Question for vegetarians and vegans!

[runnyeggontoast]

I’ve been strongly considering going vegan, or at least vegetarian, for a while but my will power just isn’t strong enough.

I don’t eat red meat often (I don’t hate it but I don’t really like it that much anyway) so I only eat chicken but even then I’m not fussed about it. I eat a lot of seafood and fish mainly. I don’t eat much dairy in a pure form so I wouldn’t miss that (cheese, milk, cream etc) but I eat lots of things with dairy in it and I’d struggle to give that up. I eat a lot of eggs too. I’m quite a fussy eater and found I didn’t like a lot of vegetarian or vegan substitutes and it made it even harder for me, never mind the fact my will power is rubbish.

but I love animals. I have dogs, horses and spend a lot of time around cows, sheep and chickens and it breaks my heart to think of what goes on in slaughterhouses and it makes me sick to think of them as food.

I don’t want to eat meat or dairy or eggs but my willpower is rubbish because ultimately I like fish and I like chocolate and I like chicken.

Does anyone have any advice, or does anyone know of any information about it that will convince my brain and upset me enough to stop eating meat and dairy?

TIA 😀

Don’t label it.
Eat what you feel is ethical.
For me the diary industry is the biggest problem so I happily eschew milk cheese butter but will occasionally buy ethical cheese, accept a square of milk chocolate.
And I’ll happily buy and eat mussels but not soy based meat substitutes. Ditto eggs from friends who keep them to v high standards- they’re ex battery and living a wonderful life.
Unless other people are cooking for you a lot you really don’t have to define your food choices.

What is driving your need to be fully vegetarian or vegan instead of just cutting your meat and dairy consumption further?

I'm not vegetarian. But make a conscious effort to minimise meat. The more we have done so, the more I have found I don't often fancy it any more in any case.
I eat free range eggs because they are a good source of protein and the environmental impact is relatively low compared to other animal products. I'd assume the animal welfare impact is better too.

I am not a fan of fake food so eat lots of pulses rather than meat substitutes

If you're looking for something that'll brainwash you out of eating chicken and fish, I'd recommend watching Supersize Me 2 and Seaspiracy respectively.

Agree with PP you don’t need to label yourself. I haven’t eaten meat for over 30 years but I ate fish for a few years during that time when I lived in a country where vegetarians were catered for very poorly, as I would have struggled to ever socialise if food was involved. I didn’t feel like a different person or anything, it’s more important to choose ethically than to label yourself.

We moved to a village that has a chicken processing plant just outside of it.

Watching lorries go up and down the lane multiple times a day, stuffed to the brim with the most pitiful looking creatures you ever saw was enough to give me the kick I needed.

I missed it at first, but absolutely no desire to eat meat now. (I do however eat fish).

We got our own pair of garden hens in lockdown. They have a nice life mooching free range in our garden during the day, but safely in their coop at night. They are very funny to watch and have their own personalities. We usually get between 7-14 eggs per week from them. (More in summer, and slowing down now as they are a bit older).

Eat vegetables. Not fake meat. If you can, learn to cook Indian, Malaysian, Thai, Mediterranean, Chinese or any cuisine that relies heavily on veggies. I would not be able to be veggie on a Western diet. Not enough variety.

I can’t help with everything but if you want to eat eggs I would look for the best ones you can find. I’m not in the uk, but where I am there is information about the stocking density of the chickens (ie how many per hectare) and whether they are caged, barn, free range outdoor, etc.

I gave up cheese and milk for a month this year, and since then have eaten a lot less cheese, as I just got used to not having it and didn't fancy it after that. So could you try a time limited period and see what you find out? Eating less is almost as good as eating none!

I found out that quite a lot of dark chocolate has no milk in it - I only discovered recently. That might help?

You could also go for 'high welfare' milk - where cows are treated better than for standard milk.

Could it be that you need some new recipes? Have you tried The Green Roasting Tin? I'm a lifelong veggie and have found some amazing recipes in there.

Maybe you could try different meat substitutes too. There are different types of tofu, loads of different veggie sausages. Some nice, some nasty!

And I’ll happily buy and eat mussels but not soy based meat substitutes.

Isn’t cruel to cook shellfish alive?

Hey OP. My husband has been vegan almost 10 years, and I veerrry slowly joined him, becoming fully vegan about 3 years ago. I was eating the same as him at home so main meals were easy. We do sometimes eat a lot of alternatives, but go through periods of eating more whole foods/plant based. I became vegan realising I was dropping things such as eggs without out thinking about it. Once I twigged, I made a conscious effort not to go back. Perhaps try a vegan day a week initially to allow you to discover what you like/don't like while still having your usual options available. If it's your thing, Gousto has great plant based options. 😀

Why not just cut back on things? Meat substitutes are pretty gross. You can buy ethically sourced eggs (find someone who keeps chickens). We have chickens and they are very happy and lay loads of eggs, so nothing inhumane about eating them. Eating more fruit, vegetables and beans/lentils. No need to cut out chicken or fish if you like it, but maybe eat it once or twice a week and eat more plant-based meals in between. Where you are going to eat meat, buy higher welfare meat or find a local farm/butcher who knows where it comes from rather than buying the commercially farmed meat from Tesco, etc.

I’ve been vegetarian for many years and would suggest you steer clear of meat substitutes .. other than maybe quorn mince / sausages / pieces if you want to make things like bolognese, lasagne etc

bbc food website is good for veggie recipes .

on the whole though I would say just cut out the animal products you don’t like and buy ethical versions of those you do .. by doing that you have made a difference . I personally found that my likes and dislikes changed after a while of not eating meat - I ate fish for 2 years longer but ended up hating it .

For me there is no "will power" involved - as an animal lover I simply can't support an industry that is based on suffering and cruelty. I think many people call themselves animal lovers when really they just like cats and dogs and cuddly things.

Im vegan - have been for about 15 years now. In the early days I'd look at a cake for example and it would look and smell delicious and tempting but I would think about the ingredients and where they had come from (eg I'd imagine the eggs being squeezed out by the chicken, or the milk for the butter being sucked out of the cows udders!) I also recently was at very close quarters when a fish was caught and the way it thrashed about fighting for its life, blood splattering from where the hook was removed was horrible - I think if you'd seen that you wouldn't find it hard to resist eating fish too. Also there are plenty of hard-core vegan websites showing/describing horrendous images of animal cruelty in the food industry that would probably put you off for life!

Rescue some ex-battery hens. When you see how poorly they look at first, and you compare it to how healthy and fat they get in a few months, you'll see how unnatural it is to farm them the way we do.

I'm so happy for your hens! The notion of them has put a smile on my face - thank you

Maybe take it one step at the time, if you arent ready to be fully vegetarian you could eliminate the meat and be pescatarian. Just remember certain cheeses, pesto, sweets aren't veggie.

I've been dairy free for about 17 years due to intolerances. Some vegan stuff is OK but others are awful. Chocolate the best ones are the plant based galaxy or plant based Cadburys.

My youngest daughter is vegetarian so we as a family eat vegetarian 90% of the time, im not willing to cook different meals. Often its accidently vegan too. We eat alot of rice or potato based dishes, lots of beans, lentils, stews. I would like to be vegetarian but I have alot of other intolerances so don't want to limit my choices further as its already tricky eating out!

The world, and the animals, would be much better off with everyone significantly reducing their meat consumption rather than 10% of people completely cutting out meat.

The cheese substitutes are crap, and the egg substitutes distinctly sub par (though I've heard good things about Crack'd). For dairy substitutes, Oatly Barista isn't the same as milk but I think it tastes objectively nice. Elmlea plant is a very good substitute for cream (doesn't taste identical, but that doesn't notice if you're turning it into a trifle or a curry etc; the important thing is it behaves like cream).

Quorn nuggets and Beyond Meat burgers pass muster with omnivore DP.

Get a few pet chickens for the eggs - you'll have an ethical supply of eggs, and will rapidly go off the thought of eating the same creatures you have in the back garden.

Cut back, eat what you want to eat - I do eat meat but prefer fish or veggie dishes really choosing them in restaurants often. I try to be ethical eating locally minimally processed foods, eg I prefer a proper beef burger from the butcher who says where it's from than ultra processed vegan

As Linda Macartney famously said...don't eat anything that once had a face...

I ought to add that some vegans really do take it to the nth degree - some will worry about the source of the vitamin D in their fortified breakfast cereal.

Apparently if it comes from lanolin (sheep's wool) then it's unacceptable. I don't think they've cottoned onto the reality that no one is farming sheep for their wool (there's zero money in it), it has to be sheared for animal welfare reasons and it's equivalent to using manure as a fertiliser on your organic vegetables.

I'm yet to work out who those people think they're helping. All I can see is people further restricting their diet with zero impact on the sheep in question.

As I say, go for the low hanging fruit, like switching chicken nuggets for Quorn nuggets.

If you're serious OP, have a look online at photos of abattoirs and how those animals are murdered and hung up. Also have a look at how they test on animals in laboratories. If you can still stomach eating them after that, you won't ever be vegetarian. I know that sounds extreme but I did that 20 years ago and that's how long it's been since I last consumed meat. Never again.

I'm veggie, almost vegan due to allergies. I still bake with eggs but they are free range from either our hens or the free range honesty box down the road. There's only a couple of cheeses I can tolerate and I use oat milk if I make something that needs milk. I use some alternatives but mainly it's filling veg recipes and some Halloumi

Hi OP, I've been vegetarian since 2006 (I tried veganism out for a couple of years in 2017/2018).

The TV shows called 'Kill It, Cook It, Eat It' are what made me switch off from eating meat originally. The episode where they brought a live calf into the studio and then shot it through the head...it sounds extremely daft but it gave me the sudden realisation that it was dead now and would never be alive again. I guess because there's a never-ending supply of animals for us to eat, I hadn't really considered each individual animal's life until I saw that.
Like PPs have said, there are plenty of harrowing documentaries you can watch to put you off. I also read a book called Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.

As others have said, don't label it. Especially don't tell anyone who doesn't need to know!! The judgement you get from people with a guilty conscience is hard to bear. People think it's funny to try to catch you out and you're expected to be the world's leading expert on whichever shitty Daily Mail hate piece has come out that week.

Make the decision quietly, in your own heart and don't beat yourself up if you slip up. Just keep on keeping on.

Personally, I think of it in this way, whatever we eat is broken down in our bodies and absorbed into our cells. I am made of flesh. Do I want to absorb the flesh of a dead animal? No, I do not!

I have no problem really with others eating animals, but the hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance of someone who will eat a lamb but not a kitten is very mindboggling to me.

TL;DR Don't announce your plans to anyone who doesn't genuinely need to know.

I went vegetarian in 1984, after years of walking past a chicken processing place twice daily to get to and from school. The stench put me off for life as I've never eaten meat or fish again. I'd suggest just stop buying meat and learn to cook with the ingredients you do have and can source locally.