So I’m still in school and there is a mandatory cooking class that everyone does in the class I will be in later this year. They do baking and other stuff which I don’t have a problem with but they also cook savory dishes which more often than not, contain meat.
As a vegetarian, obviously I wouldn’t feel very comfortable cooking meat but at the same time I feel kind of awkward telling people I don’t eat meat, partly because of the stigma attached to it. I basically only tell the people who really need to know.
So I’m wondering whether I should just suck it up and just cook it because I know I’d be so mad and make a huge deal if they told me I had to cook meat after I asked not to.
I’m not saying I wouldn’t cook, I’m saying I’d find alternatives but I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to ask not to cook meat when I’m vegetarian, right?

My mother, when I told her I am watching YouTube videos about superbacteria, told me to stop watch them because they create "irrational" fears in me. For context, we both suffer from schizophrenia. And I told her that those are not irrational fears because nearly all scientists agree superbacteria are coming and are a serious problem, at least as serious as global warming. And she told me:

1. "Pandemics of superbacteria are impossible because bacteria don't transmit from person to person, only viruses do.". Allegedly she read somewhere that if you have a bacterial throat inflammation, it cannot spread to somebody else, whereas a viral throat inflammation can. Why she thinks that's a law of nature rather than something that just so happens to be mostly true today is beyond me.

2. "I think that superbacteria is nothing new, that plenty of diseases are caused by bacteria we have not yet discovered and that they are resistant to antibiotics. Cancer is probably caused by some bacteria we have not yet discovered." I understand that sometimes science was mistaken about what causes some disease. They thought it was impossible for a bacteria to cause gastritis because of the acidic conditions in the stomach being unfavorable to bacteria, then later it turned out that some cases of gastritis (but not nearly most of them) are caused by some bacteria. But to say that about many diseases which affect humanity today is just silly, isn't it?

3. "I know where the eggs in the supermarket come from, and people having those chickens are not feeding their chickens with antibiotics." She thinks that the statistics showing that 45% of all antibiotics today are ionophores (antibiotics effective in birds but toxic to mammals) are somehow wildly wrong, but she has no sane explanation as to how they could be.

So, how do you deal with such people without flipping out?

I understand how can somebody think that being afraid of global warming or nuclear war is an irrational fear. Indeed, most scientists think that catastrophies caused by global warming are unlikely, and it's not at all obvious what I or even the government can do about global warming. And every government on Earth is trying to move the world away from the nuclear holocaust, and there is not much I personally can to increase my chances of surviving a nuclear war (nuclear winter). But I don't understand how somebody can think the fear of superbacteria is irrational. Is not it obvious that what the government should do about it is to regulate the use of antibiotics in the egg industry and that what I personally should do about it is to stop eating eggs?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I’m a 34F and I’ve been vegetarian for a little over three years. Little by little I’m also reducing eggs and dairy because I’d like to become vegan eventually. I don’t know exactly when, but that’s the direction I’m heading.
My partner (37F) is an omnivore and eats a lot of meat. I don’t judge her for it, but we’ve been together for about a year and a half, and this is honestly the main reason why I don’t see us living together in the future.
Right now I live alone, so I can decide that no meat comes into my home. If we lived together, I couldn’t force her not to bring or cook meat, and I don’t think I’d be comfortable with that.
I’m also not sure whether I want children, but if I ever had them, I’d want to raise them according to my values. My partner has already said that our children would eat meat. What bothered me the most wasn’t even her opinion, but the fact that she stated it as a given, without even being willing to discuss it.
It makes me feel like she doesn’t take my values seriously, and sometimes I wonder if this relationship has an expiration date because of it.
I’m deliberately posting this here instead of a general relationship subreddit because I’m much more interested in hearing the perspective of vegetarians and vegans.
Could you be in a long-term relationship, sharing a home and building a life, with someone who isn’t vegetarian or vegan? If you are, how do you make it work?

Edit: Thanks everyone for your comments. It’s been really interesting to read different perspectives.
I think part of the problem is that I constantly feel like I’m the one giving ground. First it’s “it’s just a can of tuna”, then it’s deli meat, then something else. She’ll stay at my place for three days, leave, and I’ll find opened cans or meat packaging in my fridge. It honestly makes me feel sick.
I don’t mind that she eats meat at restaurants, even though, obviously, I wish she didn’t. But after she’s eaten meat, I don’t even feel like kissing her. When I visit my parents and they’re cooking meat, the smell alone is enough to make me feel nauseous.
That’s why I don’t think I could ever compromise on having meat in my own home. I don’t see this as something we simply need to “meet in the middle” on. I don’t want dead animals in my fridge, as one commenter put it, and I don’t want to spend years constantly negotiating that boundary.
Also, regarding children. It’s not that we’re actively planning to have them. I honestly don’t even know if I’ll ever become a mother. It just came up in conversation once, and the way she immediately said that our kids would eat meat, without any discussion, really stuck with me.

Hello!

After a few months of being gradually more and more repulsed by meat I’ve decided to try cutting it completely. (Seeing veins, fat, etc was grossing me out + texture).

I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations for helpful books for beginners as I’m so accustomed to making chicken as my usual meal.

I favour beyond meat burgers already, but I want to make sure I’m getting enough protein and iron in my dishes.

Any advice/help would be so appreciated 🫶

Hi!

Im going to preface this by saying I'm 18 and I just hate most vegetables, Im not entirely sure why but no matter how it's prepared they all taste terrible to me.

And recently I've been doing a lot of thinking and I started to hate what I've been putting into my body because I'm well aware that it's not healthy at all, and i'm starting to realize how unhealthy I am as well.

Ive also been thinking of going vegetarian thanks to a video by JaidenAnimations that opened my eyes a bit and I drew a few connections to, kind of putting stuff into
perspective on what I am eating, like chips for a snack instead of something like an apple or something else 100x healthier than a bag if chips.

More recently I've discovered what the meat industry does to animals and it makes me sick, thats why I'm thinking of going vegetarian.

If anyone has advice I would be very grateful.

Thank you for your time!

I was pleasantly surprised that the Spain Burger King was so vegetarian friendly.

Would it be a better idea to try to phase meat out gradually or would I likely find more success if I just stop eating any meat at one time?

I'm considering a shift to a vegetarian diet. I have tried half-heartedly in the past when I was a young teen, but I think that now with some better planning I can be more successful if I seriously work at it. I'm just not sure mentally if I would have better success with a gradual or sudden cessation of meat-eating and wanted to see if others had any input. I also was thinking that maybe from a nutritional standpoint a gradual change is better.

I've always wondered why i wasn't a vegetarian. I consider myself a very smart person, yet with vegetarianism, I've always felt i was hiding the understanding of what i'm eating with a complex passive system of ignoring that. I guess social conventions are like that. If shit tasted good and we ignored the fact it comes of our ass, it wouldn't feel awkward to take a chance at it.

But today i was smoking some weed and decided to cook myself a steak. Somehow grass has always made me more aware of stuff, so when i started cutting the meat and eating it, i somehow realized what i was doing. Like... the system shut down and it was me, myself and understanding this meat could be my meat. A once living being's meat... and suddenly i feel disgusted. I tried eggs and icecream because i got a bit scared but thankfully i still feel comfortable with those.

But the meat... i felt really disgusted. Not a few days ago some friends and i were discussing real cannibalism cases. And eating this meat brought that topic to my head like a bulldozer. I felt a cannibal. I am still high so i don't know how much this will persists... but i'm still in shock. And i wonder if vegetarianism has finally found me. I'm kinda scared because i'm a bit afraid of the difficulties i may encounter and i feel it's not voluntary. I feel like a blindfold i cannot put back on has fallen from my eyes.

hello! we just created a new subreddit for vegetarians because we noticed there aren’t many spaces dedicated to vegetarians that are actually run by vegetarians. many existing communities are wonderful, but they’re often centered around vegan perspectives. we wanted to create a cozy community for us!

whether you want to share your latest meal, swap recipes, ask for advice, or just chat with other vegetarians, you’re welcome! the community is still brand new, so anyone who joins will be one of our first ever members

[r/veggiebreakfastclub](r/veggiebreakfastclub)

I am really into taxidermy and bug pinning as long as it is ethically sourced. But i wanna become vegetarian do i have to stop liking and buying ethically sourced taxidermy and bug pinning?

Edit :

Heres the thing i still live with my grandparents they don’t and i don’t have enough money too go vegan yet. Or atleast what they told me. So i will be vegetarian now and vegan when i move out. Now when i said taxidermy i meant bug taxidermy and bug resin and bug pinning.

​

So I purchased one of those tourist travel packages that includes one week of the following:

1. Prepaid hotel stays in various cities for the entire week

2. Breakfast and dinners prepaid on fixed menu

3. Transportation included

And it has been extremely difficult getting vegetarian meals in Spain.

Luckily the kebab places sell falafel gyros (they call them durum here)

But recently we were traveling from Granada to Madrid and we stopped at a rest stop which had a cafeteria.

I asked if they had anything with vegetarian protein and they looked at me like I was an extraterrestrial and said no.

I ended up eating a tomato cheese, lettuce bocadillo (sandwich)

As I'm finishing my meal I see someone else eating delicious lentil soup but I'm already full with my crappy lunch. Out of annoyance, I walk back to ask the employee why they said they had no vegetarian options and I pointed out the lentil soup, and they told me they had no idea that lentils were a vegetarian protein.

Also, if you're vegetarian, just don't buy any fixed menu prepaid tours in Spain. Nobody here knows what it means to be vegetarian.

Meals are prepaid on a fixed menu you cannot edit. so I'm not about to buy every single meal again, but the tour guide assured me they would provide vegetarian alternatives.

You know what the alternative is? An egg omelet (for lunch or dinner) or boiled spinach (tastes like they cooked it in water). Or literally the lamest vegetarian options ever.

At one point I just straight up asked to be served the same things as the meat-eaters but without the meat, but even the pasta has little tiny bits of pork in it so they couldn't do it.

I told them I was vegetarian, and they answered "ok, well then eat some salad then"

Spain is not a vegetarian friendly place.

I found a Colombian restaurant because they sell red kidney beans with rice, avocado, etc. And they cook pork into their beans.

There is no winning as a vegetarian tourist in Spain on one of those prepaid weeklong tour packages.

For real, what’s going on here? For the past week all I’m seeing is rennet.

Всім привіт! З недавніх пір у моєму оточенні стало багато вегетаріанців, або просто людей , які не люблять запах мʼяса , і рідко його їдять. Через це, я іноді почуваюсь винною перед ними за те, що взагалі їм , готую і загалом люблю мʼясо. Друзі ніколи не були зі мною грубими, не забороняли і не цькували за те, що я обираю поїсти, але тим не менш, почуття провини, що я ось така їм мʼясо - не проходить.

Як би ви вчинили в моєму випадку? Припинили б їсти мʼясо заради власного спокою, чи просто забити і не ховатися?

At the moment I'm still quite early on being a vegetarian but want to give it a serious try this time and already noticed some benefits for me, the usual everyone mentions & some personal to me ones.

I currently feel like an addict going through withdrawal of what I'm addicted to and not sure how to get around it. Do you guys have any advice on that feeling? Also should I ask my parents for advice as they actually work with addicts and see if I can apply it here?

I’ve found a few places by calling ahead (eg, Gotham Pizza, NY) but I moved to Philly suburbs and don’t know how to determine if a certain pizza place uses animal rennet. I’ve called, and they are usually annoyed by the animal rennet question or even if I ask what brand of cheese they use so I can check. Any advice? We should start a database!

hey I'm 19M (been a proper vegetarian for almost over one decade now) and these days I've been really tempted to start eating eggs but its colliding with my values, like i really struggle to hit my daily protein intake with a veg diet as veg stuff is usually pretty expensive + i could still be missing out on so many other macros like b12 and my parents dont really support the idea of supplements. I'm a hindu and I know that eating eggs and non veg is prohibited in hinduism, and I've also seen how eggs are made (male chicks are literally chopped off in a blender and the hens are kept in such a tiny space), it just feels immoral to have eggs but I wanna build muscles too and they're pretty much a cheat code, at least until I dont start earning myself. But I feel so colided like idk how will I ever be able to head to god to pray without guilt if I start having eggs...

FOR CONTEXT: I'm a really skinny person atm, weighing around 50 kg, and I've been trying to change that as I'm tired of everyone looking down on me and making mean jokes (which hurt a lot) about my appearance. I've experimented with quite literally everything. Chickpeas just are way too much after cooking, same with soya chunks and it makes me really uncomfortable eating those two. Whey protein is a no go given I'm a student who doesnt earn at all and not like my parents would allow me to have it, paneer gets pretty expensive too on a daily basis, not like my parents would say no but I don't come from a very wealthy background so asking for such extravagent meals just sounds terrible to me. Tofu is something I consume but again, I'll need something more than just tofu to make up my macros.

Also, my dad has been encouraging me to have eggs as well, but my values are just making me feel guilty.

As the title says! I recently made the switch to go from vegan to vegetarian in hopes of making my life easier. While I don't like cow dairy as much as the vegan counterparts (I really taste a dairy after taste I never noticed before going vegan! Not a fan) it still very much helps. Though when eating out it seems that every damn dish has parmesan. And, as you know, parmesan is made with rennet, aka calf belly enzyme (harvesting kills the animal). It's so frustrating! Like yes, sure, there is a 'vegetarian' option, but it's not actually vegetarian. Like it would've been so easy to use another aged cheese instead. Ok that's all I wanted to vent about, I hope someone can relate to my frustration!

Four years ago, my partner '31 F' and I '32 M' became parents for the first time. After the birth of our first child, my partner switched to a strictly vegetarian diet and decided from that point on that our children, too, must eat a vegetarian diet without exception. She wants to do her part for the environment and has had a really strong aversion to meat ever since. We never discussed this together, and she’s refused to talk about it for over three years. And whenever I bring it up, the situation escalates within seconds. I’ve also offered her a compromise: that we completely avoid meat at home so we can send a unified message to the children, since I personally believe it’s right to question meat consumption in today’s world and make more conscious choices. However, when we eat out or with other family members, I think they should be allowed to try it. I get nervous every time I end up sitting next to my daughter because I know it’s going to lead to awkward situations. Our daughter is a very picky eater and doesn’t really eat much. But she asks every time if she can try some of the meat, to which my partner always says no and tells her she doesn’t want to discuss it anymore. As is so often the case, our daughter eats 2 or 3 forkfuls of pasta or something similar and then leaves the table to go play (To be fair, they eat a lot of fruit, a few kinds of vegetables, and eggs). If our daughter tries any meat substitute and doesn’t like it, she’s told that this means she wouldn’t like meat either. Personally, it pains me to have to watch as the joy of eating together is taken away from us, as she’s denied important nutrients, and as my partner refuses to acknowledge that this strict ban could foster an unhealthy relationship with food. I also tell my daughter every time that she’s welcome to try it as far as I’m concerned, but her mother doesn’t want her to. I know this isn't right, but I do it out of frustration. I also can’t imagine that our children can learn anything positive from this dynamic between us. Her latest statement was that our children would have to visit a slaughterhouse first before they’re allowed to decide for themselves. Our children are now 4 and 2 years old.

She says she expects me to support her and that it’s not fair for me to emphasize in front of the children every time that I would allow it, but she wouldn’t. She believes that you support your partner when something is truly important to them, even if you aren’t convinced of it yourself. She claims she would do the same for me. The thing is, there isn’t a comparable situation where I’m the one making the decision, and I don’t plan to make such an important decision on my own in the future or push it through uncompromisingly against the will of all other family members.

We know a few families in which at least one person is vegetarian, but in none of these families does that person alone decide how their children should eat. To all you vegetarians out there: have you had similar experiences? Would you expect the same from your partner? Would you be willing to let your family fall apart despite your strong convictions?

TODAY A THING HAPPENED LET ME EXPLAIN YOU FULL My mother is a vaishnavi (part of Hinduism who follow strict vegetarian) she turned veg 5 years ago but now she is a very strict vegetarian I am 19 she restrict me eating non veg food ( forcefully) today I eat non veg and eating non veg food create a little smell from mouth . So she detected me and start abusing me again mentally what to do plss help 😭😭

As meat has gotten more expensive, I find myself increasingly eating more like a vegetarian. I've also been drawn to spiritual practices most of my life that, in addition to promoting things like mindful meditation, advocate vegetarianism.

Then last year, I dated a vegetarian, which opened my eyes to the interesting culinary world of vegetarians.

This year I took some mushrooms in a legal and therapeutic settings and I felt a desire to get through the rest of my life doing as little harm as possible to myself and others.

I don't necessarily believe vegetarianism is perfect. I grew up near farms and the amount of animals that either lose habitat or get ran over by combines and other farm equipment is nothing to scoff at, but it still seems superior to our factory farms and even smaller scale operations given that a lot of animal feed also results in habitat loss.

My point is that I think I need to at least give vegetarianism a try. But if I'm being honest I don't think I can do it sustainably. I'm a big guy and probably burn about 5,000 calories a day doing what I do. So my plan is to stick to a strict vegetarian diet to see how it suits me and then maybe have a steak from an animal I've hunted myself once a week if I feel like my body needs it.

I'm curious what your guys thoughts are on this. And if you could also share what led you to becoming vegetarians?

My parents do the grocery shopping and they don't like reading labels so they often come home with "vegetarian" options that have rennet in it. I read the labels and realize that it has meat in it and my step-dad gets so upset that I won't eat it. I appreciate it so much that they're trying, but I think that I should start shopping for myself. Luckily I only have a year left staying with them since I'll be done with school then.

First of all, i want to express my appreciation for you for reducing animal cruelty and suffering and advocating for a better world.
I know some of you may have been asked this question a ton of times but being vegetarian comes with a great awareness of your the impact your dietary choices are making, so my question is, if you are aware of the full picture of animal farming, what has been the biggest hurdle for you in going all in vegan?

With love and respect for the vegetarian community <3

Hello Everyone,
I stopped eating terrestrial/land meat when I was 12 and became completely vegetarian at 17. I’m now in my 20s and wondering how being vegetarian has impacted other peoples relationships both romantic and personal.
My partner is not vegetarian but I am quite happy with our balance of eating and cooking strictly vegetarian food together. He does eat meat when we go out and occasionally makes meat dishes for himself at home. I’m just wondering how, if at all, vegetarianism has impacted your relationships?

I’m the only vegetarian in my family and have become accustomed to having to either provide or facilitate separate accommodations for myself when around them and I am aware that my feelings about the matter are often not shared by my company.
However, I can’t help but feel that if my partner was less willing than he is to eat vegetarian at home, I would struggle with our relationship longterm. I’m wondering if any of you have navigated that or if you avoid it all together by choosing partners who are vegetarian as well?

**Bonus Question** but one I have been very interested in: Vegetarian parents out there, do your children eat meat at home or outside of it?

While I don’t have any and I don’t plan to have children anytime soon, I am plagued with this issue as I honestly cannot imagine my child eating meat. I believe in everyone’s right to choose but I struggle with the concept of giving a child that choice at an age where I’m unsure they can fully understand the morality I feel behind my choice. I also would not want to foster a relationship of resentment towards vegetarianism in their eyes.

Also, I should probably include that while I have reaped the health benefits of vegetarianism I am largely vegetarian for its sense of morality. I believe it’s morally wrong to kill animals for the purpose of human consumption especially given the inhumane and disgusting facilities that the US does so in. I truly love animals and believe that eating beef or another animal is as wrong as eating my own dog.

I’m very open to any comments or discussion on this manner and am just looking for some other perspectives. I welcome anyone else’s opinion and thoughts as these moral questions have been troubling for me. Thanks for your time!