What age were you when you turned veggie?

sweet-rasmus

So, I was trying to think of a thread to post and I was wondering what age most people were when they turn vegetarian. I was 14, I think. I guess for most people it would be in their teens 'cause you finally begin to think for yourself. Here we go...

10.

My Aunt wanted my mother to have me checked into a clinic for people with eating disorders.


You'd go to peoples houses, and they would bring you a ham sandwich. And you'd have to explain that pork was actually meat.

So then they would bring you chicken....and you have to try and convince them that too was also meat.

And then they would bring you cheese, non of which was labeled as veggie at the time.

And you'd wish for the ground to open and swallow you up.

Absurdum

I gave up red meat at about 10 and chicken within about 2 years after that.

Most embarassing moment was the first time I met my first "serious" girlfriend's parents, her dad made me a burger, I was all like "ummmmmmmmmmm..." but she jumped in and saved me!

entropi

Began my vegetarian experience when i was just past my 26th birthday, so not too far off 3 years now i guess:) I thank my Austrian veggie friend for the help she gave me in realising i was veggie:D

DonnieScribbles

I was raised veggie, currently the only vegan in my family.
It just meant I was always fielding shocked questions about never eating chicken nuggets or burgers from other children in school.
Explaining it on school trips was pretty tricky too.
I do wonder sometimes if I wasn't raised vegetarian would I be now? I guess I would be. Who knows?

Tar.Aldarion

18 I gave up my precious steak, am 23 now.

LRN

Went veggie at age 12, am now 18. I have thought about going vegan, but haven't made any serious commitments.

Even after 6 years, it's still awkward when someone's gone through the trouble of making a dinner with meat as the main and I have to break the news..
My grandmother once cooked a thanksgiving turkey, complete with stuffing, and then told me that she'd made the stuffing vegetarian so I could have some. Nevermind that it was cooked for hours inside the bird.

Mentalmiss

I was 21 but it was not as talked about in those days so I was not even aware of the fact that such a thing was possible.
I became vege as soon as it dawned on me. Happiest day of my life.

DonnieScribbles

LRN wrote: »

Even after 6 years, it's still awkward when someone's gone through the trouble of making a dinner with meat as the main and I have to break the news..

That's always going to be awkward though! They think you're offended, you think they're offended, uncomfortable moments ensue I always feel very ungrateful when this happens, but it hasn't for ages anyway so that's good.

Anyway, welcome to the forum Nice to see another Galway veggie about the place!

I was 21 but it was not as talked about in those days so I was not even aware of the fact that such a thing was possible.

Yeah, my parents turned veggie in the 1980's and apparently the incredulous reactions they got were something else!
'You're a what?!'

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Master of Nothing wrote: »

Began my vegetarian experience when i was just past my 26th birthday, so not too far off 3 years now i guess:) I thank my Austrian veggie friend for the help she gave me in realising i was veggie:D

Mentalmiss wrote: »

I was 21 but it was not as talked about in those days so I was not even aware of the fact that such a thing was possible.
I became vege as soon as it dawned on me. Happiest day of my life.

I love this theme of people being somehow inherently vegetarian and just not realising it :pac:

Veggie born and raised, though the rest of the family have fallen off the bandwagon now and I've gone in the opposite direction, towards veganism. Never had the slightest interest in eating meat.

eviltwin

I was 15.

We were shown a video in home economics class about the way meat is processed including some really graphic footage of cows being slaughtered.

Until then I had never really thought about meat or where it came from and just ate what I was given but the next day - after some really terrible nightmares - I decided that I couldn't eat it anymore.

My mother had a fit. She made no attempt to help me with food so I pretty much had to learn to cook for myself from that day on but I stuck to my guns and am still happily veggie 17 years later

smegmar

I was about 14 (:eek: about 8 years now, how did that happen)
family trip to Sligo with nothing to do, somehow the thought got into my head that all my favorite foods were veggie, just went with it from then on

tatli_lokma

stopped eating red meat at 12, and chicken when I was 13, stopped eating fish when I was 14. So nearlt 18 years now! I've been veggie longer than I was ever a carnivore!
And I agree that some people are inherently veggie - we just need to come out of the closet! lol
My mum said she always knew I was a veggie, cos when I realised 'lamb' was baby sheep, I wouldn't eat it and I was 6 or 7. And I just generally didn't enjoy meat - hated chewing on it! she used to have to chop up the meat and hide it! I would avoid any chewy meat, and only just about agreed to chicken or ham sambos!
when I was about 10 the local farm had a snow white calf - my dad allowed me to call him snowball and we went to visit him every day. Then snowball went 'on holiday' to a new farm. Then about a year later I twigged that snowball def didn't go on holiday! from then on it was a real struggle for my mum to get me to eat meat. She had no problem with me not eating meat, she was just unsure what to feed me in place of it. So by the time I was 12 I was able to help out in the kitchen enough to eat what I wanted, so that is when the red meat stopped.

I am glad I am veggie, and can't imagine ever going back. I am more relaxed now than I was - I don't beat myself up as much if I inadvertantly eat something non-veggie. I used to feel ill and guily for days when I was younger - but I suppose that comes with getting older and having bigger responsibilities (and no time to dwell on things like that!)

haven27

Aged eight I decided that I'd had enough so twenty years this year, have a veggie mum and a now vegan sister. Never had the choice forced on me just didn't eat much meat anyway so didn't seem like a big deal and now I'm too used to it to want to change.

LRN

Cincikchick wrote: »

I've been veggie longer than I was ever a carnivore!

That's awesome! I can't wait for the moment I can say the same..

Elliemental

I was 16 (I`m 29 now), my older sister was veggie, so I got a load of help and advice from her about the change in lifestyle, and because she`d done it all years before I did, my parents were really cool with it.
Back then, people used to look at you like you had two heads when you told them you were a vegetarian. Nowadays, i`m sometimes met with hostility when I tell people. Quite alarming really.

maameeo

i was 12, decided for definite after people wer dissecting meat in science class.

its interesting to see the main age group is 11-15 atm, wow.

sweet-rasmus

Yup, I'm really impressed with the results. Quite the trend

Crumble Froo

i was 18ish, i think. just after my first trip to nz, i decided to take the plunge and do it properly (i'd been eating a mostly meat free diet anyway, unless you counted the occasional drunken burger).

Femke

I was 16, 20 now

Aoifums

I was 12 when I went pescetarian, about 13 when I went veggie.

My mam has told me she's pretty sure I was born a vegetarian. I freaked out when my brother told me the lamb I wa eating came from fluffy little lambs. And I refused to eat meat if it was chewey or you could see veins or anything.

I think the last time I ate meat sealed the deal for me. I was seriously sick (although that could just have been McDonalds )

Tar.Aldarion

Femke wrote: »

I was 16, 20 now

Is this another veggie in trinity I spy!

swimgal

I can't remember exactly when but I was in primary school - although I never really ate meat before that either. Didn't like the taste. I probably only ate chicken. My mum tells me that when i first started eating proper food when I was a baby I used to eat liver - ugh!

maameeo

liver... *shudder*
something i definitely never liked eating even before i was veggie!

Tar.Aldarion

I adored it, any fake liver about?

Bajingo

I first went veggie when I was 6. Lasted nearly a year.

Then again when I was 11-12 maybe. Lasted over a year.

Its tough when your kid and your parents are against you being a vegetarian. Im 19 now and im thinking of becoming vegetarian again. But I think I can be more serious and real about it now. I understand what the meat market is doing to the planet and to our health and to the animals themselves and I want to make a change. Thats why I came to this forum I dont want to jump into it on a whim.

Sorry for going a tid bit off topic.

sweet-rasmus

Welcome to the forum Bajingo There is a thread where you can introduce yourself and one for general chat, as well as plenty of general thread topics to read too.

Tar.Aldarion

Bajingo wrote: »

I first went veggie when I was 6. Lasted nearly a year.

Then again when I was 11-12 maybe. Lasted over a year.

Its tough when your kid and your parents are against you being a vegetarian. Im 19 now and im thinking of becoming vegetarian again. But I think I can be more serious and real about it now. I understand what the meat market is doing to the planet and to our health and to the animals themselves and I want to make a change. Thats why I came to this forum I dont want to jump into it on a whim.

Sorry for going a tid bit off topic.

Good luck mate, totally worth t in my opinion.

bronte

I was 9, I'm 25 now. I remember getting a lot of stick in primary school because I was "different" to the rest of the kids in my class. Not a time where you want to be anything but the norm! :pac:

Shenshen

I only recently became vegetarian, and technically I'm still not fully vegetarian as such.
I had been trying for years, on and off, but if you really, really like meat it's not easy. And if you've got a family that will eat meat 3 meals a day, that doesn't help much either.

My reasons are not so much that I've got a problem with killing an animal to eat, it's more due to the way these animals are raised and treated these days. When I was growing up, I would spend most holidays on the farm of some relatives, so I was aware from very early on where meat comes from. I only started considering vegetarianism when I found out that most meat available didn't have anywhere near as nice a life as the animals on my uncle's farm, and that they would be put through severe suffering and stress in their short lives before being carted half-way through Europe without food and water in order to be killed.
That is something I just do not want to be any part of.

I have been vegetarian for 2 years now, it was fairly easy after moving in with my the BF who's been vegetarian for well over 2 decades now. It can get a bit tricky when going out for meals, I hate being stuck with one option on the menu and not liking it, but other than that there are no problems. I'm really, really glad for meat substitutes, though.

henryporter

21 when I started 21 years ago. Now I'm thinking of going that bit further towards veganism - probably in january though, just made the christmas pudding and it's full of butter, and it'll take me that long to get used to the idea of a world without cheese

fillefatale

14, stopped eating red meat, 15 I gave up meat and a couple of months before I turned 16, I gave up fish (tuna).

Tar.Aldarion

Nce to hear these stories and how people are veggie longer than I've been alive in some cases!

Slaphead07

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Nce to hear these stories and how people are veggie longer than I've been alive in some cases!

Just realised I hadn't replied to this thread.

Well I turned veggie at 19. That was 1979. I'm still alive and am depressingly healthy!

-lala-

I went veggie when I was 12, vegan when I was 13.

Mark Hamill

Turned vegie when I was 7/8, (I'm 25 now).
Was a bit of a surprise to my parents as a) I loved rashers and sausages and b) I hated (and still hate) nearly all vegtables.

Pjays

19. It wasn't a hard decision to make as I only ate chicken and fish. i had given up the others after seeing a documentary on slaughtering pigs and also another one on what sausages really are. Disgusting!
The kids in the school where I teach are amazed at how anyone can give up meat. They always have jellies with them (not allowed, but they still try!) and when I tell them about the gelatine in most of them, they are so shocked. It was great, they all started taking food out of the bags and started reading the labels today!:)

maameeo

Pjays wrote: »

19. It wasn't a hard decision to make as I only ate chicken and fish. i had given up the others after seeing a documentary on slaughtering pigs and also another one on what sausages really are. Disgusting!
The kids in the school where I teach are amazed at how anyone can give up meat. They always have jellies with them (not allowed, but they still try!) and when I tell them about the gelatine in most of them, they are so shocked. It was great, they all started taking food out of the bags and started reading the labels today!:)

aww teaching the lil ones, its good they know what they are eating

Linguo

Me too!Lord did i crave chicken nuggets at the start though, hard when you're a kid:D

Hammer Archer

Since I was 15. Almost 7 years ago now.
Seeing as I never ate a lot of the popular types of meat like steak, chicken, ham, burgers etc. it was very easy to switch. I probably have more variety in my diet now than I did when I ate meat.
Would never consider going vegan though. I woud actually waste away if I had to give up cheese.

jape

I admire the people who became vegetarian at such a young age. Mucho Respect !

AssaultedPeanut

I went pescetarian at age 11 after I watched a programme on TV about pigs being slaughtered, I remember the sudden moment of realisation that that was what I was eating at dinner time and being repulsed to my very core. I gave up fish a while later and then went vegan at 23.

I'm 25 (26 next month)

jape

jape wrote: »

I admire the people who became vegetarian at such a young age. Mucho Respect !

I dunno, I think it is much harder when your older. And more set in your ways.

Or if your one of these people who genuinely loves the taste of meat.

It hasn't been a particularly tough choice for me.

Clare Bear

I was toying with the idea for a couple of years but went completely vegetarian at 19. Wasn't a tough choice at all and have found it easy enough since.

Shenshen

Moonbaby wrote: »

I dunno, I think it is much harder when your older. And more set in your ways.

Or if your one of these people who genuinely loves the taste of meat.

It hasn't been a particularly tough choice for me.

Can't say that for me. I've been through I don't know how many attempts to become vegetarian, but living at home and having a mother resenting that move on all levels, it was just simply too hard for me to do. She would make sure to cook meals that entirely contained some sort of meat (bacon bits in the mashed potatoes, the veg fried in lard,... ) Me actually liking meat and objecting to it purely on a moral level didn't help much, either.
It was only much later, and when I actually had full control of what was in my fridge and on my table, that I was able to change my diet and make it vegetarian.

fillefatale

Shenshen wrote: »

Can't say that for me. I've been through I don't know how many attempts to become vegetarian, but living at home and having a mother resenting that move on all levels, it was just simply too hard for me to do. She would make sure to cook meals that entirely contained some sort of meat (bacon bits in the mashed potatoes, the veg fried in lard,... ) Me actually liking meat and objecting to it purely on a moral level didn't help much, either.
It was only much later, and when I actually had full control of what was in my fridge and on my table, that I was able to change my diet and make it vegetarian.

Wow...! I had similar problems so I began to cook my meals myself, and if i didn't have time it was cereal for me... took 2-3 years before she was impressed by purely vegetarian dishes and now they eat more fish and quorn at home, than they did before. They'll never fully change.
My mum was very very stern about it, it was some battle at dinnertime when I came in to prepare my separate meal, she would complain constantly about me dominating the cooking area and the added cost of me using the electricity for the cooker, buying meat substitutes etc. There was many, many a heated argument in that kitchen, praise the lord for freedom of my own shopping list now!

JTMan

I was 27 when I turned vegetarian. Quite late in life relative to most others, I kinda wish I did it at an earlier age. Anyway, I obviously did not go through the parental/home issues that many of you guys seem to have experienced.

However, when you are ever so slightly older, I think it becomes a bit more difficult to tell people about your sudden change in dietary behavior. My brother told me that 'it was one of the biggest shocks of his life when I told him I had gone vegetarian'

Breezer

I was 15, I'll be 23 next month. Just went cold turkey straight away (pardon the pun). Although I'd been trying being veggie on and off pretty much since I was capable of independent thought (about 5 or 6 I guess). I was just never comfortable with the idea of eating an animal. The mother eventually gave in after a decade or so and I've been veggie ever since

Fungus

Fungus wrote: »

My brother told me that 'it was one of the biggest shocks of his life when I told him I had gone vegetarian'

Isnt that nice in a way though...That he has lead such a cosseted life :P

Shenshen

Shenshen wrote: »

Can't say that for me. I've been through I don't know how many attempts to become vegetarian, but living at home and having a mother resenting that move on all levels, it was just simply too hard for me to do. She would make sure to cook meals that entirely contained some sort of meat (bacon bits in the mashed potatoes, the veg fried in lard,... ) Me actually liking meat and objecting to it purely on a moral level didn't help much, either.
It was only much later, and when I actually had full control of what was in my fridge and on my table, that I was able to change my diet and make it vegetarian.

When I turned veggie at 10, it was under the condition I cooked for myself.
Because my redheaded mammy, wasnt going cooking two dinners.

SO yeah I have little sympathy for that viewpoint. :P

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Moonbaby wrote: »

When I turned veggie at 10, it was under the condition I cooked for myself.
Because my redheaded mammy, wasnt going cooking two dinners.

SO yeah I have little sympathy for that viewpoint. :P

I love the way you point that out