I REALLY want to become vegan, but my dad said I can't.?!
I REALLY want to become vegan, but my dad said I can't.?
What should I do? He said that he's not buying any of the stuff I'd need, and he would'nt give me money for it either. He said he IS NOT going to let me, but I can when i move out. I really need some advice. Please help. I really don't want to eat animal products any more because I found out that they torture those animals as if they were nothing but dirt. I would really appreciate it if I got any advice at all
Answers:
well i respect ur point of view but some people take joke at it
i agree that it hurts animal when we kill them and eat their meat
but sometimes no one care about that even me
i know its not good thing but i need some meat that is all
ur father may be upset from u because of a strange idea he think about u
just try to explain to him more and more and tell him that is all because u won't hurm animals anymore and u want them leave in peace
i think u r very kind heart girl
vegans eat what FOOD eats, you need meat on them bones
Get a job, and feed yourself. Other than that, it it his money, not yours.
just do your best to not eat them till you get a job and buy your own stuff.
If you buy meat from a well respected supermarket the animals are NOT tortured.
I would not recommend becoming vegan on a whim. You risk becoming malnourished as you will be missing out on vital vitamins and minerals if you don't structure your diet properly.
actually veganism isn't as healthy as you may think.. as humans our bodies actually do depend on animal proteins, and no other forms of protein will completely make up for it.
if you are so concerned about the way the animals are treated maybe you should look into kosher meat products.
They are kept in a more sanitary environment and treated very well, at the time of slaughter the animals are well cared for and are killed in a very humane manner.
(you don't have to be jewish to eat kosher products)
and your going to listen to him. come on your a kid, you can do what ever you want
The cheapest way to go vegan is growing your own garden. Eat as much as you want whenever you want. (but that takes forever) Going to organic stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods can be expensive, but very fresh and 100% of whatever it is. Eating fresh food can help you forget about all the "animal products" because all you really need are the veggies. And don't forget to get your protein from soy milk. Because if you're not full, you'll get that meat craving. good luck.
I don't know how old you are, but I suspect your father is correct in denying you access to this lifestyle. If you are young enough to be dependent on his income to eat, then your body is still growing. It takes a LOT of knowledge to know how to balance a vegetarian diet, let alone a vegan diet.
Most people don't really know what they are doing. They don't get all the nutrients they need and suffer physical deficiencies that could lead to long term health risks.
Listen, I'm NOT knocking vegetarians or vegans, but in your case I believe your dad is right. Why don't you spend the time until you are independent to really study the nutritional requirements needed to follow such a dietary lifestyle. Then find out how accessible that diet would be for you and how disciplined it would require you to be and still get all the nutrients you need to be HEALTHY. Armed with this information, you'll be ready when the time comes.
Not eating anything that derived from something that had a face is nobel, but it can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing.
my parents wouldn't let me be a vegan when i lived w/ them either. try not to argue or act too immature about it and they will eventually give in or you will graduate high school and move out. :)
Become vegan anyway. You probably have a lot of vegan stuff in your house without having to buy special things like vegan cheese or tofu burgers and stuff like that. Don't eat meat and dairy products that he feeds you, refuse to. He might eventually give in. If he doesn't then just keep eating the veggies that you have at your house.
And don't listen to the people that say it isn't healthy. As long as your body is getting the nutrients and things it needs it is. I know vegans and am on my way to being one. My cousin is vegetarian she talked to her doctor about it and guess what the doctors is vegetarian. You can find protein in many other things besides meat.
If you want to discuss this further feel free to IM me.
Hi. As much is it seems impossible, he's doing this because he thinks it is "bad" for you. That is, he is most likely concerned about adequate nutrition (protein for example).
What you need to do is to do a little research and present this to him. For example, show him (with citations, references, etc) that a vegan diet can provide the necessary protein and vitamins. I would put together a "menu" showing what you plan to eat each day along with the details on the nutrition offered. You will need to do a cost analysis also but hold off on that info until he says something like "but that will be expensive" (you see where I'm going on this yes?).
The bad news is that his first response will still be "No" but give him a few days to think about it.
Then, schedule a time to present an alternative. You may have to compromise a bit (at first). Suggest being allowed a trial run of, say, 6 weeks. But, NOT on a vegan diet but rather a basic vegetarian diet (with diary, eggs, cheese included).
Then after a few weeks of successful vegetarianism, try moving into being vegan.
I realize you may object to diary and eggs but try a basic vegetarian with Organic Milk Products so you won't have to worry (too much) about diary industry issues.
I think your father is probably a reasonable man and, given time, persistence, and good research properly presented he will agree to your request.
Good luck!
we are omnivores-the human body is designed to live on meat products. this is what gives us our protein and builds the body's self-defence mechanism against disease-forget what anyone else says-there is no substitute for meat-soya does not cut it.. i remember a few years ago a couple i knew (both vegans) had a little girl and they refused to give her meat (against the advice of doctors) that little girl contracted just about every ailment a child could contract and she was deathly white most of the time-so alarmed where they with their daughters health problems they gave her meat-and the change was astonishing. so maybe dad has a point after all.
Okay, dad says you can't eat what you'd like. In the meantime, eat everything on the table except the meat. Eat your salad, veggies, potatoes, pasta, desserts--but do not eat the meat. Dad's gonna realize that he's throwing money away on food that is being wasted--it might make him think.
When you're at work/school, you can eat whatever you'd like (if you have the money). You haven't mentioned how old you are, is it possible that dad is worried about your health or weight? Even if he was not so far, he will be when you stop eating meat at home.
Don't eat any animal products -- you've based your decision on research, or so it sounds. You need to remember that you do need some protein and B vitamins though--check out where, other than meats and vitamins, you can get these.
Is it just you and dad at home, or is there a mom and siblings? If you have younger siblings dad may not want you to influence them--they will make their own decisions when old enough.
Now vegans don't even eat fish, eggs, tuna, etc.--so you need to get the nutrients from some other source. I understand that vegans don't eat/drink dairy products, either--so you'll be needing some calcium and vitamin D.
I'm a vegetarian. But I had to wait until I stopped living with my parents.
Thus, I'm not sure what you can do. You can't just stop eating meat, because then you might become a junk-food vegan, and that's not healthy.
As for buying all of the stuff you need, it's not that much. Is he worried that you'll overdose on tofu? Die of malnutrition? Are hiding an eating disorder?
What you do need to do, is lots and lots of reading. And there is a whole lot of misinformation out there. (Like on this website!) Start visiting the library. There are lots of vegan and vegetarian books and magazines. Some will be full of nonsense, and some will be out of date, but you'll find some useful information. Like how much protein you require, and what exactly a serving size is.
Talk to your doctor, too. She might have some useful advice.
Oh, and I hate to be the one to tell you, but eating a vegan diet does not eliminate animal suffering. Even an organic vegan diet. Sometimes, fish is used as a fertilizer, animals are run over by plows, and so on. So, you can't beat yourself up over what you don't control. And at this point in your life, your parents control your diet.
As for what you can do, start cooking and baking things from scratch. You're father's probably not going to refuse to buy whole wheat flour, brown rice, kidney beans, apples, nuts, spices, lentils and such. If you offer to make one meal a week, perhaps he'll let that meal be vegan? Especially, if you cook a variety of tasty, nutrious meals.
Finally, if you belong to a religion, look there for inspiration. Many religions quietly preach a low-meat diet.
Congratulations on making such an important and wise life decision. It's even more courageous of you to go against the wishes of your parent because you are following your conscience. Vegetarianism and veganism has been practiced by various cultures and civilizations for thousands of years. Though most Western civilizations are carnivorous, don't let people who haven't studied the subject deter you from contributing to planet's ecological balance. Have you read up on vegetarianism? I can't tell by your question how old you are or if you are capable of working toward independence from your father. But I can tell you that most vegetarians need to take Vitamin B12, in addition to rich vegetarian sources of protein such as legumes, tofu and nuts. I am not a doctor, but I've read up on a lot of the info, I'm giving you. Would your dad buy nuts like almonds, walnuts and beans, black beans, red beans? I would suggest educating yourself (that is if you haven't already done so) and then educating your dad about the wonderful health and environmental benefits of veganism. Try slipping him a copy of "A Diet for a New America" by John Robbins, the heir of the Basket Robbins fortune. This is what Frances Moore Lappe, Author, Diet For A Small Planet, had to say about it. "In a tender not strident voice, Robbins shows us why a humane society cannot be built upon an inhumane system of food production. Robbins does not play upon our guilt but shows us how our well-being is linked to the development of radically new sensibilities to non-human life."
Also please check out many vegetarian groups on Yahoo groups, many of the members live in mainstream communities where meat is eaten. You can seek support and good recipes there.
Congratulations again on choosing to a healthier life and planet. Don't give up. Don't listen to fools who don't have any knowledge about the issues. Learn to filter out the ignorance from the real gems of truth. If you go vegan, you'll be in the minority and will at times face carnivorous people who will attempt to ridicule you. Keep your head up.
Vegan diets are not good for growing bodies. I can tell you aren't grown 100% yet. wait a few years and your body will be stable and have enough nutrition to take a vegan diet. By the way, you can always be a closet vegan. Just order pasta with out the meatballs. Eat everything except meat. Pretty simple to do. Also, take your vitamins. You need them if you are going to go without certain foods. Some vegans are like only half vegans. They don't eat lamb, ham, or beef but they do eat eggs and some other things. If I were you I'd do that. :)
What you can do, sweetheart is try to make the healthiest and best decisions for yourself within your current limits. The most important thing for you to is get the proper balance of nutrients while you're still growing. These would be my suggestions until you can purchase your own food:
Make sure that vegetables take up 3/4 of your plate when you eat. See if you can get your protein from dairy (milk, cheese and nuts). At least nothings being killed. Try to eat combinations of beans and rice to get complete proteins. Many vegetarians still eat dairy and fish. Educate yourself on free-roaming and cage-free, hormone free farming.
Think like a rainbow when you eat your veggies and fruits... the more intense color the vegetable, the better it is for you. Those are going to be important sources of vitamins and iron for you. And if you're not eating meat, iron is going to have to come from veggies as well as calcium.
Look into getting an appropriate vitamin and mineral suppliment for your age and gender.
I'm sure someone else on this site can direct you to a great age-appropriate web site where you can learn more.
Try telling your Dad that it's not about buying you what you need, but about not buying you what you don't need. Instead of pushing the emotional points of wanting to be vegetarian, bring up the health benefits: eating more veggies, fresher veggies, lower fats, less cholesterol, longer life. Even though you don't agree with his food choices, try not to make him feel bad about it. If you do that, you'll never get him on your side.
Good luck with your journey, hon!
Your father is concerned that this will not be safe for you. So, you and he both need to learn how to do this safely. The best resource that I've found is a book called "Becoming Vegan". You should be able to find it in your local library, but you can also purchase a copy.
Unless you are over 18, reduce your meat consumption until you grow up and move out. Eat more peanutbutter and vegetables. Don't stress about being totally vegan, it's very hard without support and groceries. Being and egg and dairy vegetarian is still a good step (even if you can't manage it full time and have a litte meat to keep the family relationship intact). When you leave home you can be whatever you want. Please read about nutrition and cooking while you are at home.
You don't need any of the fancy soy products, just eat a variety of grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. Certainly he can't deny you
If you are of working age, what if you got a part time job so you can buy the soy products yourself?
What does your mother say? Do you think you can get support from her? Do you have older siblings? If so, would they be a source of support? What about other family members? Maybe someone can talk to your dad. What about your grandparents?
Btw, don't listen to the person who said that vegan diets are not good for growing bodies. At no time in one's life, not even in infancy, does one need to consume non-human milk. Veganism for kids is FINE.
If you are still in high school, try taking a home ec class and ask your teacher if you can make your food without animal products, and see if you can learn how to make a few things vegan-style. She might be willing to do it, and if the recipes are simple, provide protein, and the ingredients are cheap you may be able to convince Dad that he is throwing money away on food you will not eat and that this will just prepare you for the life you are going to lead when you move out anyway.
Just to let you know, on peta.com and goveg.com there is a lot of info on becoming vegetarian, including a free vegetarian starter kit w/recipes. There is also a lot of information about how being vegan can be healthy that you can try and show your Dad. Unfortunately, if his mind is not open it won't matter what you show him.
There is also a DVD you can get for free called Meet Your Meat. It shows the awful ways the animals live and die. However, I find many meateaters will refuse to watch it - which just goes to show they know it's bad, they just don't want to know how bad, in case it makes them feel gulity for eating the foods they crave every day, or reduces their appetite for it. Which is the whole point, but some people just don't want to know.
If you are old enough, you may have to get a job to fund your diet. If not, consider whether or not vegan is right for you at your age. I can't answer that, though I will say that even most people who eat meat don't get all the vitamins they need from the food they eat. It is very difficult to do so in today's world, carnivore, vegetarian, or otherwise.
Also, as someone who supports himself I have found eating vegetarian is not super cheap or easy. You will have to be really serious about it. If so, I would suggest following the link below.
http://goveg.com/vegetarian101.asp...
I personally suggest going vegetarian before going vegan.
But about the whole dad situation..... I think u should try to get a job or if u get allowance then u can use that. For finding a job u can ask friends of your family, friends, nieghbors etc if they need any some help around the house, tutoring children, babysitting,etc. People are very grateful for the help and if you tell them why you need the job they will most likely help you with your cause. People can be very friendly. some schools and organizations offer support for people going vegan/vegetarian.
I wish you good luck!!!!!! Thanks for helping the animals!!!!! =D
If you are already a vegetarian, just keep doing that and ask your dad if you can get cage free (vegetarian) eggs and organic milk. Then you won't have to worry about torturing animals.
My parents were the same way. In my situation, my parents are generally a-holes anyway, but this change in my eating just gave them more fuel for their ways. "We're not going to buy you special things like tomatoes. Do you know how much tomatoes cost?!..." bla bla bla on and on it went. I never even asked for tomatoes. Also, it was going against their entire lifestyle that they had brought me up with. They saw it as me against them. Remember, parents are people too, and people, even one’s parents, can be very simpleminded. Parents, like mine, can take the choice not to eat their meals very personally. They work hard to earn money to feed you with the most expensive foods they can afford (junk food), then you tell them that you don’t want to eat it anymore and that cheaper healthier foods will do. They won’t like that with the attitude, “I don’t work hard everyday so that I can eat like a peasant.” They want their steak and ice-cream to prove to themselves that they are doing well in life and can afford luxuries at every meal.
What did I do, I just got some cook books from the library and started with making my own meals. Took a lot of bugging them just to get a can of tomato paste or a bag of granola. Turns out, that making spaghetti without meat was very easy. Hey, making potatoes without putting butter on them was easy too. Just used olive oil instead.
There was a girl in my school who never ate meat; not in her entire life. We all knew her from kindergarten onward. She simply said she didn't like the taste of it and that was that, we never questioned her about it (She also ate her own boogers). I never even heard of the word vegetarian until I was 17. My parents continued to bug me constantly, but as I said before, they did that anyway, this was just a new topic to add to their arsenal. I did manage to get them to get me soy milk for my granola instead of cow milk. But basically I was on a diet of almost no vegetables, as my parents were. The only vegetables we would eat were some tasteless canned peas or carrots occasionally on the side of our plate of meat and potatoes. They said that vegetables were too expensive. Of course, they never looked at the price tag for anything they bought for themselves, just the prices of the things for the kids.
Final note. I don’t know where you live, but in Canada parents get a monthly family allowance towards paying for child expenses until the children are 19. Hundreds of dollars per child. Basically, my parents were taking this money and putting it in their own pocket. I had holes in my shoes and was living mostly off of spaghetti, granola, and potatoes; they refused to buy special things for me such as vegetables. I bugged them back about it and they’d give in once in a while and buy me some ‘special’ food. I’ll bet there is a family allowance in other countries too. It’s to be used for food and clothes and such essential things for the children. So, look it up. The money is for you, not them. This is the sort of thing parents fail to mention to their children.
If you want to be a vegan, be a vegan. You are your own person and a human being that is capable of making decisions about what you eat. If you don't want the stress of dealing with your dad, though, just be a vegetarian instead. I am a vegetarian, and I am slowly making my way towards a vegan diet. I feel a lot better about myself for being a vegetarian. Anyway, your father can't legally force you to eat meat. He can't stuff it down your throat (that's child abuse) and he can't restrict you from eating food at all (that's child abuse too). Eat plenty of veggie and fruits, because they are good for you. Medical doctors and the American Dietetic Association agree.