My mom won't let me become a vegan?!
My mom won't let me become a vegan?
my mom won't let me become a vegan because she says i can't do whatever i want until im 18(im 13) what should i do and i've tried showing her the websites
Answers:
YOU need to make a reasoned and logical argument, not an emotional one. And you should not only know how to cook, but be willing to cook for yourself every day, for every meal, because that might be necessary,
Further, you need to absolutely know what you're doing and how to do this properly, in order to avoid possible health problems with a diet that is too restrictive.
Both of you need to a lot of research, including the following:
Source(s):
http://www.pcrm.org/
"Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina
Offer to start cooking for the family, maybe start with one night per week. this way you can PROVE to her that you are dedicated to the choice and that you are going to educate yourself on how to eat properly and maintain your nutrition.
Personally, I'd pick the meat out of everything she served me, and maybe try cooking yourself, using tofu, tempeh, etc. If she sees you're serious about it, she may change her mind, eventually... ;^)
well, are you a vegetarin? if not do become one.if you are cut back on your dairy and eggs.
First of all, going vegetarian is much smarter than trying to just become vegan all at once, and it may be something that you and your mom could meet in the middle on. Another thing that you should consider is that cutting all animal products out of your diet means the grocery bill will actually go up; organic foods and vegan friendly alternatives like tofu, soy milk & cheeses, whole grains, seitan, and meat alternatives are a bit pricier than the foods your mom buys now. Obviously at 13 you don't have a job, so try to be considerate of what you're asking from her!
Wow, that's a tough one. To some extent, you must follow your parents' rules, but if this is a moral issue for you, I think it's worth standing up for your rights. I'm not sure what her concern is (thinking you can't eat a vegan diet and be healthy or concerns for having to create multiple meals for each mealtime or simply an issue of power and control). If you are a member of a church, perhaps you can have your minister meet with you and your mother and discuss why this is a moral decision for you (I'm guessing that's at least part of your reason, either due to animal rights issues and/or because of environmental concerns.)
If you aren't involved with a specific religion or feel your pastor/minister may advocate for your mother's view, maybe you can talk with a counselor from your school and get some feedback. Just be sure that you are respectful to your mother's views while maintaining your own justification for wanting to become vegan.
Perhaps you can help mitigate some of her concerns (such as having to cook multiple meals) by helping out with dinner or even introducing them to some dishes that are vegan yet everyone can enjoy.
I had the same problem with my mom at about the same age. I've been vegetarian for a long time now and I started on my 18th birthday.
1. If you don't show respect for your mom, she won't respect you. Therefore, don't fight with her or disrespect her in any way. This will give you some ground when you make your case.
1a. Don't expect her to buy anything special or cook anything special for you. If you aren't ready to eat the non-meat side dishes that she buys and serves, then you aren't ready to change your diet. You don't have a job to buy your own food and you don't have a place to live where you can cook special for yourself, so you'll have to live on side dishes or prep your food in advance.
2. Start by being vegetarian first. Vegan is seriously difficult if you aren't even vegetarian.
2a. In the beginning, when you have to eat in the vicinity of your mother, ask if you can just avoid red meat. (You can easily find information proving that red meat is bad for you and bad for the environment.) When you're not around her, then you can choose your own diet at those times.
2b. Let that sink in for at least two months. Your mother will have to adjust to the times that she serves hamburgers or steak and you ask to "please pass the potatoes." Don't make a big deal about it at the table or Burger King. Just eat something that's not meat.
3. After about two months, ask if you can avoid poultry, pork, and fish too. Tell her that you just feel sad for the animals and it feels strange to eat them. Explain that you also heard about chemicals/toxics/hormones, etc. Show her information that you've printed out (not on the net). Highlight your reasons.
3a. If she insists that you eat meat, prove the case to her. Read Diet for a New America and show her that you can get just as much protein, fiber, vitamins, and carbs in your diet as a diet of meat. Tell her that she doesn't have to change a single thing about the meals she's making.
4. At my house on Thanksgiving and Christmas and all other holidays, my mom has finally adjusted to the fact that I'm not going to eat the meat. I just eat the other things that she serves (salad, potatoes, biscuits, etc), and she no longer takes offense. She thinks it is weird, but she has adjusted.
Hope that helps.
I'm 13 too and my mom said no, so I decided to do it without telling her for a while and see how it goes.....I know it isn't very honest, but it's like the only way!
I am a mother of 2, 36, all vegetarians.
We belong to SDA Church which promotes healthy living lifestyle and most are vegetarians in all forms.
Good example of whole families living this diet - on average people live longer!
Even National Geographic had on their website about longevity proving that vegans live longer happier life!
If we were meant to eat meat we would have fangs and claws, our digestive system is not long enough to digest meat properly and instead meat rots inside and poisons our body
causing cancer and many other diseases.
Even in the bible people did not eat meat until after the Great Flood - God allowed meat simply because it was the only thing in abundance.If you have a Bible open the book of Daniel - it shows how he refused to eat meat and still was healthy and stronger and God protected him.
Good luck and God bless.
Anna
Read about it as much as you can. Make more humane food choices whenever you can (eat the grilled cheese when you go out to eat instead of the burger). You can reduce the amount of animal foods you consume until you get out of the house. It still makes a big difference in the world. Be a good example. Help cook (and clean up afterwards). Do little things and impress her in that way. Best of luck.
Firstly, if you've shown your mother videos of factory farming and she still wants you to eat meat, you've got a crappy mom. That being said: Your mother can't stop you from becoming a vegan. Until you realize this, you're not really ready to become a vegan.
You can start out by going vegetarian (if you havent' already) ... and move on from there.
Oh my goodness! The same exact thing is happening to me and my sister! She is 13 as well :) and we want to go veg. But, our mom wont let us! It is so annoying and I hate it when she serves up some chicken or steak and as we quietly poke at it in discust, she snaps at us and forces us to eat it for "protein", when I try and tell her that I have done months of research regarding the topic and how I can be healthy because I am willing to cook for us all, she doesn't listen. I am interested in the respinses because last time I asked a similar question, there really weren't great answers :)
Good luck, and I hope that you can talk your mom into it.
Do it anyway! Take a stand and prove how serisous you are! Those websites will make her think you are trying to make her into a vegan! Just do it and prove that you can handle it! I'm rooting for you!
Well, I changed my diet at 17, so I had a lot more ability in speaking up for myself, but basically what I had to do was just get some cook books and start experimenting and cooking on my own because all they had to say was negative.
Perhaps you should find another person at school who is vegan to use as an example, and their parents could even talk with your parents.
There was a girl in my grade in school who never ate meat. We never called her vegan or vegetarian (we'd never heard that term before). All she said was, "I don't like meat; the taste of it." and all the other kids said was, "Oh, ok. And that was it." The only time we remembered that she didn't eat meat was when we had "hamburger day" (blatant propaganda from McDonald's actually).
Another thing you should get into is gardening. Really. Take things into your own hands. In your backyard, community garden (hate those), or on your apartment balcony. You will soon discover that all of those thousands upon hundreds of thousands of vegetables and other edible plants fruits etc. are just not available at the store. If your parents see you are gardening (all adults can appreciate a nice garden) and actually learning some kind of skill, that will help. There are LOTS of free (or for a couple bucks) organic open pollinated seed catalogues out there. It will also save your parents lots of money -- literally hundreds of dollars. For my family, we have a year-round garden and to fetch vegetation for dinner for 4 costs perhaps (including everything we put into it) a few dollars, but at the store it would cost 20 or more, with the added benefit of being totally organic and full of interesting varieties of things. Hey, ask neighbours, they'll give seeds to you for free; beans too, everyone has extra for kids, stick some potatoes in the ground, onions too... they'll grow). Join a local gardening club (although don't listen to them about how-to-garden too much, listen to Masanobu) and they'll give you seeds and stuff for free too. Our rule is we only grow edible plants, including flowers. Composted manure is pretty cheap or even free if you know someone... OK, it's lots of work, but also lots of fun and you get to EAT your work in the end. Small selection of what's in our 2 year old garden: ever-bearing strawberries, grapes, carrots, chards, kales, leaks, chives, garlic chives, oregano, rosemary, tat choy, bok choy, dill, turnips, beets, sun-chokes, potatoes... the list goes on and on and so many different varieties of carrots, potatotes, beets, etc.... you would believe that different varieties from the ones you get in the store could taste too good. Those store vegetables are basically crap -- grown for quantity and size, not flavour.
then do a hunger strike
but dont' actually not eat, in advance buy and store fresh fruit and dried fruit, and nuts and seeds, and water
then you can sneak food when she doen't know, sooner or later she'll have to feed you want you want, yes ,i can see it.
me- ma buy me ps3
mom- err no
me-hunger strike
mom-ok what is ps3 and where do i get one?
me- don't worry i already brought it on your credit card, thx
mom-you're the worst son ever
Simply refuse to eat meat. It's not that difficult, all it takes is a tiny bit of determination. She'll have to choose between letting you starve and accepting your decision. I'm positive she'll pick the latter.
I really don't know what you should do, but I'm in the exact same situation as you, and I'm the same age. I would recommend that you eat something if your mom cooks it even if it has dairy or eggs, but don't eat eggs, cheese and dairy by themselves. So if your mom makes brownies or something, go ahead and eat them if you want to, but don't eat an egg for breakfast.
im a teenage veggitarian 2, just dont eat it she cant shove it dwn ur throat. it may take a wile but if u dont want 2 eat it, remember, she cant MAKE u eat it ;)