Why Do People Stop Being Vegetarians/Vegans? (diet, vegetarianism, find)
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What they have to do in the privacy of their own minds is somehow justify the sufferings of animals. This you cannot really do if you look at it squarely.
Some people can, though. I used to like and respect Lisa Ling - that journalist who does a lot of work with womens issues, worked for or with Oprah; her sister was imprisoned in North Korea until Clinton got them out. But I don't respect her any more. She did a film on an abbatoire, supposedly one of the "good ones," and she said she still ate hamburgers.
This makes me want to vomit and I don't like her any more.
What they have to do in the privacy of their own minds is somehow justify the sufferings of aninals. This you cannot really do if you look at it squarely.
Some people can, though. I used to like and respect Lisa Ling - that journalist who does a lot of work with womens issues, worked for or with Oprah; her sister was imprisoned in North Korea until Clinton got them out. But I don't respect her any more. She did a film on an abbatoire, supposedly one of the "good ones," and she said she still ate hamburgers.
This makes me want to vomit and I don't like her any more.
That is how I felt when Drew Barrymore quit being vegan and said it was because she needed "me" time and it was time to put herself first.
Vomit.
I would never become so selfish that putting myself first meant contributing to the suffering and torture of animals!
@missik999: Julia Styles said the same thing, and I respected her a little less for it. Barrymore doesn't surprise me. Charming girl, not sure how bright she is.
I try to model my attitude on Jane Goodall. Someone asked her how she could go into animal research centers, and not lose her mind, have a fit, start throwing things, etc. She said, it wouldn't help the animals. That's the issue.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 05-24-2012 at 04:51 PM..
Reason: Edited out reference to deleted post
I haven't stopped either. I've been one since 2003 and I am cuently cutting out more dairy from my diet.
I know the question is about how people stop, but I'm not sure I know anyone who has. I know of more people who become repulsed by the way animals are treated and take it a step further.
I think some people take the 1st excuse they can do give up a veg diet. If can convince themselves it's a good enough reason then it eases their conscience. I've met people with an array of excuses. Things like they wanted to stay veg but they wanted to gain muscle mass...nonsense. Plenty of vegan athletes out there to look at for inspiration. It doesn't help that many doctors have next to no training in nutrition. My wife was told that she should be "tied down and fed a steak once a month" when she was pregnant. This doctor had only surface knowledge about nutrition and when pressed couldn't really say why she was concerned about a vegan diet...she just was. Many people though get one of these doctors and voila....good excuse to give up eating compassionately all while feeling like you had no choice.
I think some people take the 1st excuse they can do give up a veg diet. If can convince themselves it's a good enough reason then it eases their conscience. I've met people with an array of excuses. Things like they wanted to stay veg but they wanted to gain muscle mass...nonsense. Plenty of vegan athletes out there to look at for inspiration. It doesn't help that many doctors have next to no training in nutrition. My wife was told that she should be "tied down and fed a steak once a month" when she was pregnant. This doctor had only surface knowledge about nutrition and when pressed couldn't really say why she was concerned about a vegan diet...she just was. Many people though get one of these doctors and voila....good excuse to give up eating compassionately all while feeling like you had no choice.
It's exactly what I was thinking. It's scary that quite a few doctors don't take classes in nutrition. Isn't that kind of dumb?
I don't get the protein obsession. How on earth are humans, as primates, supposed to sustain themselves off protein? It doesn't make sense.
I know people can change, but I just can't understand how eating meat can appeal to someone after they have made a conscious commitment to not eat it!
Humans follow the herd, when virtually everyone around you eats meat it becomes taxing psychological to go against the grain. I think some people, psychologically, just aren't up for it. You don't see the same thing in cultures where vegetarianism is well understood and considered a normal dietary option (e.g., Asian cultures).
Though, I think those ex-vegetarians and those that are otherwise familiar with what happens in the meat industry tend to have an awkward disposition towards meat. They like to forget about what they are eating, so will often avoid things like chickens legs, etc where its unmistakably from an animal...
Also, Americans tend to have poor diets that only work (well relatively speaking) due to the presence of animal products. Remove those products and the diets become amazing deficient in important nutrients. As a result, I think in many cases people end up reverting because they haven't bothered to create nutrient rich vegetarian or vegan diet...
I cook all the time. I am a cook. I love to cook.
Meat is easier to prepare and make delicious. Because it's already packed with its own intense flavor, it picks up other complementary flavors easily, and it's hard to not cook it properly.
Huh? Vegetables, etc are packed with their own flavor as well. Also, I'm not sure in what sense the flavor of meat is "intense". Most of the flavor in meats is derived from the fat, plain non-fatty meats are pretty bland.
Not sure I understand, in what sense, meats are easier to prepare. If anything they are harder to prepare because you have to worry about the bacteria they carry and food-borne illness.
Last night I had chili and corn. The chili takes around 1~1.5 hours of cook time, but I make a huge amount (enough for ~20 servings, I freeze whatever I'm not going to eat in 2~3 days). The corn took a few minutes, I put it into a steamer. Both the corn and chili had just as much flavor as any meat. This morning I had a bag of peanuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, etc.....delicious and no cooking.
Back to the topic of this thread, I don't really know anyone personally who has stopped being vegetarian or vegan. Most of my friends are either vegetarian or vegan, and many of my coworkers are too.
All of us often discuss how we wish we had gone meat-free much earlier than we did. Once we have seen the benefits of a healthier, cruelty-free diet we would never turn back. We all agree that we have much more energy, feel better, have improved our lab values, blood pressure and in general just feel better.
I have heard about the few celebrites who have stopped being vegan but otherwise vegetarianism and veganism are rapidly gaining popularity.
Back to the topic of this thread, I don't really know anyone personally who has stopped being vegetarian or vegan. Most of my friends are either vegetarian or vegan, and many of my coworkers are too.
All of us often discuss how we wish we had gone meat-free much earlier than we did. Once we have seen the benefits of a healthier, cruelty-free diet we would never turn back. We all agree that we have much more energy, feel better, have improved our lab values, blood pressure and in general just feel better.
I have heard about the few celebrites who have stopped being vegan but otherwise vegetarianism and veganism are rapidly gaining popularity.
So, back to the topic (as you said)...do you know -why- those few celebrities youve heard, stopped being vegan? It's pretty clear -why- people become vegan, or vegetarian. But the question the OP poses, is why people -stop- being vegan or vegetarian.
I think some people stop because they've found dietary difficulties and personal health issues that are resolved by including some kind of meat in their diets. I think some people (such as myself) return to an omnivorous diet (which includes vegetarian dishes) because we simply enjoy meat, and choose not to eliminate it from our diets.
I think some people would continue being vegan/vegetarian, but don't do the research necessary to do it healthily, and fail, and revert to omnivorous diets as a result of that failure.
That's my answer to the question of "why." What's yours?
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