Vegan help!!!! Please help your fellow vegan a.s.a.p.! :(?

Question

O.k., so I've been hardcore vegetarian since I was like 5, and have been vegan in recent years. I grew up and still grow up in an environment where everyone eats meat and literally have no concious problems about it. You see, I don't force my vegan opinions on everyone else, but sure, yes, it would be nice if I somehow could convince my parents that they should at least turn vegetarian. I don't think my parents could ever turn vegan, because, well, they like meat...ugh...I want to cry, really I do. Anyways, I'm the kind of vegan who knows why it's amazing to be a vegan, but in order to convince my parents (for the 1,000,000 time, oh no...) I need your help to give me some real statistics and vital information that I could put in a slideshow to convince them to move on over to becoming a vegan. I know it's a shame that I'm a vegan and I can't put up a good debate, so as others can see what good points are being vegan, but I guess it's been hard for me to put something together with facts of information, instead of relying on my emotions to let people see things my way. My parents are always about facts, statistics, etc. and won't be convinced by my crying all the time about them turning vegan. Yes, they support me, but no, they don't convert. I guess, it's just that the people I'm close to, like my parents and friends, are the people I seem to be trying to persuade (subtely, by the way) the most, because I care about them the most, you know, and since they care about me, I feel like they should try and understand more. It's been years of trying to convince but I would appreciate some good counterarguments and any information I could use in a persuasive slide show...sorry if I keep using the same words over and over again, but I'm not the smartest nor eloquent person you have ever seen. lol! :) Anyways, yeah, I would appreciate anything and thank you for reading this. Oh, and by the way, seeing the way animals are treated in videos such as on youtube doesn't make their heart melt even a little. My dad grew up on a farm and like to decapitate chickens for fun and my mom...well, she's asian, and no offense to asians, but yes, cuturually she grew up eating meat, as well as some other animal stuff I don't want to mention...do you vegans ever feel hopeless and depressed like me? Oh, I really do type too much, but please, someone give me advice! You don't know how much I appreciate you all! :) Oh, yeah, and please don't mind if I might e-mailing you about questions concering being a vegan because I don't have any vegan friends, nor have any support group so to speak..lol! Well, o.k. I'll really stop typing now. :)

Answer 1

I would not suggest trying to convince anyone to change their diet unless they have told you that they want to.  Otherwise, you're just going to annoy them and make them hate your choices even more.

Answer 2

Pros and Cons of Being Vegetarian and Being a Meat Eater

  



Most individuals who have switched to a vegetarian lifestyle at some point in their lives (who weren't

born into it), have done so following some form of perceived enlightenment, or after the realization that

consuming animal products is either anti-religious, anti-earth (to save the planet), against animal rights,

or that it is simply unhealthy.  I have been testing and treating a large number of vegetarian patients over



more than two decades, so I'm presenting arguments for and against the consumption of animal-based

products from a health-point of view.





Contrary to vegan-based reviews or commentaries, people following a strict vegetarian diet are not



healthier than their omnivorous counterparts.  In fact, on average, they suffer from as many, or more



medical complaints as compared to non-vegetarian individuals, who include meat or eggs in their diet.





There is absolutely no question that the average person does best health-wise by consuming a mixed



diet that is as fresh, and hopefully as unprocessed as possible.  Beyond that, an individual assessment



is required to provide the necessary information to help make a decision of whether one's diet should



be adjusted with greater emphasis toward 1) specific food groups, 2) a change in the percentage of



the carb, protein or fat content of a meal, or 3) toward a more vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet, -



for a more optimal approach to health.  Mineral ratios (high potassium / low sodium, high calcium / low



phosphorus...) of certain foods or beverages also deserve some attention as they can have a favorable



or unfavorable effect on someone's health problems.





Kidney and liver chemistry are the chief resources to base the decision on of whether a patient would



benefit more from an omnivorous, or vegetarian lifestyle.  Individuals who predominately exhibit lower



levels of protein, phosphorus, sodium, iron and/or manganese, and higher levels of potassium and/or



zinc are certainly candidates for diets with a greater emphasis on meat, while those with a tendency for



higher levels of the above (protein, phosphorus, sodium, iron and manganese), and lower levels of zinc

and potassium are better candidates to adopt vegetarianism, and they should reduce or avoid animal-



based food sources as much as possible.





With some medical problems (i.e. renal failure), a vegetarian-based diet becomes almost mandatory,



but even then certain types of vegetables, i.e. those that are oxalic acid-rich, would have to be avoided.



On the other hand, patients exhibiting very high levels of cellular potassium and/or zinc, and as such are

at a greater risk for developing chronic genitourinary conditions, including ovarian / testicular cancer,



should avoid strict vegan-types of diets that tend to promote much higher cellular levels of both of these

elements. (see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Zinc & Potassium").





There are only animal, but no vegetarian sources of Vitamin B12, which is why herbivores (i.e. rabbits)



meet their Vitamin B12 requirements by eating plants that are infested with insects, or by eating their

own f***s, while in ruminants (sheep, cows), the microbes fermenting and digesting plant material in the



rumen (the first stomach) incorporate cobalt into Vit B12, which is subsequently absorbed and utilized.



(see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Nickel & Cobalt").





Vitamin B12 liver stores in adults may last for several years before becoming depleted as a result of



switching to a strict vegan or vegetarian diet, however Vitamin B12 deficiency in vegetarian children is



much more serious since symptoms do not always become obvious or acute until some damage has



resulted.  So while it is recommended to supplement extra amounts of Vitamin B12 with vegetarian



adults, it is mandatory with vegetarian children!



Because of improved sanitation, this is much more important in Western societies, since in lesser

developed parts of the world, insect or f***s-contaminated fruits or vegetables have generally been



sources of Vitamin B12 for those growing up in a predominantly vegetarian environment or culture.





It may also be advisable to supplement a very small amount (DRI/RDA) of the active form of Vitamin B6

(pyridoxal-5-phosphate), since vegetarian sources of Vit B6 only supply the inactive form (pyridoxine),

which will have to be converted to the active form by the liver, however the efficiency of the liver to do so

may be compromised with certain types of liver diseases.  Ideally, when supplementing Vitamin B6 as



pyridoxine, a brand should be purchased that automatically supplies a small percentage of Vitamin B6



as pyridoxal-5-phosphate, or P5P.  Both, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B6 (along with folic acid and others)

are also able to lower homocysteine levels w

Answer 3

You know, I have a lot of respect for people who are capable of having very strong beliefs but don't force those beliefs on others.  I was pretty happy to see that you claimed to not "force my vegan opinions on everyone else."  To me, though, arguing it with your parents "for the 1,000,000 time" sounds like harassment.  I know that after once or twice having the same conversation with someone I just stop listening.  Besides, it sounds like they're perfectly happy and comfortable in their lives.  If you really want to get through to them, you're going to have to give it a good long pause (even a couple of years) before you try talking to them again, and even then they may just ignore you.  They probably tuned you out ages ago just for being annoying.  I know I would've.

Answer 4

Since your parents don't seem to care much about animals, maybe you could find ways to connect vegetarianism with issues that they do care about -- health, the environment, world hunger, religion, etc. Check out http://www.goveg.com/theissues.asp for info on the various benefits of vegetarianism.

Some good points:

-A 2006 United Nations report summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.

-The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have “lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; … lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer” and that vegetarians are less likely than meat-eaters to be obese.

-Vegetarians and vegans live, on average, six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters.

Also, keep in mind that your parents are just two people in the world. You could prevent more animal suffering by leafleting many people instead of focusing on persuading your family. Even if it seems like people in your town don't care, I bet there are a good number who would care and change their eating habits if they were more informed about factory farming.

In the words of Vegan Outreach:

"Spreading animal-friendly eating is a numbers game.

Don't dwell on the people you know who won't change.

Instead, go out and leaflet at a college!

You'll do more good in an hour than spending years on many of the people you know."

You can order literature here:

http://www.veganoutreach.org/catalog/ind...

http://petaliterature.com/

http://www.peta2.com/TAKECHARGE/t-diyact...

I hope this helps! Feel free to e-mail me anytime.

Answer 5

Why don't You leave them in piece?If so many times they refuse to get it,then all You achieve is bad relations with them,or worse ones.You want to help THEM or their vegetarianity?And so they do not get it.I am vegetarian,I know how people react on it.They think"here is just another little srazy idiot,who says boring nonsences which noone wants to go into detail of here because it is boring like h**l".Leave them there,better waste the freed so time to proceed Yourself into veganism etc,its best for both You AND them

Answer 6

I stopped reading at the point where you said your parents could not be vegan because they like meat, but they could be vegetarian.

I've no idea how that works

You might wish  to use white space to improve the clarity of your posts. The text is understandable, but there is too much in one block - most people will not be bothered to read it.

Answer 7

I'm not vegan but I understand your feelings.  If you feel your people are open to convincing go ahead.

I suggest instead of convincing them of why your way is so amazing you get information on the stuff you find repulsive.

Try a book called Fast Food Nation.  But just don't hand it to them go through it and get the story then get outside facts to support the author so you have supporting authority.  When you get the author's name, sorry I can't remember it, you can get other books by him about our food industry.   I believe he wrote another book called Kitchen Confidential too.  At the very least you will get your family out of the reasturants and back home in their own kitchen  Then you can offer to cook a meal once in a while and make it a vegan one.

Good luck.

Answer 8

Perhaps your parents just tune you out on this topic.  I know I would if all your statements turn into as much a rant as this question has.

Answer 9

You said "I don't force my vegan opinions on everyone else". Well, just leave your family to enjoy their food.

My wife and I have been married for a long time. We have always voted for a different political party. The subject is never brought up at home. We can all have different views within a family and sometimes it's best to just leave it at that.