Vegetarians, have you ever slipped up?

Question

I was at a bbq this weekend at someone's house I didn't know very well at all, he was smoking pork shoulders for bbq and I said I was a vegetarian, he pretty much insisted I try the bbq even though there was other stuff there. I didn't want to seem rude and he was right beside me so I took like two bites, it tasted bad to me and I felt a little sick that I ate it at all. I feel really bad now that I did that, has anyone else slipped up like this, I've only been veg for about a month now and I really like it, I just feel really guilty, should I, or should I just forget about it? Please no rude comments.

Answer 1

FORGET ABOUT IT!!! =)

I kind of understand your reason for not wanting to be rude; it has happened to me several times. But you must understand that you were not being rude. If anything, he was being rude for trying to persuade you into eating meat (unless he was doing it in a friendly manner =)).

Answer 2

Stand up for yourself and what you believe in.  Accepting meat just so you won't seem rude is not OK.  Stick to your guns next time...for yourself, the environment, and for the animals.  www.meat.org.

It's probably good that happened though because you learned that you are not missing much.  Next time you will realize that you don't have to go against all of your beliefs to make someone else happy.

You will have to just move on.  Use it as a learning experience.  Don't feel guilty.  We all have weaknesses.  You just have to build up your strength.

You didn't do it because you wanted meat.  I can tell.  You did it because you wanted to make that guy happy.  You need to take care of yourself and worry less about hurting people's feelings.

Answer 3

Our bodies are so different and I was a total vegan and became weak and I finally stick with a 80% vegetarian diet and limit meats to lean variety.  I don't consider it a slip up it is just that I have more energy.  We are all just different and I know vegans that are quite healthy people.

Answer 4

When I was 6 years old I was at a zoo and my dad looked at the cow & called her a hamburger.. I thought that was kind of rude, so I became a vegetarian... for about 3 weeks... What happened was my mom made bacon and she asked me if I wanted any. I said no but I was so hungry, I couldn't resist. I felt horrible. I became one again when I was 12...

I'm now 19 years old and a proud vegan! I never slipped up after that. When  I get something from a grocery store or restaurant, I have to check my food to see if theres any meat in it. I don't trust them that much, hehe

Don't worry, you're not the only one ;D

Answer 5

You should keep being one if that's what you want, just turning towards a vegetarian diet is better than eating meat all the time. Personally I've never slipped up but one of my good friends has been vegetarian for 2 years and she had turkey last week.

Answer 6

I am gulity

My husband surprised me with a lobster for our anniversary when I 1st went veg. He thought lobster did not count. I have to admit it tasted good, but then I thought about the pain it had to endure for me to eat it.

I think most people slip up, just move on .

Answer 7

Your friend was extremely rude for insisting that you eat meat!  If he really understood what being a vegetarian was about, he wouldn't have done that.

You probably shouldn't have given in to him, but it's over now and I wouldn't dwell on it.  Just try not to do it again in the future!  If it happens again, explain to your friend why you're a vegetarian, and how that means that you NEVER eat meat.  Most people will understand.

I've never slipped up on purpose or given in to anyone, but I have accidently eaten meat without knowledge.  One time at a sushi restaurant the waiter didn't explain what each roll was made of, and I ended up taking a bite of a roll that had squid in it.  Eww!  I didn't get sick, and I felt bad for a minute, but I didn't beat myself up about it because it was an accident.  I've also inadvertently eaten products with stuff like gelatin, etc., because I didn't know that such products are made from animals.  Now I check the ingredients of everything I eat, even if it doesn't obviously contain meat.

Answer 8

i had a burger once because my parents kept pressuring me to stop being vegetarian, so i wanted to see if meat still appealed to me. i iiked it, but felt sick about it later and decided to stay vegetarian (have been since) its okay, we wont judge you. slipping up is okay, most do

Answer 9

I've never eaten meat on purpose since i was veggie. I have slipped occasionally eating something i didn't know wasn't vegetarian, like a yoghurt or something.

You need to learn to be a bit more resilient and stick up for your beliefs. But just move on from what happened, we're all allowed mistakes and if you actually like being a vegetarian, then that's alright.

Answer 10

yeah, :/ if im at someones house and they're serving meat i dont want to be rude or high maitnence. just forget about it though it happens. just one piece is fine especially if you've only been a veg for a month, ur still getting used to it.

Answer 11

just learn from it then move on.

You've been veggie for a month, and I'm guessing you are quite young, so you could have 70 years of being a veggie. 2 little bites are nothing really, don't worry about it.

Perhaps worry more about how you gave in to such mild pressure, you don't want to do that all your life.

Answer 12

don't worry about it i don't know a vegetarian that hasn't slipped up. Bacon use to be my favorite food and when i stopped  eating meat it was hard to not eat it or get it when i went to a restaurant  but the truth is it gets harder before it gets easier don't feel guilty just stick to the tofu from now on :)

Answer 13

I wouldn't waste any time feeling guilty. Nobody is perfect. The best thing you can do is to strengthen your resolve to ensure that it does not happen again.  The important thing is that you are taking steps to reduce the number of animals being slaughtered.

During the first few months of becoming a vegetarian, things like this will happen a LOT. People will try to "test" you or convince you to eat meat--- people did it to me a LOT. Part of it is that:

  a)people don't respect your beliefs

  b)people don't believe that YOU. REALLY. DON'T. EAT. MEAT.

  c)people want you to be like them

It is kind of like being around people who do drugs when you no longer do drugs. Or quitting smoking and hanging out with your friends that still smoke. The only difference is that eating meat is legal AND it is socially acceptable.

Sometimes we are put in situations where being a vegetarian is really HARD. I can tell you that I have screwed up more than once. From 2001-2005 I lived in a small town right outside of Houston, TX and my vegetarian options were few and far between. Not only that, but people were outspoken AGAINST vegetarians. I had to drive for 45 minutes to get to a Whole Foods. When I was hungry and had to eat out, being a vegetarian was REALLY hard. Not because I wanted meat but because meat was all that was available. Many times I was stuck eating french fries. After two years of being veg I went back on meat for three months because I was so frustrated.  I was so glad when Burger King came out with the Veggie Whopper. You get the idea.

Thankfully I am in another (much more liberal) state now.