The embarrassment on going back on yourself turning vegetarian

[hypocrittie]

I turned vegetarian two years ago now. I was pregnant and on my works Christmas do exactly two years ago when someone at the table whose husband was a farmer was going into vivid detail about keeping turkeys around Christmas time. It completely put me off my food and I didn't touch any of the meat. It really made me think about my food and over the next few weeks the thought of meat just started to make me feel unwell.

I really like meat, it's not that I don't like the flavour or the textures etc so it was a fairly easy time to turn vegetarian as there were more substitutes out there than ever. I made the switch to meat substitutes and loved it, the Dopsu chicken was just as good but guilt free, no gristly bits or worrying about food poisoning. The fake beef burgers were great, I couldn't really tell the difference. Some really good fake meat sausages. I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything so I didn't look back.

It is now two years later and I've been trying to focus more on my health, and I started to get in my head about how all of the fake meat I'm eating. Being vegetarian is one thing if you just eat lots of vegetables, which I do, but there's almost always fake meat alongside it. I started to think if I'm going to be eating any kind of meat, do I want ultra processed fake meat or like, organic chicken breast? So I started eating just chicken again.

I've kept that up so far, but to be honest it was fine. It no longer makes me feel sick at the thought of it, and I do wonder how much of it might of been a pregnancy aversion.. I do care about animals and their welfare and hate the thought of contributing to their suffering but I also care about my health and have become too aware of how processed the fake meat is.

I just feel embarrassed really, like no matter what I do I'm being a massive hypocrite. Has anyone been here? I'm also severely anaemic now, it started in pregnancy but didn't go away so I wonder how much diet plays a part. Iron tablets don't agree with me!

Spinach has plenty of iron, so do other veggies. Meat is healthier than ultra processed fake stuff for sure. The fake stuff is just a money grab, it's not better for the environment. Honestly the way the earth and animals are treated is not the responsibility of the consumer- what can we really do to change the way things are? Topple capitalism? Move to a farm? Just do what is good for you in all the ways, don't be embarrassed or feel guilty. The guys on top who do have control over this have been trying to pawn off responsibility onto us for decades, to avoid being held accountable and losing their cash flow. We have to stop buying into it.

Well said 👏 👏

Why don't you just be an old fashioned vegetarian? I was veggie for about 5 years, long before "meat substitutes" had been invented. It's not compulsory, I always think they look utterly revolting anyway.
grab yourself some of the 1990s veggie cookbooks from secondhand book sellers. Rose Elliott's Classic Vegetarian is fab https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/rose-elliot/classic-vegetarian-cookbook/9780751300666?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=18059580451&cq_con=&cq_med=pla&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8-G3p5SagwMV7ZNQBh2HLg9gEAQYByABEgKysfD_BwE#GOR003043839

Nothing wrong with going back to meat. But why not try doing some non meat substitute based vegetarian cooking? Lots of food from Asia is vegetarian/ give it a try!

On Christmas day, plate up your dinner, including turkey & pigs in blankets. Tell them you are enjoying your dinner like baby Jesus would want you to on his birthday & hope no one got you a vegetarian cook book.

Another omnivore here agreeing that your own personal food preferences are nothing to do with anybody else (unless you're a humanitarian cannibal!) - and you're perfectly at liberty to change if/whenever you like.

It works both ways: I hate it when omnivores deride and pressure those who choose not to eat meat; and I also hate it when vegans and vegetarians try to shame or pressure meat-eaters.

However, supposing somebody like Joey Carbstrong now decided that he was going to start eating meat, he would deserve all of the ridicule and accusations of hypocrisy going.

I’ve been veggie since I was 9. You don’t need to eat these processed fake meats. I use a lot of lentils, chickpeas and pulses in my cooking. I also add a lot of nuts. So a typical curry will be sweet potato and cashew nut. And I make a spag bol with lentils and walnuts.

I do eat the fake meat, but that’s normally as a treat when I’m out and have a burger etc.

To add about iron as well, I’m pregnant and had my two iron tests in pregnancy and had really good high levels of iron. I eat lots of spinach and broccoli and other leafy greens. I’ve never eaten red meat in my life so it is possible to get enough iron without eating meat.

Been a veggie all my life and vegan for a long while, and fake meat has never been a regular part of my diet. Sure I've tried some for the novelty at a restaurant or something (eg when veganuary was a Big Thing and loads of places served fake meat for a while), buts it's never been something I eat regularly. Doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't understand where the idea that vegetarians must consume UPF fake meat came from given that it really doesn't regularly feature in the diets of most the veggies and vegans I know irl.

Anyway, as a veggie, I wouldn't even think twice about your foray into, and subsequent abandonment of, vegetarianism it's fine, not embarrassing at all imo. Don't worry!

The only ones who care about vegetarians and vegans is themselves, I know as we keep on hearing about it it is usually the first thing they mention when you meet them

Just eat what you want it does not have to be a thing

I worked with people for over a year and they didn’t know I was veggie. It only came up because we were going for a meal and I had put veggie in my dietary requirements. They knew loads about me and my personal life apart from that.

I went back to meat and just said I'd missed it

Don't feel guilty, you've got to do what works for you.

(I was a veggie in my teens, for quite a few years, and have had phases since, but accept that eating limited quantities of meat is what works for me).

Have you been particularly demanding or difficult about your food choices when you are with others or lecturing them. If not don't give it another thought. Just say you need more iron and have decided to introduce some meat again. I know several people who move back and forth and its a non issue. No individual is saving the world or animal suffering by not eating meat. Choose more ethical meat and eat less of it.

My neighbour is vegetarian. We had a BBQ in the summer. I had done vegetable kebabs and marinaded halloumi for her, party of 6

Instead she had my chicken pepper and chorizo kebabs and pork sausages! I didn't mind except I missed out! She's back being vegetarian again now or was at a Christmas meal we went to!

You changed your mind. Its as simple as that.
Source your meat ethically and see a health care provider about your iron levels and crack on.
There is no need to justify yourself to others.

I'm the same OP. I don't know whether it was the extra processed crap or the lack of protein but I really did start to feel unwell. But I still had all the thoughts about animal treatment and the environment etc.

I picked it all apart to work out what was good for me. I'll still eat things like veggie sausages that are actual veggies rather than pretend meat. Then I'll be careful about what chicken I buy, make sure the eggs are free range. I still tend to avoid red meat as that has its own health consequences, but I do have cooked meats such as ham, maybe mince every now and again. And still avoid dairy as that did cure my headaches.

So I think it's a bit more of the "everything in moderation" line. And I feel healthy now.

If being a vegetarian mean eating a lot of processed food to you of course it won't do you any good. Proper vegetarian food is delicious and easy once you get the hang of it.

I am veggie but always think better a happy meat eater than a miserable veggie or vegan. Ethically I’d like to be vegan but for now it wouldn’t work for me since my kids are small and I’m not making 10 meals! Maybe later in life.

My aunt has been a vegetarian for over 40 years and I have never seen a meat substitute in her house. It's up to you whether you start eating meat again or just change your approach to what you eat as a vegetarian.

My husband and I eat very little meat but we manage to avoid UPFs as well

Nothing wrong with changing your mind.

If you are not a massive preacher about things, you can change your mind plenty of times.

I don't think you are being hypocritical - you have new information and have reviewed things. Hypocritical would be continuing to preach vegetarianism whilst eating meat.

The most ardent vegan I used to know now eats fish and cheese, and now talks absolute bollocks about luxurious organic pasture fed cattle carbon sequestrating the world. He always was a mouthy shit, some people are.

But do listen to your feelings but don't beat yourself up too much about them. I remember trying to quit smoking, it tortured me whenever I failed.

I loved eating meat and cheese. Don't forget they have opioids/opioid mimics in them that make them addictive. I worked on a farm, always have loved animals, can't personally kill an animal without it racking my brain. I have done. I won't pay someone else to do that, so just can't square it. Another friend of mine who was raised on a dairy farm is also vegan.

There are thousands and thousands of edible plants, when you think about it, meat and dairy really limit your dietary choices when you look at it like that - they are a very small part of what you can eat.

The world just cannot sustain the level of meat eating that there is. The big wigs will happily promote veganism so they can scoff up all the foie gras for themselves. People can cut back intake.

Lots of those cold sandwich meats and bacons are linked to colon/rectal cancers. And livestock agriculture is trashing the planet, poisoning waterways etc. I can see the damage for myself by looking out my front window.

Ignorance is bliss as they say. It's a natural psychological defence mechanism. Diet is one thing we do have some personal control over.

I really don't think most people will care, or think much about it beyond 'Oh right'.

I've had two periods of being veggie in my life, partly through wanting to avoid animal suffering, partly aversion to the taste/texture. I now eat most meat and fish, although not all and not often. I don't eat processed red meats at all as my family has a history of bowel cancer. Both times I've started eating meat again because I was craving it, so I figure it's what my body needs. I must admit I'm not a very 'good' vegetarian, as I don't like beans and pulses (they really don't suit my digestive system), so I do end up eating a lot of fake meat which I don't love.

No-one has ever commented, positively or negatively!

You don’t have to call yourself anything or justify any of your decisions around what you eat! Do what you think is best to balance your own health with your concern for animal welfare. If that means eating organic/free range meat, then that’s fine. I was a vegetarian from the age of 13, turned pescatarian due to an overwhelming craving for fish fingers while pregnant with dc3 18 years ago! I’ve recently been considering the lack of logic in that, as the main reason I gave up meat and fish in the first place was because of the poor treatment of animals, including fish, in food production, and I might stop eating fish again, but that’s for me to decide, not other people!