Hello, just wondering if anyone is in a similar situation to me.

I am vegetarian and so is my wife but we haven’t always been. I’ve changed my diet mainly for ethical reasons and I don’t really want my two children to eat meat but we find it difficult to get them to eat enough other sources of protein. Our eldest does enjoy tofu and both will eat lentils, but our other staples such as beans, rice, curries they’re just not in to yet.

I think it would have been different if we had been vegetarian when they were born and had introduced that diet as the only option. I also consider the fact the my oldest has been given the facts and has the right to make his own choices too.

So we are still giving them a bit of chicken and fish but I’d like to hear from other parents who might be in a similar situation…

I'm seriously considering making the move th vegetarianism. This is due to many reasons, mainly because I don't really enjoy eating meat as much a vegetable based dishes. If you also made the move from omnivore to vegetarianism or even veganism, I would like to know more about your experiences as people who have lived through it :).

How did you find the transition? Was it gradual or sudden? How did you break the news to family/friends ? What kind of reactions did you get? In a mainly meat world, how did you cope having meals at other people's homes?

Anything you can share or any general advice is welcomed. Thank you!

Maybe it's because I've only been vegetarian for a couple of years, but every time I see the same people despair over climate change also defend tooth and nail their right -- if not medical need -- to have red meat three times a day, I just lose my mind a little.

Going vegetarian is free! In fact, it costs less than eating meat! If every American quit meat today, the US contribution to climate change would drop by around 15%. No one is stopping you from making the change.

I’d like to start taking collagen to help with my skin, hair and workouts. As a vegetarian I have some reservations about it as it comes from marine life. I had collagen before without realizing it was from animals and my body seemed to be very happy with it and needed it. How do you deal with sacrificing some values for health?

I'm vegetarian have been for over a year mainly because of guilt for the animals. But why did you become vegetarian? Some days I debate just eating everything again

Hey guys!

Omnivore here. I’ve had my era’s of vegetarianism here and there. But this time, it might be indefinitely, due to medically reasons, which is totally fine with me… what are some good recipe websites? Also, what are some good recipes for stomach/intestinal inflammation? I will be getting medical attention, as well!

Hopefully this is allowed... My question got deleted by the mod on another group.

Thank you

I only enjoy eggs from them because I know they are well treated and healthy. Is it just me?

have always been a big animal lover, as a kid I would talk to the cows and calfs on my grandpa's farm. I thought then they could hear and understand what I said.. after I grew up seeing cows being hauled around made me feel this overwhelming sadness and guilt. Yet I am a meat eater and lately when I am eating meat I feel guilty. People sa you can't live animals and eat meat buy I'm just a big hypocrite. I just saw on the news they had to rid 2 million chickens for fear of bird flu and it made me anxious. I'm wondering if becoming a vegetarian would be pointless in regards to animals not being abused as it won't change anything. Only maybe my health would improve. So did you become a vegetarian for yourself or for the animals? BTW vegan is not an option for me, I can't go to that extreme

I have been vegetarian/vegan for almost 4 years now and although I love it I am really really struggling with hair loss :( I used to have super thick hair and now every time I brush my hair I have huge chunks come out. It is really damaging to my self esteem and I feel like it must be a sign that something is wrong. I met with my doctor about 6 months ago and they said for me to add fish into my diet which I have done, but it's still happening and I really want to remain vegetarian as much as possible. any advice/products/recipes/support would be so so helpful!!!!

I have been a vegetarian for 25 years. My wife is mostly-veg. When we had kids, we decided to raise them veg (actually her decision)

Anyway, the oldest is 3 and naturally is into the 'why' phase and starting to ask why he 'doesn't like fish sticks' when his classmates at daycare do.

We have been redirecting by saying that I don't like them either, and that has been working for now, but it is feeling like we're on borrowed time as far as giving him a more satisfying answer.

Anyone who has been in this situation I'd love to hear your thoughts. For the record, I'm not opposed to the kids eating meat, though I'm obviously biased toward veg. But they are going to make up their own minds. I would just like to go about teaching them to make their own choices about it in a healthy way.

I have been vegetarian for over a year now and I’m the only one in my family who doesn’t eat meat so you can imagine the amount of questions I’ve gotten. Especially because I haven’t always been vegetarian. My main reason is because the idea of eating an animal that was once alive grosses me out. I also find it disrespectful to do so but that’s just me.

My dad sucks. He is a very smart guy but every phone call and in-person conversation is punctuated by him asking if I can eat sausage/deli meat/chicken/whatever. I know he's just being rude because he's upset his only hobby, liking meat, is not shared with his eldest child. It really gets on my nerves and makes it hard to talk to him. I have been a vegetarian for almost 15 years, nothing has changed. I would love a "vegetarians eat this" poster to put in his office. The simpler the better. Like made for a child.

I looked around online for a simple poster with everything a vegetarian can eat on one side, and everything we can't on the other. I can't find anything like this. Can anyone point me in the right direction? If any graphic designers out there want to make me one, I would be willing to pay. Thank you so much.

I completely quit eating meat or eggs last month. Although i didnt used to eat meat frequently, i always knew this aint right. Help me keep going

I’ve been a vegetarian for the last eight years, and I realized I haven’t been taking the best care of myself when it comes to being a vegetarian so I’ve been trying to find a good multivitamin. Does anybody have any recommendations?

Hi. Long-time vegetarian. Any suggestions for supplements and vitamins? Any brands that you recommend? TIA.

Personally I became vegetarian because I am buddhist and I am trying to not harm any life I see. What about you guys?

Does the moral math say that being a lacto-ovo-vegetarian is slightly morally superior (if the standard is harm reduction) to also eating meat?

I'm just asking as an intellectual question.

Not bait.

I am asking what the moral validation math is.

I have transitioned to lacto-ovo-vegetarianism.

But, I'm wondering if the production of my cheese was just as indirectly ruthless and painful as the production of the beef that I once ate.

time flew by :) I'm very happy to reach this milestone, although it's honestly such an unconscious habit to me now

AMA if you want!

I was wondering if anyone has tested with a taurine deficiency? I recently did a micronutrient test where I showed a severe deficiency in taurine. I know that taurine is found mostly in animal products with the exception of seaweed.

I do eat seaweed, however, it is still low. Weird because I figured I would be low in some of the amino acids found exclusively in meat like carnosine and carnitine but I basically tested above normal in all of these besides lysine (mod def) and taurine.

Everything online says taurine deficiency is rare, it is non essential and made in your body from Cysteine and b6. My Cysteine and b6 levels are normal so why is the taurine low?

Other vitamins on the low end: Vitamin A, magnesium, zinc, and iodine. These were all borderline.

Anyone tested with a taurine deficiency? I am nervous to take a supplement as I already have low blood pressure. Strangely enough, symptoms of being low in taurine are: high blood pressure, weight gain, anxiety, high resting heart rate. I have lowish blood pressure (110/70) am not overweight (5'1, 100lbs), and have a low resting heart rate (55-60). Is this an amino acid I need to take or should I not risk the blood pressure drop? Just had a complete blood panel done and no problems with thyroid, cholesterol, iron or anything else.

Thanks for any help. Can't find much info online.

I know it's a big hurdle if you've grown up eating meat with your family, especially for cultural reasons.

I grew up in a culinary family with lots of old-world recipes and cooking philosophies - a father with a semi-rural background etc. It made me really anxious to stop eating meat because I felt like I'd be missing out on the family recipes and the extra bonding that sharing passed-down food has given us. I ate meat for a while only to fit in with my family, despite it filling me with guilt and sadness after every meal.

Now, having not eaten meat since 2019, I'm so much less afraid and upset. I've managed to find the flavor combinations and aromatics from those dishes that really matter to me and translate them into my own veg cooking. I've been able to introduce my family to new techniques they may not have considered before, and ultimately gave them an extra creative outlet to experiment with. How can we veg things together, etc?

Being able to experience a family meal, even if I have to cook my own versions of things or bring my own ingredients, is still possible and still can be a very close experience - even if our diets differ. You don't have to give up your family history and culture just because you chose not to eat animals.

You can do it! <3

Hi, I watched videos of animals being slaughtered. Now I don't want to eat meat, it makes me feel sick. But I don't have money to buy quorn and all of these things, my family usually makes meat for our dinner and we buy family meals but I feel sick eating meat now. I think protein without meat can come from fungus, beans, lentils, soybean, nuts, cheese, milk, eggs? These don't seem too expensive. Maybe I can cook vegetarian dinners for my family sometimes but I really don't have money to buy the ingredients. Sigh.

Volunteers needed for online study!

For an MSc project, we are investigating people’s emotions and beliefs about farmed animals.

To participate in the study follow this link:

http://tinyurl.com/5dsb9rpx

Please only take part in this study if you are vegetarian, pescatarian, flexitarian or omnivorous.

Thank you for participating!

TW: Animal cruelty (I'm not sure the best way to post a warning).

So, I shared with a new friend that I'm vegetarian. They shared a picture from a party they went to where they had an animal served. Sorry, I'm trying to say this without sharing what it was or triggering people, but still getting advice. If you have a suggested edit, feel free to tell me and I'll change the post.

I'm like wtf. They haven't asked why I'm vegetarian, but I'd say the most logical conclusion is empathy for animals. I think that's a fairly common conclusion, right?

I was actually kinda stunned. What would you have said? I won't share what I said yet. I more just want to hear what others would have said and if this happens to other people. It just seems so fing dense to me. I did NOT need to see that and now I'm bothered.

Anyone on here like me and been vegetarian since birth due to parents or grandparents raising Vegetarian family?

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I am been trying to figure out why when people say "oh so your vegetarian by choice" that it always drives me absolutely mad.

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ive never eaten meat (except once when I tried it and hated it) and it's never been something I thought about for longer than half a second. Being vegetarian is really easy when it's the only life i've known. I just don't eat dead things, and I always am careful of what I'm buying. plus I can tell pretty much immedaitely if there is any meat on my plate, the smell is like no other.

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Anyway. Anyone else here who is vegetarian by Heritage rather than by personal choice?

I love dogs and cats. but i'm not an animal lover and my compassion for animals is less than my compassion for humans (and dogs/cats). i dont want to see animals harmed, I have empathy for all animals. When I see monkeys being resuced from drowning by humans I do get emotional - however that emotion doesn't go as far as "Man, i wish i could do something to help them". where as with humans, I want to give money, help them in anyway i can. and I'd say the same is true for nearly all dogs for me and maybe cats.

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anyway. Anyone else Vegetarian by heritage? And experience the same mis-conceptions where everyone presumes your an ethical-chooser of non-meat products? Its so frustrating because to me, meat-eaters are just wierd. Like if you came to my house and cooked meat in my cooker, i'd throw it in the trash. Thats just gross in my head. it's beyond a reasonable act to take. In my mind, eating meat is pretty savage and something only a psychopath could possible do. I always just think "just dont eat that crap" but then i guess to them, it's part of their identity just as not eating meat is part of my identity.

But again. not eating meat is not a choice, it's an identity. So its much deeper than "well i choose the vegetarian option"... instead its "Where are the vegetarian options"... it's just who I am to me. It's not a choice.

To imagine waking up tomorrow and eating meat would be so distressing to me that I think I'd do anything to avoid it. If i were forced to eat meat, i'd feel my dignity as a human being would be destroyed. Like a fundamental part of who I am has been disrespected and stolen from me. Like it's not just me being disrespected, but my enitre family and my mother and her grandparents etc.

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anyway. thoughts? feel free to open discussion outside of vegetarian and into the realm of heritage :D

btw im 29 yr old, male, from England.! just for some background info.

Was watching a drawing youtuber and she drew a cute chicken and talked about not believing in eating it. I went to leave a positive comment and almost all the comments there were talking about "eat it whole" or like "bread it and fry it" or some other inflammatory meat-eating joke.

It feels like some kind of guilt projection or something maybe? There's SO much weird haughty aggression from meat-eaters and so much taunting of plant-based diets. I really don't see the same thing from veg/vegan ppl (unless maybe somebody is a 100% carnivore or something extreme)

It's irritating and weird. These ppl gotta find something better to do imo

I work 13 hour shifts and I can’t face another salad or cheese sandwich 😂 anyone got any super tasty sandwich recommendations?!

I was vegan for 2 years (meatless for 7 years), and in the last month I’ve been eating vegetarian again. I’ve been having a lot of soreness in my breasts and tenderness, just curious if anyone out there has experienced something similar? I’ve had foods with dairy and/or eggs but not all day every day, I’m wondering if this could be from having these back in my diet?