I *want* to be a vegetarian... but I like meat!

Something I've struggled with for a while. I'm a Buddhist, and vegetarianism is something I haven't yet embraced.

I want to.

I just like meat.

I mean, I know why I want to be a vegetarian. I don't want an animal to be killed because I want to eat meat. Why are my wants and needs above another beings life? They aren't. And yet... I like meat. I LOVE chicken. I do. I could live without it, but... I like it. I feel bad, but I do!

Plus theres the whole, Shel has no desire to be a vegetarian. Jazz practically IS a vegetarian but she eats meat sometimes. And since Shel cooks (as I'm often not home until 5.30-6.30pm depending on what shift I'm on) I feel bad about making her life harder by either having to learn vegetarian cooking and even cooking two meals. But I can't really cook my own because we all eat together to for me to cook my own means Jazz would be eating dinner late, and it's the perfect time as it is (Shel usually has dinner cooked and is serving up as I drive into the garage).

I think maybe this should be in the religion section... although not really. I mean, it's more animal rights.

I don't really want any advice or anything. I don't think so anyway. Maybe I do. I don't know. Maybe I just want someone else to give me a push? Or to say... ME TOO!

(PS. It's my birthday! hehe Happy birthday me! :leap:)

I couldn't read and not say Happy birthday! So Happy birthday to ya! :D

No meat eating advice here... sorry.

ME TOO! lol

I don't think about where meat comes from. I am sticking my head in the sand but it just hurts too much. I hate the thought of animals suffering and I can't even look at an abattoir.
The smell of raw meat makes me feel ill but I am the household cook. I hate seeing trucks full of cows and sheep.

Reading back what I've written I don't know why I'm still eating meat! Well, DH would never stop so that makes it hard.

Oh and Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!!

Sorry no help I love meat and dont like many vegies!

Happy birthday....off to start a thread :P

I sooo get where you are coming from...I want to be a vegetarian but Dh is a meat eater and so are the boys...well my whole family is!
I am trying to eat as ethically and kindly as possible when it comes to meat...if there is such a thing.

I remember the Dalai lama saying about when he goes to his mums and she cooks the best roast pork lol Was kinda funny coming from him ;)

When you find the answer let me know and I will join you :)

I just wanted to point out that people often see giving up meat as a sacrifice. I think another way to look at it is to see it as a positive, as a melding of your attitudes and actions, putting your ethics and beliefs into practice. Any transition is difficult at first, we cling to what is familiar and safe. I haven't eaten meat for 14 years (neither has my DH). I grew up in the traditional meat and three veg family, but I no longer regard meat as food, I regard it as a dead animal. My perceptions and attitudes have changed.

Check out vegfamily and Animals Australia for inspiration and recipes. Oct 1 -7 is World Vegetarian Week and people are being encouraged to go vego for the week, 'to test the waters', so to speak! I can honestly say that my life feels richer because my ethics are aligned with my actions. Also, if you like the taste of chicken, there is a brand of vego foods that resemble chicken nuggets, chicken burgers and chicken strips. The brand is Frys.

Good luck! (My DH is a buddhist too!)

Aah, it's EASY. Just find out how most of the animals are treated and killed. No brainer.

Fake meat! its made for people just like you. Give it a try
I have been vego for 10 years and it would be easy to book the same meal for the whole family and add a biut of meat to those that want it but you'll find that vege food is cheap, easy to cook and yummy so most times when I cook for meat lovers they are pleasantly surprised.
I agree with going vego for a week and seeing how you go, you might be pleasantly surprised

I know exactly how the meat i eat is treated, and killed...... And i'm happy to eat meat. :)

When the time is right, you will follow your religious beliefs and become vego. Maybe it will be easier when you're not working and back at home again?

And did i say Happy birthday? :p

Happy birthday!!

When I became vegetarian I LOVED meat. I told myself I could have free range chicken once a month so as I worked through that first vegie month I would dream up my end of month chicken meal to get me through. The cold turkey method worked really well because by the end of the month that chicken meal wasn't so great- I had lost the taste so I didn't bother again.

For me I needed a catalyst. I had pondered vegetarianism but it wasn't until I sobbed through a Greenpeace animal rights ad that I really said "I can't be a part of this cruelty anymore" and I stopped eating animals. As Ash said I feel fantastic to have myself properly expressed through my actions. It's a huge self esteem boost and feels fantastic. I now eat far more healthily (veg for 12 years) and I don't see animal flesh as food either. The taste has long gone. The double bacon cheeseburger pizza fan now loves a good tofu burger! :D

Not sure how to help with your family meals... can shel cook the meat on the side and you keep the freezer stocked with tofu burgers, falafels etc to quickly add your part to your meal?

Hmmmm not sure what happened there!

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I know exactly how the meat i eat is treated, and killed...... And i'm happy to eat meat. :)

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I don't though, and I sorta can't until I do :(

Happy Birthday!

I just recently started eating meat again because the carnivore DP and DD are meat eaters. Maybe try compromise with say 3 or 4 vego meals a week? Sounds batty but it's basiccally a win/win as far as i can see

We recently went vegetarian, but both DH and I share the same reason why - so it was easy for us. And I love the taste of meat, I just don't like where it comes from ;)

We started off giving up lamb, cos these poor little lambs, they don't even get the chance to grow up and live life (so to speak) they are killed before they are an adult.. which got us thinking about our own kids and then we just felt so bloody guilty, we didn't eat lamb.

Then DH was cutting up a chook that I had roasted (my first one mind you) and he held it up by the wings and he was like - this was once running around the chook pen you know ..... and it made him sick to the stomach that we were about to eat it.

So then we gave that up too (and I looooove my chicken!!)

So far (yes its only been about a week and a half) its been pretty good. I have 24 recipes so far that I have collected, and the ones we have tried so far are really really good! Especially the ones that replace mince - you can hardly tell the difference except we don't feel so heavy in our guts now from being weighed down with meat.

Anyway - I think the point of all my rambling - you will know if its time for you to do it. We talked about it for years before we did it, and now we are doing it. I told DH that we would try the kids on every meal and if they absolutely hated one of them, then I would cook them sausages instead for that meal. So far they complain about every meal, but they do that anyway.. LOL

Anyway - go with what your heart says.

And happy birthday.

And don't stalk me now you know my address :p

Check out The Meatrix dot com :)

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Aah, it's EASY. Just find out how most of the animals are treated and killed. No brainer.

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Dude, I am covering my ears singing "LALALALALALALALALALALALALA" :P

Leasha, what about weaning yourself off it? Or have a few vegetarian meals a week and if Shell decides not to give meat up all together, she can cook the vegetarian meal and then just a bit of meat for herself? We do vegetarian at least 2 times a week and it's not hard to cook, and I'm sure if you showed her a few really simple but great recipes it might be easier for her?

Hope you had a fantastic birthday!

I totally hear you, DF was a vegetarian for many years but since he has been with me has been eating chicken, seafood and some beef. This week he decided to have a vegetarian week, I flat out said no because I just didn't want to right now. It's a decision you need to make for yourself for your own reasons otherwise you will never stick too it.

Maybe it's because I am BFing every couple of hours still, but I wake up craving protein and go crazy if there is no meat!

I am exactly the same!

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Aah, it's EASY. Just find out how most of the animals are treated and killed. No brainer.

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I have deliberately avoided reading Peter Singer's "Animal Liberation" because I know it will tip me over !!!

Havent really got any advice on how to wean, I am an omnivore for life - but I just wanted to add in to not forget your B12. My nan had a B12 deficiency and it was a very hard thing to go through. B12 only comes naturally from meat and meat products (some people say unwashed fruit but we are talking about animal excrement here. Eww) So a good fortified cereal or just a B supp.

Good luck Leash, and Happy birthday for yesterday!

Maybe you could wean yourself off meat. Start by having a few non meat meals a week, maybe start with pasta dishes. We have a couple of non meat meals a week, no one misses it.

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Havent really got any advice on how to wean, I am an omnivore for life - but I just wanted to add in to not forget your B12.

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I think Leasha is only talking about being vegetarian, not vegan, at this point- is that right? B12 isn't a concern for vegetarians as it's present in dairy and eggs.

:happybirthday: !!!!
I need an answer too!!! I loooooooooooooooove bacon:( and chicken annnnnnnnd seafood!!!!! help!

I just wanted to suggest some great books:

Eating Animals by Jonathon Safran Foer
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell- excellent book about nutrition based on the largest nutrition study ever conducted.

Foer write his book after having his first child and feeling compelled to find out more about the source of his family's food. Joy explores interesting ethical issues in her book. Specifically how we compartmentalise how we regard animals. We would never consider harming or eating our companion animals, but we turn a blind eye to the suffering of animals like pigs, who are as intelligent as dogs.

Regarding B12, Meow is correct. If you are still eating dairy and eggs you generally wouldn't have to worry about taking a B12 supplement. B12 is actually a bacteria, not an animal product. It is present in the guts of animals, including humans. When people consume animals or animal products they also consume B12.

:clap: Go Leasha! I would love to give you the push that sends you over the edge.

First, I would say gradual weaning is not the way I would recommend to go. Even though every meat free meal is an awesome step for the Earth, if you're serious about it, I would say to go cold turkey for a month, and see how you go. If you do it that way, you'll get a better of what the challenges are.

Second, I love meat too. I fricken loooooooved meat. Lordy do I miss salami. But the stuff I miss the most is the stuff my body needs the least. I can't even begin to tell you how much healthier I have been since I've been vegetarian. Doubly so since I've been vegan, but let's not get too extreme yet.

Slow cooker is your friend as a vego, and, I reckon, in Qld as well. It's a great and easy way to cook your beans and lentils, so you get heaps of iron and protein, and having that gentle heat going all day is so much better in the Qld heat than slaving over a hot stove for an hour or so. Yuck. Potentially solves your getting home from work late issues too.

I could go on for hours and hours and hours about this. i will, I always will, if you want me to. I have about a billion recipes to share too. See if you can get Shel to agree to a meat free month. You may very well find that you don't miss it at the end of it. OR, as Mel said, you might find that you do miss it, but when you go back it doesn't taste as amazing as you remember.

xx Your personal vegie coach (sorrry Mel, gotta share the love :heartbeat:)

Roryrory it was Peter Singer that tipped me! I had read Animal Liberation, and survived it, but then a friend asked me to take his copy to a talk to get it signed, took DH, and that was it. We went vego that night, even though there was steak in our freezer.

There's not much B12 in dairy, but eggs are a great source. In this house we take Thompson's sublingual tablets, they're delicious. B12 is formed by bacteria, which is where other mammals get their sources. The B12 in meat comes from those animals eating other excrement. Yum.

I don't eat meat.The last time i did eat it was when i was 12( 26 now)
I do eat seafood..

My reasons were the fact that it was an animal etc..Now even if i wanted to eat it i could'nt as the thought of it would make me be sick. DF does eat meat although he isnt one to want it every night..I cook for both of us,either seperate meals which are mostly the same but a few things diff but easy to do ,or i cook meat for him fish of something else for me..

He loves the food i cook and would take a vegie meal any day over meat food, vegie cooking isnt hard , i have so many great recipes if you are interested ,that take no time at all and are so yummy :)
I have never had an iron problem as i eat lots of beans,lentils ,greens etc

In the end its up to you! Do what you want , if you like meat then eat it , if you don't then don't eat it , mine was the fact that the thought of eating it made me feel sick coz of what it was, I dont believe we need to eat meat all the time to live , and i don't agree with the 'you need meat to live' 'we were made to eat meat' bull ****

But each to their own of course :)

I think its healthy NOT to eat meat every day of the week anyway, but if Shell wants to eat meat then she can , doesnt mean you have too as well.. I do the non meat and meat eater here so if you need ay tips :)

Happy Birthday as well :)

Yeah, I reckon start with one meat-free day a week, then work your way up to 2 then 3 and so on. This way your DP gradually learns new recipes, too!. Or maybe get her to cook vego every second day, keeping some food leftover for you the next day. Does that make sense? That way you go vego the whole week and DP and little one only go vego every 2nd day. Maybe that could work :dunno: At least she wouldn't have to cook 2 meals in one night.

Anyway, I wish you good luck with whatever you choose to do! And Happy Birthday!!!

I also do not eat eggs, or much dairy and i have never had a problem with vitamins , you just need to learn where to get what you need from what source

Or you can take a multi if you want as well..

Coming back to this thread this morning and reading all the responses has really made me question why I do eat meat. In all honesty we probably only eat a meat dish a few times a week anyway; would it really be that hard to eliminate it all together?
Think I need to have a chat with DH; see if we can come up with some kind of compromise. Although he loves animals even more than I do - so it may not be that difficult to convince him!

Are you concerned about an animal dying for your meal, or the conditions that the animal lived in and the way they died for your meal? If it is the latter, and you don't want to completely remove meat from your diet, you can source more ethically derived meat.

I am vegie and my DH eats meat and it is not that hard to make both our meals. Some meals are fully vegie, stir frys we cook the meat seperate and add it to his bowl later, DH has meat & veg and i have a patty & veg... Spaghetti we make two different sauces and freeze some for a day when we can't cook.

Well, first I'll say thank you to everyon for the birthday wishes, and thanks that no one took the pi$$ out of me. I felt silly writing it, but am so glad there are other people who think the same way!

Still no closer but am glad I'm not really nuts!

wellllllll... I don't think anyone said you weren't nuts.... :think:

:p well... not REALLY nuts... just a little bit nuts then.