Honestly, it's all about educating yourself. Once you know the truth about animal agriculture, the environmental consequences it has, the pain and suffering the animals experience, and especially the truth about what meat, dairy, and eggs does to your health, those foods just become super unappealing. At first, I missed the taste of certain foods, but I found vegan alternatives for them (chao cheese is amazing btw). Eventually time goes by and you actually start being repulsed by it. I've been vegan for about two years now and seeing raw meat literally gives me shivers up and down my body and makes me feel nauseous.
I can recommend a bunch of books, documentaries, and YouTube videos, that made me go vegan and helped me stay vegan.
Books:
-How Not To Die by Dr. Michael Greger
-The Starch Solution by Dr. John McDougall
-Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Preventing and Reversing Diabetes
-Diet For A New America by Dr. John Robbins
-Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis, R. D. & Vesanto Melina, M. S., R. D.
-The 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Douglas Graham
-The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
Documentaries:
-Earthlings (full film)
-Cowspiracy (trailer, film available on netflix)
-Forks Over Knives (trailer, film available on netflix)
-Unity (trailer, film available for $4.99 on YouTube)
Lectures and Talks:
-The Best Speech You Will Ever Hear by Gary Yourofsky
-101 Reasons to Go Vegan
- Also, lectures from Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Neal Barnard, and Dr. John McDougall are all amazing, informative, and eye-opening.
YouTube videos:
-DAIRY IS F**KING SCARY! The industry explained in 5 minutes
-Response to Kendall Jones - The Truth About Hunting
-What's Wrong With Eggs? The Truth About The Egg Industry
Facebook Groups and Pages:
-Vegan Humour https://www.facebook.com/groups/vegan.humor/
-Also type in your country or city with the word vegan and you might find a group for all the vegans in your area. It's really helpful when you want to find certain vegan products, try new restaurants, and meet other like-minded people.
OMG we keep bumping into each other. Believe it or not I am a vegetarian. I became one because I couldn't stand the double standards I was having towards animals: I adore my dogs, yet I eat lambs or calfs... And not only that, I always had to make myself think about something totally different while eating meat because I was eating DEAD animals. NO matter how hard I tried to think about smth else, I would always gag and puke and I just couldn't stand the smell of it and the taste of it.
I didn't have to fight wanting meat because I have never wanted it. You can put the most delicious burger next to me, and I'll be as interested as a gay man in playboy! Hahaha 😂😂😂😂
And there ARE people who are more or less prone to being a vegetarian. Blood type A (mine) is the "natural" vegetarian, while Os got it the hardst. You just gotta decide and never think about it again and never look back. Ofcourse, consult with a nutrition what kind of food you should eat, because you can't cut off meat complitely without finding a replacement. You gotta eat a lot of diary products, eggs and beens/peas as well as soy. But if you whant to be vegan, I really don't know how to give you advice!
You don't need to stop completely. The issue with industrial farming practices is it's necessary to keep up with demand. Meat is not an issue, the amount we consume is.
This is a great article written by Dr. Mercola regarding red meat and cancer. It's a heavy read for anyone that hasn't studied medicine.
articles.mercola.com/.../eating-red-meat.aspx
I've studied Veganism, I've gone Vegan for 6 months as a result. However, I noticed a significant drop in my sex drive and weight wouldn't drop unless I did cardio for several hours a day (that's another conversation). After analyzing the reasoning Vegans use to justify their cult behavior, there are several holes.
1. Vegans would claim that the life of a cow is equal to that of a human, and by killing a cow you are essentially a murderer.
This is a slippery slope. Using this logic, the life of a cockroach is equal to that of a human, because it's a sentient being. Pest Control companies "murder" more lives per capita than Industrial farming. When spraying ant trails with Raid, that is the equivalent of carpet bombing an Elementary school. What about lab rats being used for scientific studies? Intuitively, something is wrong here.
Vegan Gains himself admitted he couldn't survive on a Vegan diet in climates with harsher winters. So morality is somehow tied to climate. Wrong.
If you don't support industrial farming practices, it's understandable. I've cut my meat consumption by 80 percent, looking to go higher. We consume too much meat. But to say that you're supporting animals is a slippery slope. You're supporting SOME animals.
You're not supporting the animals who lost their homes and have died as a result of human expansion and the concrete jungle. You're not supporting the birds that get killed by planes because people want to fly, or the squirrels that get smashed on the road because people want to drive. You're not supporting the lab rats that are injected with chemicals and die of cancer for the sake of science.
This is one slippery slope. If you can live with hypocrisy, be Vegan.
I didn't fight against myself wanting meat. I slid into vegetarianism v slowly, eating less and less, but if I really wanted some, I'd still eat some. After a year or so of that it reached the point where I realized I hadn't eaten meat in some months... and I was okay with that, still wasn't craving it or anything.
So maybe that would work for you - pick one meal a week where you usually would eat meat and don't. Work on finding fun recipes you enjoy that don't have meat, and try them out.
You'll still be making a difference if you get there slowly, and if you develop the habits to support eating vegan/vegetarian (having recipes, supplies in your kitchen, knowing what to buy, etc), your chances of keeping to that diet are much higher :) Good luck!
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TBH, I think people are too quick to slap a label on themselves, and it henceforth leaves them constrained. This applies to meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans. Frankly, vegans need to eat some meat, and meat eaters need to eat less, and more consciously (I say, rhetorically speaking). I'd simply educate yourself. About whether we really *need* so much animal protein in a day. Two servings a day often, if not more. Is that really necessary? There's some quite rational reasons why it's not healthful. It's certainly not environmentally sustainable.
Why *be* anything? Why not just eat less, gradually, and see how it makes you feel? Maybe learn how to make satisfying vegetarian meals, if necessary? But personally, I'd phase it in, just eat a meal or two per week less without any animal products. See how you feel.
What's your motivation for becoming a vegan?
Hahah Amy, I think I've had a similar conversation with you before xD Kudos to you for still wanting that.
I guess I got lucky, I never had to force myself to become a vegetarian, I just gradually stopped liking one meat product after another till I didn't enjoy the taste of any meat products at all. It's weird, I don't know why it happened. Part of me feels like I was meant to be a vegetarian, as stupid as it may sound.
Now, becoming a vegan... uhhhhh, that will be quite a lot harder though. But I'll try someday.
I guess you just gotta find substitutes for the meaty stuff that you're craving. I've heard that meat replacements / vegan meat doesn't even taste that much different from real meat. Haven't looked into it too much though since I have zero interest in anything meat related whatsoever.
For me personally, my body functions better with a moderate amount of meat. I've gone veggie for a few days as a personal experiment and my body felt "off". I've tried a diet high in meat and body didn't like that either.
I have reduced the amount of meat that I eat in the past couple years and my body does feel more optimal, I feel I found that balance. Only eating meat at dinner, and right after strength training for recovery, seems to work best for my body.
I have solved the puzzle! :)
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Keep in mind that vegetarianism might not work best for your body. Everyone's body functions differently.
I don't know how people survive on leaves, if I don't eat meat or take protine in diet now and then, I end up developing a hunger that, no matter what I eat it fills my stomach, but does not satisfies my hunger..
I cannot get meat that often, so I Stick to eggs, 1 in every 48hrs, keeps me away from the ripper me and still satisfies my craving, but nothing beats a nice juice chicken leg.
I gradually took animal products out of my diet. First, I stopped eating meat for breakfast, then I stopped eating other animals for breakfast. Then I moved on to lunch, and then dinner. I kept myself full and ate a lot of carbs. I stopped craving animal products after 3 months, which is not difficult if you're not hungry. If you want to take it REALLY easy, use fake meats. There's some fake chicken products out there that taste almost exactly like the real thing.
I never wanted meat because it disgusts me. If you care about animals, why would you want to eat them. Animal's aren't food! Watch documentaries, see it as a whole animal, not just " bacon " or a " hamburger ", like think of a whole cow and how fckin gross it is ( blood, guts, bones, brains ) and how sad it is. You won't want it anymore and you won't crave it.
At least I admit I eat meat because it tastes good instead of trying to find ethical reasons that don't exist xD I know it's irrelevant to your question but idgaf
I am not really a vegetarian/vegan I can only eat the meat of an animal that died of which wasn't killed (a natural death).
I became this way due to my moral principles it was natural for me and obviously, I still want meat.
"fight against wanting meat"
Lol.
I was just never raised in a household where meat was cooked and served so I didn't develop the urge to eat meat since I've never tried and I really have no desire to.
I lived in an Ashram for a couple of years. But then again I was born Vegan, haven't had meat all life except on a couple of occasions. Sorry can't help you much.
I am a carnivor and have no plan on changing that fact
I become Lacto-Vegetarian because I always felt sorry for the animals... basically, it was out of compassion, ethical reasons.
It wasn't that difficult, there are some substitutes for meat ;)
I was born vegetarian. It was not easy but much easier than become one. :) I am so grateful for it and I wish you to become one, too
Been a vegetarian for all my life, so I have no desire to eat meat as I don't really know what it's actually like.
I have so many vegan and vegetarian friends... but couldn't do it lol
Most vegans who try to "become" one, wind up failing in the end. You don't have to eat meat EVERYDAY to still be a meat eater. Just don't eat meat every day. You can do it
You can't stop if your body craves meat.
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