Why did you stop eating meat?

SarabellPlus3

Back in the 80s John Robbins (of the baskin-robbins ice cream family who all were dying of heart disease) wrote a book, Diet for a New America. As I read of the horrors of what goes on in factory 'farms' I knew I would never eat dead creatures again. 25 years later I am a healthy, fit vegetarian, near-vegan. And so is my daughter, yay! Glad to see there are many of us here who care about the plight of animals. I am not a fanatic, I accept others as they are but I am not afraid to answer questions honestly when approached. : )

My story is similar, down to that very book. Giving up meat was easy when I started to learn about how we got it.

I became a vegetarian in 4th/5th grade. My parents thought it was a phase, but my dad helped me figure out how to eat well. I remember relatives with cancer & heart disease chewing on hamburgers while grilling me about protein. As I got older, I started being more careful about where I'd buy milk, cheese, & eggs from, luckily, the locavore movement has coincided with that for me.

Anyway, that was over 20 years ago, I'm 32 now. About 7 years ago, I started eating fish, (mostly caught by my dad), & about a year ago, I started eating chicken (purchased from a local small farmer). I am comfortable with those meats from those humane sources, & it makes life easier to share meals with my DH. I don't think I could ever be comfortable eating a mammal, now matter how humane the farmer (& humane is almost cost-prohibitive on them, anyway).

Interesting to read all of your stories! Thank you for sharing.

ksefchik

I read The China Study and decided to cut out meat and dairy altogether. Not because I'm sympathetic to animals or anything like that. I just wasn't convinced that meat necessarily contributed to a healthy diet. However, since the initial shock, I've come to take a more nuanced approach. I now feel that although meat and dairy can be part of a healthy diet, excessive amounts of it is not good. The average American probably eats about three times the amount of meat per day that I would consider healthy. I only eat meat or dairy a couple of times a week now during my designated cheat meals. Fish is still on the menu, but like meats and dairy, is not an every-day thing for me. I heard a good term that I'd use to describe myself: flexivore.

autumn20111

Last year, I stayed in Taiwan for a month and lost 8 lbs. How did I do it without planning to? Their way of eating is very different than ours. They eat A LOT, but it's veges, soups, fish, chicken, tea, very little salt or sugar. Beef is not that readily available. Once I decided to order a "Texas filet" as the large sign advertised. It was so tough and awful, I couldn't eat it, and so consequently never tried that again while visiting! I walked all over Taipei, averaging about 5 miles a day, because I only used trains and buses. The older people do tai chi 6 days a morning in the large courtyard. It was a beautiful experience and a real lesson in eating.