RSS Feed
Twitter
Obviously mostly coming from people who know nothing about the diet and its benefits. These are comments I hear on a daily basis from friends and family:
"Vegetarianism is bad for the environment because it leads to overpopulation of animals."
"How can you not eat meat? I could never give up meat, it tastes too good. You’re probably going to get sick from lack of protein."
"Vegetarianism is stupid and unnatural, we have canine teeth for a reason."
How would you respond to any of these? I’ve tried the just leaving it go, but after awhile I just get sick of the comments.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Posted in 
Tags: 
It is best to ignore people who are rude.
I’m a vegetarian on certain days due to my religion, but I have studied nutrition and I don’t think the VAST majority of vegetarians get enough protein.
And I don’t really think the comments you sampled are derogatory. If you want to avoid people’s opinions about it tell them it is part of your religion.
I like to point out that a vegetarian’s diet is by far more varied than a meat eater’s.
You can also rise above the ignorance of your audience by saying that humans are omnivorous; in other words, we can eat anything and everything, and there is no functional reason to restrict ourselves to a carnivorous diet. We’re not beasts! (but if you say the last sentence as it is, you’ll probably not have the upper hand anymore, and that comment will open the floodgates of all kinds of stupid retorts – don’t go there!)
As for the reduced protein intake, there is milk, cheese, eggs (if you’re an ovolactovegetarian), beans, lentils, couscouz, soy (and loads of very tasty by-products), wheat, barley… what low protein intake?
these questions are so ridiculous i wouldn’t even try to answer them. you could just say "actually thats not true." but maybe you need to figure out why you are a vegetarian and stick with your ideals. use that for your answer to the questions. for example: i am a vegetarian for ecological reasons, meat takes much more energy to produce; tell them that you’ve done a lot of reading about diets, nutrition, or whatever your grounds are and maybe if that doesn’t work, try to make some friends that can support you.
I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years and I’ve heard all those comments and more. My personal favorite was when a girl I didn’t even know heard a friend of mine ask me why I became a vegetarian. This other girl butted in to our conversation and told me it was against the natural order of things not to eat meat. What does she care? She doesn’t even know me! It is so irritating when people act like the way I eat is offensive to them. It makes no difference in their lives how I live mine! I usually just respond by saying that I have made a personal choice not to eat meat and that it is my right to make that choice. If their comment was particularly offensive, I go on to say that what I do or do ot eat is none of their concern and they need to concentrate on themselves and not my personal decisions. If the comment wasn’t meant to be rude, you can just say that you prefer not to eat animals and you have a healthy balanced diet from non-meat sources that is actually healthier than a meaty diet so they don’t have to worry about your health. Don’t feel like you have to keep your vegetarianism a secret, either, as one poster seemed to insinuate. That is ridiculous. Be proud of your decision and stand up for it and eventually people will leave you alone about it. I married a hunter (yes, I get the irony!) and his family cannot STAND that I don’t eat meat. I just had to tell them it was my choice, and I wasn’t changing! After 3 and half years, the comments are now dwindling. Just stand strong and maybe even tell them it hurts your feelings that family and friends are questioning something that is important to you and you would appreciate that they not continue to make derogatory comments about your decision to be a vegetarian. Maybe they don’t realize it bothers you and will stop when they find out it does. Good luck!
This might be hard at first, but just try to laugh it off. The people saying those things probably aren’t going to change their beliefs and opinions about vegetarianism, so there really isn’t a point in trying to change their minds. They’re just trying to get a reaction out of you.
Whenever people say things like that to me, and I say something like "You eat meat and I don’t. It’s not a big deal." Then change the subject.
People can be ignorant and just plain rude. I usually tell them to "mid their own plates".
"Vegetarianism is bad for the environment because it leads to overpopulation of animals."
No, it doesn’t. There wouldn’t be so many animals if you people weren’t eating them. Ever hear of supply and demand?
"How can you not eat meat? I could never give up meat, it tastes too good. You’re probably going to get sick from lack of protein."
So you’re saying that it’s okay to torture another living being just to please your taste buds? Seems like you’re the sick one. I can get protein from whole grains, hummus, rice, beans, chickpeas, nuts and seeds, and very many other foods.
"Vegetarianism is stupid and unnatural, we have canine teeth for a reason."
Carnivores’ canine teeth are long, sharp and curved. Herbivores’ canine teeth are dull and short or long for defense, or they don’t have them. Omnivores’ canine teeth are long, sharp and curved. Humans’ canine teeth are short and blunted.
Go here for more Carnivore/Herbivore/Omnivore/Human things, go here: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Are_humans_omnivores_or_herbivores
i have lame/old responses
ummmm.
the first one makes zero sense to me.
1.but "your mom leads to the overpopulation of old people"(i know makes no sense, ahahaha)
2.actually some things have more protein than meat.
3. so why do we have herbivore bodies?(and yes we are herbivores, even meat eaters, like in wild a carnivore won’t eat a cooked animal, and most people eat cooked animals, but the person you are talking to might not know that)
you can just walk away, tell them to shut up, ask if its okay to eat their children.
good luck though
i’ve been a vegetarian for almost a year now, ever since i saw videos of what really happens, it hurts my heart.
I saw a comment that said just ignore rude people. But people who are dissing vegetarians need to be confronted. Its not fair for someone to be doing some so good as saving lives of animals and have some careless meat eater disrespect them for it. when you see comments like that just reply as "imagine being dragged, slaughter, burned, cramped, and/or beaten to your death. then eaten. nothing should be too hard to give up if it risks somethings life."
then you can put up these links, two very good videos:
reasons to go vegetarian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zz-Ubsn-2U
meet your meat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4
I have heard all that also and have been a vegetarian for almost 20 years and vegan just recently. If they are repeatedly saying the same things it may be best to answer them with facts.
As far as the environment goes. Livestock production is one of the most destructive human activities on earth.from the UN report "The long shadow of livestock production"
Most meateaters get way too much protein in their diet and that is a contributor to many diseases. Getting enough protein isn’t even an issue. They are more likely to have some kind nutritional deficiency.
Horses have canine teeth.
Truly, even as a child I didn’t like the taste of meat, so I use that.
I am allergic to eggs, so I get away with that one too,
then change the subject. lol
Arguing about food preferences is fruitless.
Trust me, I know how you feel. I get these comments all the time it’s so annoying.
Here are some ways you can respond politely:
"Vegetarianism is bad for the environment because it leads to overpopulation of animals."
~ Actually, a great majority of the meat we consume is taken from factory farms. In these farms, animals are bred by humans, so by not eating animals we lessen the demand, therefore lessening the supply. Simple economics.
"How can you not eat meat? I could never give up meat, it tastes too good. You’re probably going to get sick from lack of protein."
~ Actually, there are lots of ways to get protein without eating meat. You can get it from cheese, soy, beans, legumes, and even more sources.
"Vegetarianism is stupid and unnatural, we have canine teeth for a reason."
~ This one I can’t really answer for you because the response depends on your own reasons for becoming a vegetarian. For instance I would say, this is true, but it is also unnatural to raise animals in a factory.
Hope this helped a little. =)