vent: people giving me a hard time about being a vegetarian

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  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
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    My problem is similar to yours, except that it's my vegetarian friends giving me a hard time for eating meat. People like to tell you their way is 'right' and yours is 'wrong'. Screw them, hardly something to defend your stance over.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    Whenever someone asks me why I'm a vegetarian, I try to figure out if they genuinely care, or if they're just trying to put down my life choices. If they're just looking for someone to antagonize, I say, "Eh, because I wanted to" and then leave the situation, because who wants to hang out with that sort of person.
  • jtrack3d
    jtrack3d Posts: 91
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    My son is vegan so our family has vegan nights and we have to find vegan friendly places where we all can eat. I could be vegan except I just gotta have cheese, eggs, and yogurt!

    I tell my son, ... you don't give me grief about what I eat, and I won't give you grief about what you eat... it's worked so far.

    Don't make it a constant center of conversation. It's like the whole gay/straight thing. Unless you are trying to hook up with me, your preferences aren't my concern... live and let live.

    Same with food. Unless we are trying to eat together, we don't have to talk about it. You should rarely have to mention it.

    If you are constantly talking about your eating preferences you might actually be the cause of your own grief.... don't wear it on your sleeve. When someone says let's go eat at XYZ, don't say... I can't eat there they don't have vegetarian options... Suggest alternatives you know that have what you both want.... don't say.

    The ONLY time it would be blatantly obvious is if you are hosting a dinner and there are no non-vegetarian options. Then, I can see why people would complain.
  • 98777
    98777 Posts: 108 Member
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    Show them this video of a pig decomposing.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1CD6gNmhr0
  • buttondown
    buttondown Posts: 20
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    I dont think you should have to feel bad or not say that you are vegetarian or vegan. You don't have to throw it out there but honestly on a site like this where people talk a lot about diet and exercise and preach to you about protein it comes up. Just take what others say with a grain of salt and dont indulge in the arguement. Don't be one of those preachy defensive veggie's that kinda give being vegan or veg a bad name.

    But i feel your pain, I've constantly had people give me grief cause i dont eat meat and for some of my other life style choices and the way i see it is that if someone chooses not to assocate with me because i don't eat meat or some other silly reason then it's their loss and i let it go.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    Perhaps you would have better luck if you came up with a different reason for being a vegetarian that doesn't open the topic up for debate. Just something as innocuous as "I don't really like meat, I really like the textures of vegetarian dishes and nuances of flavors and find those more appealing." No one is really going to argue with "I like this food better." When you start making it into a values issue or bringing up reasons that can be disputed scientifically, it leads to drama. Just don't talk about it, and don't make a big deal about it if someone asks.
  • kfeuling90
    kfeuling90 Posts: 1
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    I too am a vegetarian and let's be honest-- it seems that people who eat meat are pushier about their beliefs than any vegetarians! I have a few people in my life who will ask me "are you STILL a vegetarian?" anytime we make dinner plans... a few times now I saw "actually, no! I'm now a vegan!" It kind of shuts them up when they realize I'm kidding.

    Another big thing I've noticed is that people start to suddenly care SO MUCH about your protein intake as a vegetarian. Nutritionists left and right.
  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
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    Show them this video of a pig decomposing.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1CD6gNmhr0
    And that is the most natural thing in the world.
    Also I'm going to spam my friendlist with this video.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    I've been a vegetarian for 24 years now. This will always happen. So you can choose to get annoyed by it or you can choose to just let it go and move on. They aren't giving you a hard time, they think they are being funny. While it may not be funny, why let it bother you? We can't choose how others act, we can only choose how we react.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
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    Eh. By simply existing in a modern world, we all cause animals to die. They die on our highways; our homes and cities displace them; we kill pests, as do the farms and factories that process our food; small animals and insects die in farm machinery... It's impossible to live a life that doesn't result in the death of some other creature. We just all have to figure out where we draw the line for ourselves.

    Personally, I would never hassle someone over their own dietary choices, as long as they don't hassle me about mine. They've drawn a different line than I have and there's nothing wrong with that.
  • WelshPhil1975
    WelshPhil1975 Posts: 138 Member
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    I was vegetarian for 12 years. Every Christmas without fail my gran couldn't understand why I wouldn't eat turkey. She understood that I didn't eat meat (and she understood the concept of that) but she thought i could have Christmas off. Even in the final year she still questioned me on it.

    "Surely you can have some turkey?"

    "No gran, it's an animal and I STILL don't eat animals"

    "But it's turkey and it's Christmas. You always have turkey at Christmas"

    "No I don't I haven't eaten it for years"

    "Haven't you?"

    EVERY YEAR!

    (this wasn't senility talking, she just couldn't understand why I wouldn't eat turkey at Christmas).
  • tjl2329
    tjl2329 Posts: 169 Member
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    I agree its bs why are people so obsessed with other peoples eating habits. I wish i could be vegetarian but i hate vegetables. But i am low carb due to diabetes. Dont worry about them. They are stupid and need to mind there own business and worry about themselves.
  • surfinbird_1981
    surfinbird_1981 Posts: 946 Member
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    Welcome to my world, I've not touched meat/fish etc. since 1990...don't listen to them, just look at their faces and mouth moving and imagine crap pouring out of them :laugh:
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    I never advertised my meatless week, but our work situation is set up in a way that people WILL notice what you are or aren't eating. All it takes is one person to make a comment and suddenly it is a big deal, or the person that says, "here, try the veal," and you reply that you don't eat meat...I don't consider that advertising. Walking into work and announcing, "Hey y'all! Guess what? I'm a vegetarian now, so don't offer me any kind of meat," is advertising, LOL...:laugh:

    Why would you chose to say that you don't eat meat, rather than a simple "no thanks"? Sounds to me like you WANT the discussion ..
  • brokentide
    brokentide Posts: 21 Member
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    This page has lots of great counter-arguments (especially to that ridiculous "but plants have feelings too!!11" one):

    https://www.facebook.com/notes/michael-vegananarchist-ahimsa/common-anti-vegan-arguments-how-to-quickly-refute-the-same-lame-excuses-that-are/120926087965760
  • brokentide
    brokentide Posts: 21 Member
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    I never advertised my meatless week, but our work situation is set up in a way that people WILL notice what you are or aren't eating. All it takes is one person to make a comment and suddenly it is a big deal, or the person that says, "here, try the veal," and you reply that you don't eat meat...I don't consider that advertising. Walking into work and announcing, "Hey y'all! Guess what? I'm a vegetarian now, so don't offer me any kind of meat," is advertising, LOL...:laugh:

    Why would you chose to say that you don't eat meat, rather than a simple "no thanks"? Sounds to me like you WANT the discussion ..

    Oh yeah, she's "asking for it", isn't she? I wouldn't expect you to understand the kind of backlash a vegetarian/vegan always gets, regardless of their response. It doesn't matter how many times you say "no, thanks" - eventually people always want to know why, and when you finally tell them they start calling you militant and preachy. It's ridiculous
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
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    People like to make comments/jokes/criticisms when your lifestyle is drastically different from theirs.

    I try to avoid telling people I'm a vegetarian for the same reason I try not to tell people I'm losing weight - everyone has something to say about it. When strangers or new acquaintances offer me meat, I simply say no thank you or say that I'm full, and that's usually enough, but sometimes bringing it up is unavoidable, and sometimes someone mentions that I'm a vegetarian before I do.

    And after you stick with a lifestyle change long enough, people that you see regularly start to notice, so keeping it to yourself isn't really an option either. Unfortunately, it's often the people closest to you that give you the hardest time about your choices. Even after 5 years of meatlessness, my husband's grandfather still refers to our meals as "rabbit food". Even after almost a year and a half of weight loss, people make a big deal out of me ordering french fries at a restaurant instead of something "healthy".

    It just comes with the territory. The best thing you can do is roll with it.
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
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    I never advertised my meatless week, but our work situation is set up in a way that people WILL notice what you are or aren't eating. All it takes is one person to make a comment and suddenly it is a big deal, or the person that says, "here, try the veal," and you reply that you don't eat meat...I don't consider that advertising. Walking into work and announcing, "Hey y'all! Guess what? I'm a vegetarian now, so don't offer me any kind of meat," is advertising, LOL...:laugh:

    Why would you chose to say that you don't eat meat, rather than a simple "no thanks"? Sounds to me like you WANT the discussion ..

    No way! I'm a lifelong veggie and I always 'announce'. I love a debate about vegetarianism with preachy meaties, just stay dispassionate - neither of you will change each other! Another reason I let people know at work is that a) at an event I get all the meat stuffs put in front of me and like to tell the server b) it can come off as stroppy when everyone goes to lunch at Mcdonalds or whatever and I never go. It is a valid reason rather than me just being anti-social.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    I never advertised my meatless week, but our work situation is set up in a way that people WILL notice what you are or aren't eating. All it takes is one person to make a comment and suddenly it is a big deal, or the person that says, "here, try the veal," and you reply that you don't eat meat...I don't consider that advertising. Walking into work and announcing, "Hey y'all! Guess what? I'm a vegetarian now, so don't offer me any kind of meat," is advertising, LOL...:laugh:

    Why would you chose to say that you don't eat meat, rather than a simple "no thanks"? Sounds to me like you WANT the discussion ..

    Oh yeah, she's "asking for it", isn't she? I wouldn't expect you to understand the kind of backlash a vegetarian/vegan always gets, regardless of their response. It doesn't matter how many times you say "no, thanks" - eventually people always want to know why, and when you finally tell them they start calling you militant and preachy. It's ridiculous

    Bull****. So people push and push, and you calmly and innocently say you're a vegetarian, and they attack and call you militant?

    I reject that premise.

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