I want to eat meat after 10 years of vegetarianism/veganism

[Iwantasteak]

Another thread running right now has inspired this but I've been thinking about this for a while now. I feel so guilty to say that I'm considering going back to eating meat.

I have been a vegetarian and then a vegan since early teens and I feel like it's a part of my personality at this point. I don't know how people who know me will react, it would be so embarrassing to tell people.

I have a baby, who I'm not raising vegetarian, and I want to eat family meals together. I've also just been getting random cravings for meat and the eggs I let myself eat during pregnancy. I cooked a pork chop yesterday for my baby to have BLW style and it smelled so good. She loved it too.

Maybe there would be health benefits too? I don't know, I haven't eaten meat in so long that I don't remember what it's like.

I want a tuna baked potato.
I want fried eggs/dippy eggs.
I want a steak.
I want an egg salad sandwich.
I want a pork chop.
I want a proper roast dinner.
I want a chicken salad.
I want some haribo.

I was brought up veggie and am late 40’s now. I started eating fish maybe 20 years ago and just this month started eating chicken. Can’t see me ever stomaching red meat. I did eat a fair amount of meat substitutes which I’m not convinced are great. So partly that and partly a bit more freedom. I have one child that’s a complete carnivore and another that eats like me so it feels a good compromise.
My friends don’t give a hoot. And now that I’ve started, neither do I.

OP, go for it. I’m 40 now but I was veggie from age 9 (watched Babe, and that was that) until I was 24. The cravings for meat at that stage were so strong I couldn’t ignore them and I realise now it was my body begging for certain nutrients.

I’m ashamed to say I initially caved with a box of 12 McNuggets but I will say they tasted like the nectar of the Gods. I eat meat a couple of times a week now and do my best to stock up at our local farm; pricey, but amazing portions and taste divine.

Just do it. I was vegetarian from around 10 to around 25. I also had quite a severe eating disorder during my teens. Once I was pretty much fully recovered (well as much as you ever can be) I started to really crave meat. I think it was my body needing the nutrients. It could be the same for you given you have recently had a baby.

Listen to your body and eat meat when you feel like it. No one will bat an eyelid. No one did with me, apart from my parents and BF who were just relieved tbh.

I was veggie for about 10 years when I was young, from about 7-17, I was the same as you, I gradually starting thinking about meat again and in the end decided life was to short to want something and not have it.

I started to eat meat again and did do for years. A couple of years ago my husband suddenly announced on new years day that he was going to go veggie for a year. I am prone to FOMO so decided if he was then I was too! We did the year and he eats meat again whereas I very rarely do, though I do eat fish.

As others have said listen to your body and eat meat if you want to :-)

Eat it and live your life instead of living of misery. Food is one of life’s joy so why suffer to prove a point. And good on you for not forcing this on your child.

How do you ethically kill an animal that doesn't want to die?

Only two reasons you'll get stick for this.

1/ Your friends are actual arseholes.
2/ you've been an arsehole about being vegan to your friends.

If those are not the case then really, don't worry.

I was veggie for years and we don't eat a lot of meat now, I firmly believe i can have more influence on things by being a consumer, than by not being. So when we buy meat, we buy local, high welfare etc etc.

I went back to eating meat (I always ate fish) after about 20 years of not doing so, plus I was brought up as vegetarian (ate meat for about 2 yeas as a teen but then didn't until my youngest was about 3). I've now eaten meat now for 18 years and people sitll think I'm vegetarian! It was weird at first but didnt' take long to get used to. I really only eat chicken though now - v occasionally have a bolognese.

You don’t have to tell anyone and you don’t have to put a label on it. You eat what you want to eat, it’s no one’s business xx

What if I decide I want to eat children?

Where did the poster you're responding to say you can ethically kill anything?

You can't, because nothing wants to die.

But you can raise animals with super high welfare standards, and you can kill them quietly, quickly and humanely.

We all have our crosses, our burdens to bear, none of us is born into this world with a guarantee that it will all be fun and frolics without a single struggle, without a single icky thing happening.

If that 'icky' thing is a swift and painless death after a short but happy life, I am ok with that. Its better than 100% of humans will ever get.

Your body’s telling you what you need.
I was a vegetarian for many many years. All I’d say is to only have a small bit to start off with, and maybe chicken or fish. Just to let your tummy get used to it again.

For me, I just wanted a big well done steak with chunky chips and broccoli. Peppercorn sauce on top.

No one will mind or judge or probably even care.

There's increasing evidence that there's a biological / genetic background to whether people are able to sustain a vegetarian diet.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/genes_stop_vegetarian

It's completely plausible that your metabolism has evolved after having children and you now need meat.

The study also revealed that quite a few people claiming to be vegetarian actually were not managing to stick to the diet.

How do you know their lives are happy? Most farmed animals lives aren't.

The poster described themselves as an "ethical meat eater" you have to include the killing part as well as the rearing part.

If you want to be a meat eater you don't get to also say you are doing it ethically. Unfortunately, you can't enslave and kill in an ethical way.

I've been vegetarian since childhood (my choice) but decided when I wanted to get pregnant I would eat some meat because I think it's best for the baby.

I'll be honest, I don't enjoy it at all but I felt anemic during early pregnancy and after eating meat it's like the lights have turned back on.

I would also like my children to not have any food issues (which I think my choice to become vegetarian came from initially) so I will try to cook meat for family dinners fairly regularly.

If anyone has any tips for getting used to eating it again I'd really appreciate it. I've had steak, lasagne, chilli, bolognese, salmon steaks. Lasagne was the easiest

Noone will care. It's a shame you see it as part of your personality, as noone is interested in what others eat. If anything they'll be pleased as you'll be easier to accommodate.

Are you sure you are not pregnant? My lifelong veggie friend's first sign was fancying a lamb chop!

Bumped into a guy l know who was a vegan in the queue at the butchers! I did say oh didn't expect to see you in here but not in a judgy way - he said he eats meat now but not every day and better quality. His body, his choice. You do you op (l bloody love a steak sandwich at Miller and Carter so no judgement here!)

I hope not! 😅

Most of the vegetarians and vegans I knew in my 30s have now reverted to meat. I didn't think anything of it… in fact I came to expect it.
It's your body and what you eat is your business and no-one else's.
We have incisor teeth for a reason.

Why were you vegan? Was it on ethical / animal cruelty grounds?
If so, there are lots of ethical meat sellers. Plenty of wild-shot game and UK meat reared on small farms. Google high welfare meat and you’ll find them. expensive, but worth it in my opinion.

I didn't eat meat for about twenty years - still had fish occasionally, so pescatarian, this was through 80's & 90's - eating out was often HARD.
I was then extremely anaemic - more to do with long and heavy periods in perimenopause than my diet - but went back to eating meat occasionally.
Maybe your body is craving meat following the rigours of pregnancy and breast feeding?
Have meat if you want it - you don't have to switch to giant steaks at every meal, and you can drop it from your diet altogether again in the future if you want to.

As pp's have said , as long as you've not been to preachy about it, I doubt anyone will care.

I tried going back to fish and eggs but I couldn't keep it up, only lasted about a week. Was so much harder going back than going vegan in the first place, weirdly.

I'm on a break from being veggie as I'm menopausal and craved meat. Honestly, noone has noticed and it's lovely being able to eat family meals!

I've got friends who have gone from veggie to eating meat and it was never a massive deal from my side. Mildly pleased it gives me more options if I'm cooking for them. No, you don't owe anyone an explanation, but I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to be curious as to why. One of my friends was just really craving meat. And do tell people if it's relevant! i.e. if they are cooking for you or booking a restaurant; I'd be annoyed if I specifically avoided meat etc for no reason when planning.