To quit my vegetarianism and become a hypocrite instead?

[OverTheHammer]

Became a veggie back end of June. Had wanted to do it for years but always thought it would be too difficult. Anyway after watching numerous PETA videos the guilt got too much and I became a veggie. I've since shared PETA videos on Facebook trying to encourage others to follow suit.

Anyway it was piss easy at first and I was telling everyone how easy it was but 2 months later I'm struggling. I've totally lost my appetite. The thought of anymore quorn makes me feel sick. I'm anaemic and never even thought about how vegetarianism would effect my (already extremely low) iron levels. I've also joined a gym and am struggling to eat enough calories to actually keep me going.

My appetite has always been dodgy, I'm also a fussy eater, a shit cook and busy person so can't be faffing every night making lentil this and lentil that ...

Most of the recipes I look at call for meat. Restaurant veggie choices are limited and shit - it's just so fucking difficult.
Then to top it all off, I watched a video last night showing how chickens are mistreated when used solely for egg purposes. I still eat eggs. So really, I'm a hypocrite anyway aren't I?

WIBU to go back on everything I've been saying these past two months and just start eating meat again?

Everyone's a hypocrite. Do what you want. You will get a lot of comments from people though, so have a few one liners prepared.

It's never been easier to be vegetarian than it is now. If you can't hack it, of course it's your decision.

Well if you watch Simon Anstell's Carnage you'll want to become a vegan because dairy is in some ways worse than meat when it comes to ill-treatment of animals.

The thing is, it's the system that has got to change. Humans evolved eating other animals,there's no getting around that, but they hunted and didn't employ the kind of cruel methods of intensive farming we see today.

It's tough OP and I don't think there is any right answer but even if you set a limit on the amount of meat you eat then you will be making a difference.

No you wouldnt. Humans are omnivores, not everyone can eat every type of diet. Some people cannot eat a high carb diet so cant be vegan or vegetarian. Judging them for is is pointless.
The PETA videos are filmed in the USA. British farming welfare standards are much higher.

Have you tried cooking red lentils? Sorry to derail a bit. No need to soak or anything, just throw into your sauce and leave it be.
In any case do what's right for you but don't do so under the impression it's difficult to eat veggie. It takes getting used to I'm sure but it needn't be that difficult.

I feel your pain. Even though I eat some meat I struggle with getting sufficient iron into my diet. I also love animals and abhor the way they are treated for our consumption.

I don't know what the answer is but your health has to come first.

Hey, you get one life.
You do what you want.
Just don't tell anyone yet.
I was veggie for a couple of years.
I didn't really have to explain to anyone when I started eating meat again.
No-one batted an eyelid.
Do you take iron supplements?

I was vegetarian for years and went back to eating meat. Nobody said anything really.

I never tried to persuade anyone else to be vegetarian, though - I would never have shared PETA videos on Facebook for example.

Basically, eat whatever you think is right for you, and let other people do the same. As the previous poster said, everyone's a hypocrite to some degree - animals die to feed vegetarians too, as anyone who has ever seen bits of dead animals chopped up by combine harvesters when the wheat has just been cut will know. When I buy meat I buy organic, free range, British only ... but I also eat meat in restaurants quite often and of course I have no idea where it comes from.

I can't take iron supplements as I also have IBS and am prone to constipation 😕

You can buy Vegan Egg (I have almost given up eggs) and make pulse based meals in a slow cooker, chuck the stuff in as you would with meat.

I am lazy and live on salads, grilled halloumi and add ingredients that have iron etc. like dark green leafy stuff (spinach) and red cabbage with lemon juice and olive oil. I also buy lots of houmous (chick peas - protein) and pea pasta. There is also red lentil pasta and black bean spaghetti. I add frozen peas, broccoli etc to the pasta with garlic and olive oil.

Is it the cooking you don't want the bother of? Recipes can be adapted to leave out meat. There are other substitutes you can put in that are soya based rather than Quorn. There are lots of recipes online, easy ones.

I have been cooking veggie for years, and I just think of the animals when I remember how I used to eat.

One word Flexitarian

Do some research on iron in foods, it might help you whichever diet you choose.

After many years of vegetarianism I decided to include fish in my diet. It worked for me. I felt sustainably caught fish was a reasonable compromise.

Why not go back on it but just be picky about where you source your meat (and eggs) from

As a UK livestock farmer who cares passionately about animal welfare standards I think you YABU if you think that PETA video's show what all farms in the UK are really like. I haven't been on every farm in the UK but I have been on a lot and I haven't personally come across a farmer who didn't care about animal welfare although I do accept that there are some out there. As I type this I can see our herd of Suckler cows and calves grazing happily in the field behind our house.
I also think that going veggie but still eating dairy and eggs makes no sense as these industries both involve the slaughter of animals.
May I suggest that if you don't fancy going vegan then you research where your meat comes from. Farmers markets and farm shops give you the opportunity to question the suppliers about welfare standards and are therefore a good place to start.

It is completely possible to be veggie and never eat hideous Quorn.

Plenty of people are vegetarian and eat eggs without compromising on quality (organic freerange named local farms etc). Face it you're just looking for an excuse.

But really, eat what you want. No one cares.

I eat "vegetarian" or "vegan" 95% of the time. Apart from when I'm eating rare steak, bacon, or lamb chops that is.

It's up to you what you eat. I'm vegetarian too, but I don't like to preach to others or make other people feel like they have to be veggie too. I think that it's a choice for each person to make themselves. Every one knows what goes on, and where meat comes from.

I use spinach in place of lettuce, so that there's more iron involved in a salad or sandwich. Protein is also found in baked beans or hummus.

Easy veggie meals beans on toast, veggies and tortilla chips dipped in hummus, cheese and salad sandwich. It doesn't all have to be complicated, or all about quorn. But it's each person's decision to make.

Every vegetarian who says it's for ethical reasons but continues to eat diary is a hypocrite.

Well, you want have done yourself any favours by sharing Peta videos for a start (Peta are about the biggest hypocrits there are) but everyone's a hypocrite as pp said. I eat small amounts of some meat, probably in one meal out of 4, yet I'm probably classed as a hypocrite because I cannot abide animal cruelty and I'm very vocal about the horrors of the Yulin dog meat festival every year.

I class my vegan pal as a hypocrite because she drinks almond milk like water and eats truck loads of quinoa and shuts her dogs in cages for 4+ hours at a time so she can drive her gas guzzling 4x4 to Pig Saves every weekend, where they force the pigs to stay in the trucks even longer while they kiss their noses and give them dribbles of water.

When it comes to how animals are treated most vegans, veggies and meat eaters are on the same page just different paragraphs IMVHO.

Our bodies do not absorb iron very well from vegetarian sources. Red meat is the best source of iron but should be eaten along with food high in vitamin C.

So I did veganuary for an article I was writing and was convinced I would be desperate for meat and dairy by the 1st feb 😁 when I found I want I continued as best I could - seven months on I would say I'm 95% vegan and cook an awful of lentils!! I will eat fish occasionally and have had three or four chicken curries. The way I think is that I will eat as ethically and healthily as I can but won't deny the odd thing I used to like (but not red meat!) It is hard to start with to get the healthy balance right but I water each day with a smoothie of fruits vegan yoghurt and milk and oats which sets me up. Oh god I sound like a bit of a knob don't I?

YWBU and should become vegan instead!

Honestly though it does get easier. The first few months are the hardest I think. As pp said, are you taking iron supplements? Whilst you can get enough iron from a veggie diet it makes sense to take supplements if you have low iron levels.

Can you stock up on veggie ready meals maybe? (not just quorn!) or look for new and interesting ingredients if you are finding it dull? If you like indian / thai / chinese - stir fry etc there's loads of good veggie/vegan options. Try different weird and wonderful fruit and veg. I found that with most cravings I was actually missing the flavours and it was possible to make a veggie equivalent. For instance mock duck chinese pancakes taste just the same to me as the real thing.

Anyway it was piss easy at first and I was telling everyone how easy it was but 2 months later I'm struggling. I've totally lost my appetite. The thought of anymore quorn makes me feel sick.

I've shared PETA videos on Facebook trying to encourage others to follow suit.

Tried to convert everyone but couldn't do it yourself? Oooops!

Yeah you are a bit of hypocrite if you don't eat meat and rant about 'animal cruelty' but still eat eggs and cheese etc.

Don't eat meat, or eat as little as you can, or don't eat meat OR dairy, but announcing it to the world and preaching to people just makes people look like twats. (Not aimed at anyone in particular, but it really does!)

It's all very well being veggie or vegan, but you do have to eat an awful lot of not very nice tasting shit food that is full of iron, to make up for it. I know several vegans who went full vegan, and they were ill ALL THE TIME, because they cut out all meat and dairy but never had anything with the same nutrients and iron and vitamins in it to compensate.

One lass I knew had a mini op on her leg, (just a little cyst removed in the surgery's minor op room,) and a MONTH later, the bruising had not even started to fade. She was so unhealthy with so little nutrients and goodness in her that she wasn't healing. Plus she was always ghostly white and out of breath.

So if it's affecting your health, go back to eating meat, at least once a week, even if it's FISH. What about becoming a pescatarian? No meat except fish??? Eating fish is good for you. And also try and stick to free range eggs.

Have to agree that PETA are awful!

Oh, and being a veggie or a vegan doesn't make you better than anyone who ISN'T one!