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.

So eat meat. Dietary preferences are not personality.

You realise the farming involved in producing food for vegan and vegetarian diets is horrific for wildlife don't you?
If everyone went high and mighty about it then the outcome would be horrific for the planet.
And are we getting rid of dogs/cats etc? As there's no longer really the habitats for them to exist naturally due to humans.**

@Iwantasteak

I posted this on the other thread you mentioned. About the couple who went back to meat after 20 ish years veggie and one of them had a bad digestive reaction as his body had forgotten how to process it. So bearing that in mind I would start small.

Dont go full on with a massive steak!

Reintroduce the veggie diet over the vegan diet. Then start with simple recipes containing meat (home made veg and chicken soup for example) rather than actual cuts. Also, fish is apparently easier to reintroduce than meat. So maybe go with the tuna jacket (good choice, my favourite!) and see how that goes. Might be worth seeing a nutritionist who has experience of this for advice.

So you are ok with eating Orangutans into extinction, given the amount of palm oil in products that so many vegans eat/use?

ETA use

That’s horrible of people to hassle your kids

Two of mine are veggie and one a pescatarian ( they were brought up as pescatarians. ) They never experienced any hassle ever.
Hopefully yours rise above it.

I don’t really want to be drawn into an a vegan vs meat eater thing, but palm oil isn’t really a vegan issue as such. It’s in plenty of non vegan foods and is used in animal feed. Most vegans I know avoid palm oil anyway.

the more recent food stuffs on the shelves for vegans and vegetarians has some issues re production and effects on the environment. These foods, however, are mainly pushing the flexitarian idea. An attempt at copying the flavours of animals to get more people to eat less meat.

Traditional old style non meat eaters don’t necessarily eat these. They weren’t around when I stopped eating animals in 1980 so I’m very much a veg and lentils type consumer. The same for religions and cultures around the world

So perhaps we need to reduce the number of upf plant based foods and go back to making meals using the raw ingredients ourselves. In fact that would be a good idea for all readymade type meals and foodstuffs

Agree.
Its all about awareness and checking the label. No one needs to eat these foods that contain ingredients such as palm oil.

But morally it is a vegan issue. If one becomes vegan for ethical reasons, as most do, then it should surely be considered as bad as dairy, for example? I know several "vegans" who will cheerfully get pissed on non vegan wine or beer, but then lecture about eating meat or dairy which is hypocrisy at its finest.

I suppose it depends if they are the dictating type. If they are then I agree.
Just as they would be if they wore leather or bought leather furniture.

If they aren’t and they keep their opinions to themselves then if they chose not to eat animals but drink wine with fish finings then that’s the line they have decided to draw.

Each to their own. I’m very much of the opinion every little helps.

Which is why I said most avoid it in my experience, but palm oil will be mainly found in non vegan products and used to feed the animals that meat eaters eat.

I’m always baffled that so many meat eaters are outraged about orangutans but couldn’t give a shit about cows, pigs and chickens.

Anyway, I’m not debating it. I’m never convinced about the motives of such threads and even when vegans post reasonably on them, they get called preachy so I tend to stay away on the whole.

Can you answer the egg question for me please?

I only eat actual free range eggs, there is a lady in the next village who sells them and her chickens really are free range and cute as hell. But that is still wrong according to a (fish finings beer drinking) vegan I know. I disagree as the eggs are going to be laid anyway. What is your view?

Asked with respect and purely out of curiosity.

It’s difficult tbh because non meat eaters have so many varying views.

My grandad had a farm with roaming chickens and cockerels. We would take the eggs into the barn and shine a light under them to make sure they weren’t fertilised. If they weren’t we ate them because as you say they are going to be laid anyway and Im used to this thought process
So In my opinion as long as the chickens aren’t killed once they stop laying and are allowed to live out their lives freely then I don’t see what’s wrong with eggs.
The problem comes when male babies are born as they are crushed alive for animal feed. So again as long as the producers don’t do this and leave all the chickens to live a nice life I’m fine.

This doesn’t happen with any of the free range chickens lives at supermarkets.

Small local producers like your lady nearby may be different

What reason did your friend give. I’m assuming they explained.

Vegans don’t eat eggs, even eggs from rescue chickens. If you google you will see their reasons, often around where the chickens originated from and not wanting to fund that and the issues with commercial egg production, the damage it does to the chicken laying eggs in the numbers they’ve been bred to which can be reduced by not removing their eggs and the fact that it helps to feed their own eggs back to them.

Thank you everyone for your comments! It's been helpful to read.

In the light of day, the craving has subsided again. I was pretty set on it last night, but I don't know if I can actually do it now.

The link about the slaughterhouse has really dissuaded and upset me. But also, I don't know if I can deal with such strong cravings for the rest of my life. I realise lots of people will think I'm silly for being so conflicted.

You can still be vegetarian and eat eggs. See whether someone near you has chickens, and buy their eggs so it’s guilt-free.

Vegetarian of nearly 40 years here. Eat what you want, humans are omnivores. But maybe try high welfare products where at all possible.

Do it!!! I did it after 30 years, and I've never, ever felt healthier.

OP if you are cooking meat for your child and it smells good to you, I don't see the harm in trying a bit. It's not like you're increasing how many animals were killed for meat.

Probably a good way to get your body used to it again anyway.

Entirely up to you though. I do feel better after eating it (very occasionally) after being vegetarian for years.

Do it! We only eat high welfare, organic meat and responsibly sourced fish and we don’t eat it every day. We buy eggs from our neighbours who have hens roaming free.

It’s not perfect, but we feel slightly better about it this way.

My best friend was a vegetarian for around 25 years and started eating meat again. She can't eat red meat now, can't tolerate it, but will eat chicken etc. When she told me it was not a bit deal at all, I was slightly surprised as sit had been so long, but now she just eats meat and that's that.

I went back to meat last year after many, many years vegetarian. I was worried about what people would say and honestly, the only thing I had was relief from family that it would be easier to cook / eat out.

I just felt like my body was craving it. I would say take it slowly though - I was sick after the first time, which may have been the thought of it, and it was another few weeks before I wanted to try again. I had a proper bolognaise, it was beautiful and I've not looked back. No issues with digesting anything.

It's nobody else's business.

My DD (teen) has been vegetarian for almost three years now. I find it a bit of a pain and a faff to cater for everyone but have a good selection of recipes now where I can just add meat on top or on the side or do most of the prep and then divide into two dishes and add meat to one for a meat version. So you can probably find some options that work like that. DS is a confirmed meat eater, but we don't eat meat every day. You could probably work out some meal plans where you personally only eat meat once a week but the rest of the family has it 3-4 days out of 7, for example. If that would sit better with you.

One of my biggest concerns about DD is that she seems to prefer the processed alternatives to meals cooked with whole ingredients. She can't bear the thought of eating animals, so I don't think she's going to go back to meat, but I do think that meat is more natural and less processed than some of the packaged vegetarian foods available.

Human beings are natural omnivores and thrive on a diet that includes animal protein. Its ok to feel this way. You don't have to justify your decision. Its very hard to live a life denying your body the nutrition it has evolved to expect. For most people it takes a lot of work, involves resorting to processed foods, and can simply be unsatisfying in the long run.

If you were veggie for moral reasons, because you don't agree with hurting animals, and you say you feel guilty about the idea - is this really the right road for you? Choosing convenience and taste over your own beliefs could end up being jarring, but only you know how you feel.