Would you, or could you ever go vegetarian?

Question

I've been vegetarian for 3 months; prior to that, I loved meat. Loved it. All my favourite foods were meat based. In fact, I rarely ate a meal that didn't contain meat.

Then one day, I began thinking about it, and decided that my desire to eat meat couldn't outweigh the fact that I thought it was wrong for animals to be forced into an unnatural life, and to be bred to die. I still think meat is freaking delicious, but morally, I just can't eat it anymore.

Ever since, I've done a lot of reading about vegetarianism and the conditions that animals are kept in before they end up on your plate. The meat industry is pretty disgusting, and that's putting it lightly.

I'm not here to push an agenda though - I'm just interested to know what it would take (if anything!) for the average lover-of-eating-meat to go vegetarian?

Answer 1

I was a vegetarian for 11 years.  From age 12 - 23...Not for morals, but because I didn't like the taste of meat, the texture, etc...then one day I just had a hankering for for a big juicy burger.  That was 10 years ago and I love all things meat now.  Go figure.

For me to go back to vegetarianism they'd have to make soy and tofu products taste that good.  Sorry.

Answer 2

I'm closer now to being vegetarian than I've ever been but it's still a ways away.

Please choose a best answer or Maria/Peace will vote herself best answer with her many accounts.

Answer 3

I became a vegetarian a little while ago but now i'm a  vegan and I love it! I'll probably be vegan for the rest of my life!

Answer 4

oh no never!  love meat.

Answer 5

Meat is an important part of my diet.  The only reason I would go vege would be a Major health issue.

Answer 6

hey  i just became a strict vegetarian and it wasn't that hard once i got my vegetarian started kit form     http:/www.goveg.com i cut everything out cold turkey with no relapse is the best thing that ever happened to me it feels great it might be hard at first cuz some people make stupid remarks but hey dont listen to them u only have to respond to ur self

Answer 7

No.

Being on a vegetarian diet would be so restrictive and boring.

Answer 8

For me, all it took was for someone to present a logical, thorough argument in favor of it.  I knew vegetarians existed before that, but I didn't know any and I had never pondered why someone would do that.  Then I stumbled on a book with a series of essays covering reasons to eschew meat.  It covered animal cruelty, ecological reasons, health reasons, spiritual reasons, and also had a pretty compelling gross-out chapter about how diseased animals end up in the food supply.  It took me maybe 45 minutes to read it and another 45 seconds to decide never to eat meat again.  I wouldn't say I "loved" meat before that, but I ate it regularly like anyone else and I certainly liked it.  But giving it up turned out to be really easy once I had an arsenal of reasons why.

Answer 9

I've done the veggie thing but it's not for me.  I do think most Americans eat way too much meat though as evidenced by the portion sizes in restaurants.  

A portion of meat should be about 3 oz or about the size of a deck of cards.   I eat less than a half pound of meat per week and two or three onces is more common.  Eating more than a pound of meat per week I think is unhealthy and unethical.

Answer 10

I'm a vegitarian... I just became one almost two weeks now... I'm thinking of becoming a vegan but I'm just going to take it slow...

Answer 11

I've been vegetarian for ages. Being a college student, it means you can save a load of money too!

I'd never go back...

Answer 12

I have been a vegetarian for 6 months now!!!

and it is the best decision i have ever made!!

one person not eating meat saves some animals life, but alot of people not eating meat, saves so many animals life's!!!

here are some websites you can go to, to get info:

www.goveg.com(i got a free vegetarian kit there)

www.theveggietable.com/articles/veggie...

www.petakids.com/vegetarian.html

Answer 13

i'm a vegan.

Answer 14

Yes, I was the average meat lover and turned vegetarian quite unexpectedly.  I thought no way would I ever stop eating meat. However, I'd been having terrible problems with insomnia, very low energy, difficulty concentrating at work because of my lack of sleep and I was starting to see cellulite on my body. It was a gradual thing, but it got to the point where I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. I've always been thin and athletic, so I coudn't understand why this was happening.

A couple of years back I bought the book "Eat Right for Your Type" and since I am type "O" they recommended a diet high in protein. I thought "yay!" I love meat, so I really liked what the book was telling me. However,  I believe That diet actually made me feel worse - clogged up and lethargic are two words that come to mind.

I though what I really needed was to go on a juice fast, but while at the bookstore I saw another book called "Skinny Bit**" - that book really got me interested in learning more about how the meat got to my table. I read the whole book in one day and haven't eaten meat since. I've also stopped buying milk.

Prior to becoming a vegetarian I was a "gourmet" meat eater. I was the one going to the specialty meat counter at the expensive market and buying only filet mignon, organic ground beef, or "Rosie" free range chickens. I was an extremely picky meat eater and would spend a lot of time preparing my food, cutting out all of the gross parts to guarantee that nobody bit into a piece of gristle.

As I was preparing those meats the thought was always in my mind ... I'm throwing away in the trash or putting into the garbage disposal a once living creature. Also, I remember having to take the trash out whenever I prepared meats so that my kitchen didn't smell like rotting meat.

I'm enjoying being a vegetarian so much more than when I was a meat eater. I don't miss eating the meat because there are so many tasty alternatives and I'm eating much better now because before my meals would center around a piece of meat with a little side dish of vegetable, but now I'm getting all veggies fruits, and grains. My body feels a lot cleaner now (my kitchen, too).

Luckily, I live in an area with a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, so there are so many options available to a person on a vegetarian diet. I go to the farmer's market every weekend and experiment with new recipes all the time. Right now it's like an adventure for me. My diet now is more varied and definitely not boring since I'm always trying new things.

My husband still eats meat, but he's been eating the stuff I cook and he likes it as much as ever. He even confessed that during lunch at work he ordered a veggie burger! He also loves the "chicken" nuggets from Amy's and he didn't know they weren't chicken until I told him.

Answer 15

i am a great lover of non veg items, but still cant turn completely veg, and i think we will loose a lot being strictly veg, even though if veg people have alternative food to replace meat .....

Answer 16

Would I? No I won't. So far there is no compelling reason for me to make the switch and I don't forsee a reason why I should.

Could I? Yes I can. I did for a month on a bet and it was quite easy.

add  follow up question as to the average age of those who posted in this specific question. that should tell you a lot

Answer 17

Just last night I made a final decision to become a vegetarian. I rarely ate meat but when I did it was in some of my favorite things-hot dogs and salami sandwitches. I, too, did it for the animals' sake. I always told myself that it is the way the food chain works and that death is quick and painless, but I have come to find I was very wrong. Good luck!

Answer 18

I would never cut meat out of my diet.

Answer 19

i have been a vegetarian for 10 months. I used to LOVE meat! i hardly had a meal that didn't have meat in as well! I still love meat. I love the smell of it cooking, and it looks really nice, but when i picture myself eating it, i feel sick. I thought that it would be really hard to go vegetarian, like most people think, but it was surprisingly easy! All my mates said that they could never go vegetarian, and i can't see myself eating meat again.

Answer 20

I was raised by carnivores all my life. To be quite q***r about this, I was the first-generation vegan in a Chinese family. I was vegetarian for a couple of years when I started middle school. Sometimes I went on and off to fish, since I was pressured to eat some fish for nutrients and "brain works." Sometimes I went on and off to eat chicken, or beef since it's everywhere. But I find it completely disgusting when I learned about the cruelty of those animals. My parents think I was going on a vegetarian diet for a weight reason. But I don't think they can ever understand. I don't know how I changed to a vegan, it was more of a concept or the philosophy that I have learned behind just being vegetarian. I love eating, I mean, some people would turn into anorexics of becoming vegans, I think that's sort of tacky. But becoming a vegan is definitely nicer. It's another method of replenishing your body with the sufficient amount of proteins, and nutrients that come from the raw foods, and of course prolonging your life spans. You don't have to consider being a vegan, but being a vegetarian is a good idea because you might need your dairy products for your calcium, which a vegan must lack.

Answer 21

no Way  because meat is my friend

Answer 22

I was the same way you are, my favorite meal was meatloaf, and i especially loved Arbys roast beef sandwitches, and then i found this site called all-creatures.org and it was about the abuse of animals and I felt bad everyday for eatting meat but i still ate it cause I loved it! and then at lunch one of my friends bet me 5 dollars to not eat meat for one day, and I did and then i guess i never looked back

Answer 23

yeperdoodle

Answer 24

yup..thik it dis ve...when u eat non veg..u r eating somthing dat had a heart..lyf..family...feelings..will 2 live.. till some tym bk

Answer 25

Me and my kids are vegan, but we never compromise the taste and nutritions.

Answer 26

I could be a vegetarian if i wanted to, but the fact is, I LOVE MEAT! But on second thoughts, what about all the animals that are suffering every time we greedily scoff down a piece of chicken? I would only go vegetarian to help the poor animals :)

Answer 27

I was a vegetarian a while ago, but I became vegan last year and love it! I will stay vegan for life.

Answer 28

I'm a vegan. It's been kind of difficult, but i think that when people say they COULDN'T do it, thier just being lazy. Its hard, but harming animals is not worth personal comfort.

Answer 29

As a vegetarian for many years I am sorry to report that most meat-eaters are extremely defensive and cannot consider giving up meat, the taste for them far outweighs any moral issues. There is plenty of info about the benefits of vegetarianism and about cruelty to animals so I suppose until someone is ready psychologically they simply can't consider it. Different phases of one's life produces different thoughts.