perhaps make you become an animal.
So we must do our best for not killing animals.
Because if we were one, we'll not be happy when someone kill us to eat...
Although i said that, i am not a vegetarian. Lol...

Answer 11

Simply ask, "Why would you ask someone else to care for, raise and eventually slaughter an animal just so you can eat it?" You in no way have to explain yourself to anyone other than yourself and God. It is what you want to do. It is very healthy, your skin looks great so don't even bother with the insolence bred from ignorance.