Not to want our children to eat red meat?

[Flymeaway4]

I'm vegetarian, have been for 20 years, partner is not. Since before they were born, I've said I'll let them have chicken, fish etc, but not red meat including pork. Once they're old enough to properly understand that meat was once an animal, then they can decide for themselves whether they want to eat red meat too, or be vege if they like, their choice. Partner thinks I'm ridiculous and said "why can't she have a ham sandwich" at a party yesterday, "what harm will it do". There were plenty of other options there anyway: chicken, cheese and egg sandwiches, quiche, fruit etc.

In case you think it's relevant, my reasoning behind no red meat is that I think cows and pigs are too intelligent, they know exactly what is happening when they arrive at the abattoir and I think that's just too cruel (and lambs are babies). Allowing chicken and fish, until they can make their own informed decision, was my compromise. If it were purely up to me, I'd be happy raising them vege!

So, am I being unreasonable?

You are being unreasonable by having some weird hierarchy of which animals should be eaten based in intelligence.

i am vegan. I was veggie when DS was born and for 4 years he was veggie. I was not about to feed my small child something I wouldn’t eat myself for ethical and heath reasons. My omni husband completely understood and was happy he was getting appropriate nutrition.

Once DS was able to understand meat was animals and not helped by my mum living with us and him wanting to try her food, he began eating meat occasionally around age 4. He still ate a lot of veggie meals but made his own choices when at school/out and for a while when I was making meat and veg for grandma would sometimes want that. Once mum was no longer with us most of the meals at home were veggie but DS (and now ex DH) would choose meat out and have things like chicken nuggets or ham at home.

DS has gone full circle and a year after I went vegan he joined me age 14. He is now 16 and hasn’t looked back.

;-}

The word is veggie, not vege/veej.

It is not narrowminded to state biological fact

Babies are also animals. HTH.

What biological fact? That you need red meat to stay healthy? Not seen any convincing data yet. Unless the studies are conducted on either veggies who don't eat veggies or poor people who can't afford a balanced diet ( who of course can be anemic).

This, sorry OP. Your reasons don’t make any real sense.

Yanbu for hoping they’ll be vegetarians. You are unreasonable to think eating chicken is ok but other animals not.

No-one has actually mentioned that pork is white meat not red. We have a butchers in the village where I live,you can see the animals grazing in the field opposite, they have a nice,all be it short Life. Even Gordon Ramsay says if you keep an animal relaxed to the slaughter,they don't give out adrenaline which toughens the meat. I was completely veggie for about 30 years,very occasionally now will eat fish or chicken. True Mediterranean diet. I was much healthier when veggie,no gut problems like now. DH has kidney stones, not meant to eat red meat and a lot of other things, because of the purine. He hates pretty much every fruit and veg. As a family we had chicken since I was a kid, just for the eggs,we didn't eat them .I don't put my rules on anyone else. Oddly enough,my youngest DS who always loved meat, worked in a butchers for a while,put him right off. He's 40 now, said he apologises for laughing at me,is now really fussy about what he eats.

Lambs are not slaughtered when they are babies; they grow very quickly and are adult sized at that time. I keep sheep and won’t eat lamb because they are pets to me, no more than I’d eat one of cats!

YABU.

I have just reintroduced fish, dairy and meat back into my diet around four months ago after being ‘whole foods plant based’ for 7 years.

I felt amazing when I first went vegan, then in the last two years my health started to decline. Extreme tiredness, stomach pains, regular mouth ulcers etc. When my blood test results came back my GP was shocked as how low my iron and B12 was.

I’d eaten very healthily, plenty of legumes, nuts, fruits and veggies. I also took all the supplements I was supposed to.

It was so hard to change my way of eating again (I was nearly in tears attempting to eat an omelette) but my god, I felt so ALIVE!

I now eat a healthy balanced diet and feel worlds better.

People are so bizarre, you have your own values and it a bit shit your OH doesn't respect that. It's not as though he desperately wants your child to get the nutrition, just to eat a shitty ham sandwich.

A GP told me there has been a major increase in people needing B12 injections after adopting the vegan diet.

But we digress, this ultimately boils down to yours and your DH’s different views OP and you need to decide a consistent way forward.

I think your point about wanting to keep them vegetarian is completely nulled by allowing chicken and fish. It makes zero sense so I can see why you are getting push back from your partner

exactly this!!

This is your story - and the ops partner wanted him to have a ham sandwich. Hardly a nutritional powerhouse is it?

Zero sense OP - so just feed your child dog and Bushmeat aswell OK?

Which doesn't change the fact that lambs aren't babies.

My son is mostly vegetarian, as he just doesn’t like meat. Will eat a bit of fish. I worry he’s missing out (I don’t eat much meat myself) but I’m sure he’s not really.

YABU for restricting your child’s diet without medical reason.

And what is the relevance of that to this thread?

I can't imagine why you didn't clear this up before you had kids. It was a deal breaker for me so I wouldn't have had a kid with someone who didn't accept that. You seem to still be in negotiations 2 kids and several years in!

I have just reintroduced fish, dairy and meat back into my diet around four months ago after being ‘whole foods plant based’ for 7 years.

I felt amazing when I first went vegan, then in the last two years my health started to decline. Extreme tiredness, stomach pains, regular mouth ulcers etc. When my blood test results came back my GP was shocked as how low my iron and B12 was.

I’d eaten very healthily, plenty of legumes, nuts, fruits and veggies. I also took all the supplements I was supposed to.

It was so hard to change my way of eating again (I was nearly in tears attempting to eat an omelette) but my god, I felt so ALIVE!

I now eat a healthy balanced diet and feel worlds better.

This is the most obvious fake post I’ve ever read. 😂 And yes it’s a first post or a name change, what a surprise.

I've been a vegetarian for decades but I fed my children a mixed diet because I think it's a moral decision you make as you grow up. I think we are omnivorous mammals, biologically speaking, and that being a vegetarian or a vegan involves missing out on some nutrients which humans need. One of my children is a vegetarian (no pressure from me) and one an omnivore.

My personal view is that poultry are subjected to the most cruel slaughter methods. Because they are small, slaughter and processing is mechanised and some birds are butchered alive. I adore birds of all kinds and I've grown up with poultry as pets, so to the people confidently stating that they're not intelligent, i would say - you're wrong there. They are intelligent and can form relationships with other birds (some pair for life) and humans. Geese, for eg, are known to mourn the loss of a mate.

I feel I could weep sometimes for the fate of poultry. They are not against anyone's religion, so are cruelly killed and eaten in their millions all over the world.