Meat eater's guilt ?

Question

Is there anyone else out there who can't quite make the jump to vegetarianism but is wracked with meat-eather's guilt? I had to follow the chicken truck down the interstate today (the one taking them to slaughter) and wanted to cry. Yet I can't quite get away from my cravings for meat. (Even though I mostly eat vegetarian) How can I make it the rest of the way to vegetarianism? One friend suggested eating BEFORE I get hungry, which does help. But does anyone have any other suggestions?

BTW, I'm definitely not trying to "impress" anyone. I think that people are probably naturally omnivores, so I would never criticize someone else for eating meat. But as a huge animal lover, I just find myself feeling increasingly bad for eating them, especially because of the poor conditions in meat processing houses. (If my grandpa still cut the chickens heads off the old fashioned way on the farm, my guilt would probably be less...)

Answer 1

Guilt? Good Lord.

Answer 2

I've been a vegetarian going on 17 years now... and the cravings surpassed a long time ago. You can "retrain" your brain to crave or not crave anything in due time, no matter what your into (for example, sugar, cigs, caffeine, etc).
But I agree with other posts that morning star by far has the best tasting replacements. I don't eat them because I miss meat, I just use them to add variety to my diet and get extra protein...
As nasty as this sounds, another way to get off of meat is to rent videos or read books about how cruel the meat industry is to animals. It's far from pleasant, but it will help you stay strong.

Answer 3

Have you tried meat alternatives? There are a lot of meat alternative products that are more and more easy to get now...and even taste better! Especially with chicken...everything ranging from soy nuggets to soy chicken patties. The only bad thing about these products is that, like most other frozen processed food, the sodium is very high. Still though, it's a great option for now as you're breaking the meat habit.

Answer 4

It's natural to feel guilty. We are humans - compassionate beings! When you see a cute little bunny do you have the impulse to sink your teeth into it? Have you ever seen a cow in person - withthose big, brown eyes - did you want to slit its throat and rip the skin off it's body and carve it into steaks? Probably not. You probably went "Awww" and wanted to melt because she was so frickin cute. The only reason MOST people eat meat is because there's a detachment. They don't see what the animals go through so they dont think about it. To them, meat is that stuff that comes in plastic packages or between two buns. They don't make the connection because they know if they did they would have a hard time with it. It's totally normal. I have seen some of the "Meet Your Meat" videos, but the other day I watched the whole thing from beginning to end (at http://meat.org) and I don't even eat meat and I was reduced to tears with guilt over all the pain and suffering that I contributed to for so many years. I wish I could go back and change all that, but I can't. I only have control over what I do NOW. And I choose not to be a part of unecessary torture and killing in the name of food that isn't even good for my health.
My suggestion to you is to listen to your conscience. Science has pretty much proven that cravings are in the mind and can be overcome.
I used to order exta cheese on everything and thought that I could never live without cheese. Last year for Xmas I had a frickin gourmet cheese party, for god's sake. That's how much I loved cheese. It took reading information like in this article ( http://www.celestialhealing.net/milkpage.htm ) and really thinking about how dumb it was to consume cow milk and then reading the China Study ( http://thechinastudy.com) and that was it. I never even came close to caving in to a dairy craving again and I can't even imagine putting that stuff in my mouth now. No way, no how. You would get to the same point with meat after a couple months - guaranteed. Just allow yourself to admit how wrong you know it is and the rest will follow.
I think you should read a book called SKINNY *****. And watch some videos of what goes on in slaughterhouses. Even if that crap happens once in a blue moon (for arguement's sake - it's actually common) you don't want to be a part of that.
Good luck. You can do it. You are stronger than ANY craving!

Answer 5

I had a hard time quitting eating chickens, so I watched a video of the slaughterhouses and the battery cages, I haven't touched chicken since. There are really good alternatives to chicken, like the Bocca Chik-n-patties and nuggets. I even fooled a meat eater friend with those, he thought they were real chicken.

Answer 6

Like everyone said, replace the meat you would eat with analogues. You should also learn to cook with tofu, tempeh, and seitan (made from wheat gluten) as well. Seitan is sometimes called wheat-meat, and it's fairly easy to make (just time consuming because it has to simmer for an hour), and it subs really well in meaty recipes.

Amy's Texas Burger is my favorite veggie burger. Also check out Gardenburger, Lightlife, Tofurkey, and Yves--most are available at conventional grocery stores, but your local natural foods store or Whole Foods almost certainly will have them. Trader Joe's has soy nuggets that are pretty decent and a decent selection of vegetarian foods.

Check out www.vegweb.com for recipes and resources. Go to www.cok.net for a starter guide. And pick up "Skinny *****" for more reasons and a kick in the keister to go veg. It also lists vegetarian resources and lists vegan packaged foods. A good cookbook for you to start might be "The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook" by Robin Robertson; it's full of hearty recipes for recovering meat addicts.

Good luck!

Answer 7

I had the exact same problem before I gave it up completly.

I "relapsed" several times before completly cutting meat out of my diet. Chicken was the hardest.

Meat substitutes like Morning Star Farms & Boca, really helped me out.

Not to mention the fact that all the innocent animals that are being brudally tortured and murdered just for the hell of it.

Answer 8

Thanks for your compassion for the chickens. Before I went veg, I had to drive by a turkey farm almost every day and I had the same reaction as yours. It just got to be too much.

Finding delicious faux meat products really helps.. my favorites are Boca Chik'n Patties, Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chik'n Strips, Tofurkey deli slices, and Nate's Meatless Meatballs. Other good ones are listed here: http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp

Once you've found some good faux meat products, you can make a list of your favorite meals and recipes... then figure out how to modify them to create vegetarian versions. So instead of a turkey sandwich, you could use Tofurkey deli slices... etc.

These sites have lots of other transition tips:
http://www.vegcooking.com/makingthetransition.asp
http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/

Good luck!!

Answer 9

I'm not offering this a "health" option, but have you ever tried some of the fake meats out there? Some are terrible but others are quite good. You may be able to use them to temper your cravings.

Morningstar farms is a good brand.

Answer 10

Why not eat meat occasionally. It won't hurt you. Why is it so important to be a vegetarian. Why put yourself through this guilt.
Who are you trying to impress - Yourself or other people. Do what ever makes you feel comfortable and don't fret over your decision.
Never ever 2nd guess yourself. Thats what you decided so go with it. Don't turn back.