How to Explain Vegetarianism

There are many reasons to not eat meat these days. Some point to health, others to the lower carbon footprint, and still others to the inhumane practices of commercial farming. Every vegetarian has his or her issues, and for some reason, when around a crowd of carnivores, a simple meal can turn into a heated confrontation. Below I hope to deliver some tips on defusing the argument, avoiding the negative labels, and becoming more articulate with your reasons for not eating meat.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Patience.
• Well-reasoned arguments.
• An open-minded audience.
• Perhaps, an exit plan.

1. 
    
   Confrontation.

   Understanding the Confrontation: There are two kinds of meat-eaters, those who understand and respect vegetarian's concerns with a meat-based diet, and those who do not. The latter are generally those who feel comfortable confronting other people, sometimes total strangers, on why in the world they would not eat meat. As a vegetarian myself, I too often see other vegetarians take the bait in these situations. Some angry person who needs everyone in the world to be just like him says something along the lines of, "Hey, I love animals, I think they taste great!" and then laughs heartily, trying not to choke to death over his partially-clogged arteries. The sensitive vegetarian becomes red in the face and threatened and immediately starts rattling off facts and stats in his or her defense. This is the wrong approach. It is best to view confrontational meat-eaters as "blocked" vegetarians. There is obviously something very threatening to their way of life about what you are choosing to eat for dinner. Otherwise, who is really going to reprimand you for eating a salad? It is usually people who are controlled by their impulses to eat food they know is not healthy for them (or for the environment) who will see your very presence as a reminder of their unhealthiness. These individuals will feel the need to defend themselves even though you've done nothing to provoke them. Have compassion for these people. There are likely many things they are a slave to in their life that make it impossible to make wise choices. DO NOT take the bait. If they are this outspoken against a plant-based diet, they've heard the song and dance before and they don't care. Having a few zingers (the painful phrases, not the junk food) in your back pocket for defense never hurts. Or better, just re-frame the conversation to be about their health and happiness. Keep asking questions until they start to listen or sound silly. Remember, you're the one making a healthy choice, like not smoking. Non-smokers don't get asked why they don't smoke, it's obvious. More and more people are recognizing the benefits of plant-based diets. Don't let those slow to change ruin the party.

2. 
    
   Education.

   Education: If, on the other hand, you are approached by a meat-eater who is respectful of your views, but perhaps has simply never been educated on the benefits of a vegetarian diet, by all means, educate them. Believe me, I know it gets old explaining yourself at every meal. My wife and I move a lot for work and school and there is always a process of educating our new friends on what we do and do not eat and why. Be careful not to turn away potential interested parties by coming off as an angry vegetarian. If you do not feel like going through the talking points, have a book title or two you can refer them to. Or ask if maybe you could grab a coffee or a beer sometime and talk about it when you can go into greater detail. It truly needs to be a deeper, more philosophical conversation if you hope to accomplish anything. Don't get yourself worked up by trying to explain it in a thirty-second sound bite at a party. It will come off as flaky and inarticulate and this person may come away thinking that you don't have good reasons behind your choices. That could turn out badly for you and your reputation.

3. 
    
   What Is Normal?

   Normalizing Your Diet: Don't make your diet the centerpiece of who you are as a person. For some reason, especially when first starting out, vegetarians feel the need to profess to the world that they are no longer eating meat. They wave this fact like a freak-flag everywhere they go and become incredibly judgmental and self-righteous about their new choice. My wife put it well once to a group of like-minded individuals looking for ways to explain their diet to family and friends. She said, "I decided to stop calling myself a vegetarian, but continued to not eat meat." This is brilliant really. You're not joining a religion or ending a war somewhere in the world (although some may argue it that way). People are much more receptive to hearing about vegetarianism after they've gotten to know you as a relatively normal human being with many facets and interests and talents who just happens to also not eat meat. Be sure you are not causing unnecessary confrontations with your attitudes toward people who choose to live differently from you. They, after all, have a right to their own choices as well. Most moderately evolved human beings will eventually see that you seem happy and healthy and full of energy and will be curious what your secret is. That's what people will be attracted to, not your militantly ridiculing something they've always known as being perfectly normal.

4. 
    
   Be At Peace.

   Be At Peace: If you are not at peace with your decision, why should others be? There is nothing worse than watching people stop eating meat and turn to a diet of cheese and junk food under the premise of saving the animals. One cannot sustain oneself on this type of diet or on this attitude alone. These are the people who end up giving up a month or two in and validating the arguments of people who believe not eating meat is a tediously difficult lifestyle of suffering day by day. There are a plethora of delicious vegetarian recipes in the world today, do not become a martyr who only eats dried out cakes and meals so dense they couldn't be digested by a 500 pound ungulate. Also, do not go out to restaurants and complain that there is never anything vegetarian on the menu. Restaurants are businesses, not revolutionaries. They cater to the tastes of the majority of their customers because that's how they make money. Do not continue to go to steak houses expecting them to have a gourmet veggie menu because you decided to become health conscious. Same goes for parties and friend's houses. Most true friends will eventually adapt and start making dishes without meat, however offering to bring something you can eat and that others will enjoy too makes life easier on everyone.

5. 
    
   Commercial Chicken Farms.

   The Reasons: If you aren't sure yourself about the reasons for eating a plant-based diet, here are a few. First is personal health. Meat, especially red meat, is full of fat and bad cholesterol. True it is a good source of protein and omega-3, but that's about it. Both of these can be found in much healthier foods such as beans, nuts, seeds, and soy-based products. Another reason is the carbon footprint. The carbon dioxide produced by livestock farms is the number one contributor to greenhouse gases--even more than cars. Humans eat so much meat today that the mass producing of animals to fill the need is contributing to the warming of the planet and the destroying of ecosystems. It also takes approximately 16 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of beef. That means there is an enormous amount of resources going into simply feeding the cows until they are large enough to eat (and you the consumer are getting less energy from the beef). These are resources that could be going to other places, and fields that could be used to grow additional plant-based foods. The third of the three most prominent arguments for plant-based diets (and likely the most controversial) is the lives of the animals being eaten. They are living, breathing creatures after all with functional nervous systems that allow them to feel anxiety and pain and discomfort like the rest of us. Free-range farming is now working to get back to more ethical means of raising livestock in fields on farms where they have room to live reasonably peaceful existences before being slaughtered. On the other hand, the majority of the U.S.'s meat comes from corporate farms where thousands of cows are crammed into tiny living spaces on top of one another on a concrete slab where they defecate and trample each other for a few years before being killed. In the case of chickens, their beaks are melted off at birth so that they cannot peck each other to death in the tiny cages and the cages are stacked on top of one another from floor to ceiling in a warehouse where the feces produce a very ripe environment full of bacteria. Many die in the cages before making it to the machine that is used to throw the live chicken against a wall at high speeds to break its neck and kill it. The chickens are then picked up by a machine and put on a conveyor belt where they go through a series of processes to be cleaned, cut into usable pieces, and packaged.

6. 
    
   Objectivity.

   Stay Objective: If I can leave you with any advice it is to attempt to put your emotions on this topic aside when explaining yourself. I hate to see intelligent people floundering due to their over-sensitivity. If the goal of the interaction is to educate, you cannot do this if you are frantically ranting about animal cruelty or the end of the world from global warming. Attempt to discover where your "in" will come from with this person and work on putting the information in terms that they can relate to. Stay calm, give only truths, and evidence. Don't assume that because this information affects you so strongly that it will do the same to others.

Tips & Warnings

• The FDA allows up to 1% rat feces in meat from packaging plants.
• Milk cows are kept pregnant through their entire life so they can keep producing milk.
• Most of your meat and milk is so full of growth hormone that females are actually hitting puberty earlier from consuming so much of this hormone via the beef and milk one consumes.

Resources

• Dr. John Robbins MD on the question,

[Merriment]

on 5/14/2009 Can I simply refer others to this article when they ask about my choice for a vegetarian diet? Thank you for a very wise piece on how to behave socially as a vegetarian. I must read this many times!

[doban]

on 5/6/2009 I guess I am just lucky because I have been a vegetarian for about 12 yrs now and I have never been confronted in a negative way. I never tell anyone -I just choose a limited selection from the menu. People always notice and ask the same question of "why" though but they are just curious. For me it is because I feel sorry for the animal. I could not deal with eating them. You have very good points though and I will remember them if I ever am confronted.

[bethandlee]

on 4/16/2009 To each his own...what may be right for one doesn't always mean it is right for another. I'm a vegetarian and that is right for me but I just let others do whatever feels right for them. Thanks for the great informative article. 5*

[msknowalot]

on 4/9/2009 thanks for explaining vegetarianism.

[jhardesty0879]

on 4/8/2009 ...minority and must often stand up for themselves. I hoped to offer some education on how to do that more effectively. Although you are not the targeted audience of this piece I hope it offered you some insight into what kind of responsibility is necessary to live in a free country where people are condemned for trying to live a healthier life while others put personal beliefs above scientific facts and cause harm to us all. I appreciate your feedback.