Doesnt it annoy when your vegetarian friends...?!
i tootalllyyy respect her decision ALOT-- it simply isnt MY decision.
so yeah at lunch, she eats like cookies or chips or something because all my school serves for its crappy lunch are sandwiches and pizza, and on occasion hotdogs or chicken or something.
now my friend doesnt like the pizza, nor do i -- too greasy. and the sandwhich has meat. so i take the sandwhich.
now she looks at me with a disgusted face. her friends, who are health nuts or something, and dont eat lunch (not very healthy, i know) chastise me for eating pizza which i only eat cause of the constant annoying with the ham in my sandwhich and my friend going all ew.
i have gotten into HUGE debates with her about how meat isnt bad -- but she always pulls the animal card -- and i always pull up the argument that without meat, the world would starve, because there is no way in hell we will feed enough people without it.
dont you hate when this happens?
Answers: ok welllll i have this vegetarian friend.
i tootalllyyy respect her decision ALOT-- it simply isnt MY decision.
so yeah at lunch, she eats like cookies or chips or something because all my school serves for its crappy lunch are sandwiches and pizza, and on occasion hotdogs or chicken or something.
now my friend doesnt like the pizza, nor do i -- too greasy. and the sandwhich has meat. so i take the sandwhich.
now she looks at me with a disgusted face. her friends, who are health nuts or something, and dont eat lunch (not very healthy, i know) chastise me for eating pizza which i only eat cause of the constant annoying with the ham in my sandwhich and my friend going all ew.
i have gotten into HUGE debates with her about how meat isnt bad -- but she always pulls the animal card -- and i always pull up the argument that without meat, the world would starve, because there is no way in hell we will feed enough people without it.
dont you hate when this happens?
First of all, in a non-confrontational way, address your friend and tell her that you respect her, but are frustrated with her criticism. Tell her that biologically speaking,you are an animal too, and you would hate to think that she wouldn't give you the same respect she gives cows and chickens. Also remind her that scientifically speaking, humans are made to be omnivores, just like certain animals are carnivores and eat each other. She doesn't have to agree with you, but she should respect you. Tell her that she's made her point, she doesn't need to make it over and over again on a daily basis.
It's time for you to tell her that as friends, you need to respect each others decision and decide to agree to disagree. That means no more discussion about it. And if you have to, don't eat together anymore. Find other ways to spend time together.
u respect her opinon she shud respect yours tell her ur different, and thats ur way of eating, its not going to kill you. =]]
Good Job continue sticking up for your self. Just tell them it is your decision and that is that. :)
You just need to tell your friend to get a life, help her understand that the cookies she's eating is baked with animal fat shortening, if she looks at you at lunch again tell her to beat it, scram get lost, why should you change your life for her, you respect her for her choices, help her understand she needs to respect you for your choices, she's a hypocrite, you need to tell her what the F---'s Up wtih you!!!!
Tell her that you respect her beliefs and culture and you are glad that she thinks independently and you would like the same respect in return
If you cut back on meat, do it because you know meat isn't exactly healthy to eat, or because you don't like how animals that are made into food are treated. Don't do it just to make someone else happy.
and consider bringing your lunch, because even the foods at school that aren't cookies or chips are really bad for you.
And you need a new argument, because more land is needed to grow all the crops that the animals eat before they are food than what would be needed if we were all vegetarians (how do cows get to be 400 lbs? ... they eat a lot of grass and grain)
On the contrary, we could solve the world's food problems overnight if everyone would just become Vegan.
You don't need to justify yourself or placate to her by changing who you are or what you eat. Her opinions are completely individual.
It is great that you respect her decision of embracing vegetarianism. I love animals as well. But if she is really your friend, then she will stop forcing her nonsense down your throat and just be your friend back. A real friend would respect your differences, no matter how much they would disagree with them. You have to explain to her that it is your decision to eat those foods just as it is her decision to not eat them, and demand that she show you the same respect that you give her. If she pulls the animal card, don't even argue it with her because it will go nowhere. Just give her the cold shoulder if she does that. You don't have to take that.
If she is going to make food a factor in your friendship with her, then it is really not a friendship. Friendship should be based on who a person is, not what they eat. I have my one buddy that I have known since 4th grade (I'm 23 now), and I don't always agree with him on everything, but I never once tried to make him feel guilty or regretful for not thinking the way I do on some things. I even knew someone who was vegetarian, and not once did she berate me for eating meat, even when I ate a hamburger in front of her at a diner.
What you need to do is talk to her about this and try to explain this to her, something like this: "I respect the fact that you don't eat meat. Respect that I do." You must be reasonably assertive with yourself and not show submission. If she cannot just get over her petty differences, then you need to get away from her and her "friends." It is totally not worth the drama and headache. She is just trying to change you to be like her, and looks down on people for who do not embrace her ideals. Be yourself, and don't EVER apologize to her for eating what you eat.
Don't change who you are or what you eat just because of the ignorance and stupidity of one person. If you love meat, then by all means, eat meat.
i was in the same situation in high school.. i don't think there's ever a simple solution and she should have more respect for you but
why don't you and your friends create a meal plan.. get your whole school involved by taking polls and asking questions like..
how do you think we could improve our lunches?
what items would you like to see?
ask your teachers as well, then form meal plans with healthy alternatives, for herbavors and carnivores. have your supporters sign a petition and take it to the school board and superintendents.
if they say it's not in the budget.. then there's something else everyone can work on togeather.. raising money to improve the lunch programs. i have tons of ideas.. let me know if you want help.. but this is one way for you and your friends to work togeather on an issue that effects alot of people.
Yeah, my vegetarian friends are more unhealthy than I am.. I mean, one piece of meat is sufficient for the amount of protein your body needs; but if you don't eat meat you have to eat a looott of other things (like nuts) to make up for it.. Tell her if everyone didn't eat meat, the world would be overpopulated and taken over by animals, haha. If she wants respect she needs to give it. If this continually bothers you, just hang out with other people during lunch.
no way
Carry on eating meat. You are totally right too. You shouldnt let her decision make you change yours. My uncle is vegetarian and is always bugging me and trying to put me off my food when I eat meat. I just tell him to back off. You shouldnt let her control you, all you are doing is keeping a GOOD DIET! If you didnt eat that meat someone else would, the animals been slaughtered and if everybody stopped eating meat what would the animals be used for? they would simply eat everything and not be used, it would be a waste. GOD MADE ANIMALS FOR US TO EAT!!! I dont believe in god to be honest, but I do believe that animals were here for a reason, and if she is so against it just tell her the free range animals are happy.
She should learn to cope with what you eat.
People should never ask to be accept for being different and then make someone else un accepted.
It really does bug me when people with different lifestyles think others are wrong.
YOU ACCEPTED HER LIFESTYLE CHOICE! SHE SHOULD BACK OFF AND ACCEPT YOURS!
it isnt healthy to eat that crap she is eating.
The next time you eat ham or meat and they look disgusted, just pretend you are disgusted with what they are eating, because cookies and crisps arent a good lunch, you will grow up healthily, and they shouldnt be so darn stupid about it, or it will get thrown back in their face.
GARRR annoys me too!
xxx Im sure we could have a majorly long discussion about this!
Good luck with your veggies! xxxxx
Darn tootin'! If I wasn't being very nice I'd say you hang out with a treehugger and two stick insects!
Sounds like you're both a bit ignorant about the facts honestly.
It would actually be easier to feed the world on a vegetarian diet. An animal eats 10 pounds of plant protein for every 1 pound of meat we take off it's carcass.
Your friends that are eating cookies and chips and nothing else are hardly shining examples, their diet is unhealthy and loaded with processed sugar, salt and simple starches, and they're still eating dairy and eggs which support animal cruelty as much as meat does.
Sounds like maybe you all should learn a little something about nutrition and pack your own lunches if the cafeteria food is so bad, and it sounds like my high school caf, so yeah, make and bring your lunch.
Technically meat eating is in the culture of nearly everyone on the planet, excepting perhaps some cultures in India and the like, so that's a poor excuse. If your culture were doing something you found ethically unsound and offensive would you participate in it just because it's "part of your culture"? For example, would you attend a cock fight?
False statement about starving with out meat.
You can feed 10 times more people with a vegetarian diet than with a meat eating diet...
Its the basic energy pyramid. Say A cow eats 100 Calories(of grain), when a human eats that cow they are only going to obtain 10% of that, so 10 calories. But eating the grain directly you would obtain 100 calories.
So in turn by eating animals we are wasting calories, resources, and water...&& abusing they poor little innocent animals.
it sounds like your debates are a horror, on both sides. i think Shannon T nailed this one. but i would like to point out that it is perfectly possible to do well in your classes without eating, not saying you shouldn't. pack your own lunch, and don't be so cocky
i just read your comments. off of what basis are you calling Shannon T's answer the worst ever? because she didn't tell you that you were absolutely right? think about it, if you only listen to people who agree with you, things are never going to get better between you and your friend
i also think the diets of your friends are completely irrelevant, who cares if they are healthy or not? if they ate healthy vegetarian food at lunch, do you think the situation would be any different between you and your friend?
... i think that was a very relevant comparison. why did it devalue the rest of her answer?
are you calling me ignorant? ha, let's just end it at that and move on to reading more answers where people feed my all-powerful ego
Actually, you're profoundly incorrect about being able to feed more people with meat. A mind-boggling portion of the world's arable land is currently NOT used to raise foods for humans to eat, but used to raise grain for animals to eat. It takes something like 16 pounds of grain protein and 2500 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef protein. now, tell me, could you feed more people with 16 pounds of grain protein or with a single pound of beef protein? The fact is that raising meat for food is an egregious waste of resources and it's been estimated that if the world's arable land that is now used for grazing animals or growing food for livestock was instead used to grow food for people, that the Earth could support a population of 20 billion. Then there is the politics of meat. It's expensive. Poor people in poor countries cannot afford it. Yet the demand for it in the US is so great that Central and South American countries are financially motivated to mow down vast tracts of irreplaceable rain forest in order to graze cattle. The majority of the people in those countries cannot afford that beef; it's sent here for you to have fast food hamburgers. Meanwhile, grazing cattle for export leaves the people of those countries less good land to grow their own food on. As Guatemala's beef industry has grown, the child mortality rate in that country has increased. The people with the money get the good land and use it for beef for you while the poorer people get pushed onto marginal land where they cannot grow enough quality food to feed their own children. Meat is partly responsible for those kids dying of malnutrition-related disorders. Your vegetarian friend should not be chastising you for choosing pizza, but if you are going to try to debate her on the facts, you need to know them. Do a little research and you might find that there are some very compelling reasons to choose vegetarianism (read The Food Revolution by John Robbins - it will open your eyes.)
Problems with food, which come in many forms, are a early sign of mental illness.