Teen vegetarianism issue. What should I do?!

Ugh! There are so many teenagers with stories like yours. Why do so many parents ignore the science?! There is a WEALTH of information out there - really solid research - demonstrating that vegetarianism is insanely healthy, and that you will truly be better off without meat. You flat-out don't need it. Yet countless people, when confronted with this knowledge, don't appreciate how reliable it really is, and they continue to think their misconceptions are still true.

Our country (and vegetarian teenagers) are in deep cr*p for myriad reasons because of this trait!

OK, rant over, sorry.

I would say do some research (I always recommend reading "The New Becoming Vegetarian" by Davis and Melina), and present what you have learned to them. Write down what you've learned, along with the evidence to back it up, so you don't forget anything. Sit down with your parents and explain to them the nuances of vegetarian nutrition so that (hopefully) they will finally support you.

Cooking for vegetarians really doesn't have to be that hard. Since I went vegan, all my mom does when she cooks is she puts the meat in a separate dish or skillet or pot or whatever, so we all assemble our own meals, or she cooks the occasional vegan meal for everyone, or I cook the occasional vegan meal for my family. Sometimes I make my own dinner and my mom makes a separate one for her and my dad.

I would suggest offering to help out in the kitchen so any potential burden is lifted.

Im a 14 yr old girl and im a vegetarian. Go to your local library and pick up some books on teen vegetarianism, and also so healthy vegetarian cookbooks. Show them to your parents and maybe make up a mini presentation on how vegetarianism is actually healthier.

my personal experience

I had the same exact problem when I was 10. I had just decided to become a vegetarian, and my dad was outraged. He refused to cook for me or let me become a vegetarian. Heres what I did: First, I told him, it's not his decision he may be my legal guardian, but he can't force me to eat meat. Next, when my step-mom and dad gave me 'the look' when I didn't eat any meat, I just ignored it. Even if they are my guardians I still have my own decisions about what I ate. After that, my dad took me on a walk and told me a lot of what made it Okay to eat meat. I didn't agree, so I just nodded but just made sure he understood that it didn't change my decision. Eventually they got used to it.

If you have any more questions about becoming a vegetarian, edit your question, and I will look again.


And about all of those people who say, animals are meant to be eaten. They're not, just say that you don't agree. You can explain your opinion to.

Also, as long as you eat protein you can still be healthy.

And for good food:

Peanut butter
anything from morning star!
the morning star bacon tastes exactly like bacon and helps with initial cravings.
also, if your parents won't get it for you, save up your money to get some

and this IS NOT a phase, it's your decision and your opinion! don't et people tell you other wise.

Also, eat the veggie meats. The facon bacon, the veggie sausage, etc.

My life

Buy and cook your own meals. Why should your parents be out the extra expense and time to cook special meals for you?

The only nutrient you can't get in veggies is Vitamin B12, which is a very important nutrient. But it's not an easy thing to get all the other nutrients you need if you give up animal products completely. You should, at least, continue to eat eggs and dairy products. If you don't, you could become sick.

Iron, Calcium, protein are three things that a veg*n needs to be watchful about in their diet. Protein is made up of different amino acids. Meat has complete protein. Most veggies only have some of the amino acids need to make complete protein that your body needs. So if you give up ALL animal products, you'll need to eat a LOT of different veggies to get all the different amino acids you require. Iron in veggies is non-heme iron. Your body doesn't use it as efficiently as the heme iron in animal products. So, again, you need to eat a lot more veggies than normal to get enough iron.

And B12. From VeganHealth (link below): "Overt B12 Deficiency

B12 protects the nervous system. Without it, permanent damage can result (e.g., blindness, deafness, dementia). Fatigue, and tingling in the hands or feet, can be early signs of deficiency.

Vitamin B12, like folate (aka folic acid), is needed to help red blood cells divide. In some cases, vegans may get so much folate that even with B12 deficiency, their blood cells continue to divide properly. In other cases, their blood cells will fail to divide properly and they will become fatigued and suffer from macrocytic (aka megaloblastic) anemia.

Mild B12 Deficiency

Homocysteine is a byproduct of protein metabolism. Elevated homocysteine levels are linked with increased risks of heart disease and stroke. From 1999 to 2003, there were many studies comparing the homocysteine levels of vegans and vegetarians who do not supplement their diet with vitamin B12 to those of non-vegetarians (more info). In every study, the vegans or vegetarians had higher homocysteine levels than the meat-eaters and in the range associated with heart disease and stroke."

You're growing fast and hard right now. I'd at least keep eggs and dairy products in your diet until you're 18. Then you're on your own.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vita…

if you really want to become a vegetarian this is a great option:
your parents really cant argue if you buy all the ingredients and make the dishes yourself. Tell them this is your personal choice and there are many nutrional substitutes for meat such as tofu. vegetables are great for your strength too (haven't you ever seen popeye? all he ate was spinach!!) humans weren't even supposed to eat meat in the beggining of time but apparently they did and our stomachs have evolved through out the millions of years.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PARENTS!!

I'm a 15 year old female and have been a vegetarian for 2 years. There is absolutely no problem at all. There are some brands that I can recommend: For example the brand Quorn make excellent vegetarian food. It doesn't cost more than meat, and it gives you the protein that you need. Also remember to get 4 eggs a week (that's healthy for everyone) and your milk. Your growth is not stopped at all: I'm 5'8, so there's proof. What your parents say about not making extra meals because it's too time consuming: that's not true. Have a seperate pan to but the vegetarian food on. It doesn't take longer than meat to cook! I applaud your decision of vegetarianism, and I think your parents should let you cut meat from your diet if that's what you want to do. It's not like they have to make different beansalads, or make soysausages from scratch: That's already outthere! As health goes: I've never felt better. Without all the animalfat and knowing that I didn't eat a poor animal really makes you get more energy. I really hope everything will work out for you. (:

Personal experience

Basically, ask them what SPECIFIC concerns they have, and research those and talk to them.
Some things they might think will be issues are protein, iron, zinc, and B12. As long as your house doesn't have an incredibly limited diet, you should be totally fine even without special things like veggie burgers.

Protein is in basically everything: beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, many whole grains, soy products, dairy, and eggs.
The average person needs .8g per kg body weight per day. So, if you're 130 pounds (59kg), you need ~48g protein a day. An egg is 6g; a cheese stick is 8g; 2 tbsp peanut butter is 9g; 1/2 c beans is 6-9g; piece of bread is 3-6g.
If you have 2 scrambled eggs and a banana for breakfast (13g), a peanut butter sandwich (2 slices bread + 2 tbsp peanut butter; 17g) with carrots (1g) for lunch; a cheese stick (8g) for a snack; a cup of beans and a cup of brown rice for dinner (19), you've got 58g protein right there, and knowing my guy friends and brothers, you probably eat much more than that :)
Opening a can of beans while everyone else has fish is not drastic or cost extra time or money (beans, lentils, and grains actually cost less than meat). Clean up after yourself, and unless they have other reasons against you being vegetarian, they won't be able to complain.

Iron is found in a ton of things- bagels, pasta, beans, lentils, veggie burgers, sun-dried tomatoes, tofu, tempeh, spinach, leafy greens, potatoes, cashews and other nuts...

Zinc is found in most legumes (beans, lentils) and many nuts/seeds.

B12 is in dairy, eggs, fortified cereals/granola bars.

If you want to go the extra mile, I would draw up a meal plan- with stuff you have in the house on that day, and that you will actually eat- that meats all your nutritional needs.

I am a 15-year old girl; I've been vegetarian 1 1/2 years. I've grown 5 inches in that time and run varsity XC and track. From personal experience, its just as easy to be a healthy vegetarian as a healthy omnivore.

SaM you have been given very poor advice here. You are making an incrediblevinvestment in your health and you will learn that some people that eat meat feel very threatened by your stance - you'll have to ignore these people.

Obviously your parents love you very much and unlikely to care about the welfare of animals if your health is supposedly at risk.

My advice: do not expect your parents to cater to you, nor just eat the sides on your plate as that is not nutritious. You will need to learn to cook. Get some books from the library and try one or two recipes a week. Stay away from really unusual ingredients for a while as they are an acquired taste and it won't help your cause if your parents see you not enjoying your food. Download a vegetarian food pyramid and stick it on the inside cupboard of your pantry so you can refer to it often. When you aren't makng proper recipes make sure your evenng meal consists of salad or lightly cooked veg, one protein and a wholegrqin to start with - once you get more research you can try new things.

Go to the Cleveland clinic website and download their factshhets on vegetarian families and show it to your parents. I would keep the animal rights out of it other than to say - I hope you can be proud of me for being empathetic enough to refuse to eat these animals and that I am bring responsible by researching the most nutritious way f eating.

The fact is most people are very illinformed about what it means to be a vegetarian and thnk you are joining a cult full of aenemic protesters trying to send humanity back to the dark ages - you'll get used to it.

Good for you

18 years vegetarian

Email me and I can help you build up evidence for your parents to show that you can be healthy while not eating meat. I'm 20 and ive been a vegetarian since I was 10. I am healthy as can be and I study nutrition and have for 8 years. I know what I'm talking about. I have an aunt who's a doctor and will answer anything I ask and my moms a trained nutritionist. Email me at ally.peterson79@yahoo.com

My own life and studies.

Right long story short is yer parents are providing for you, you're still young & its their house.
Of course they can't force you to eat meat, but unfortunately they also have the right to not help you whatsoever with being a vegetarian & basically its ''your loss'' if you don't eat meat.
Naturally thats a bad approach but you're dependant on them in more ways than you think at the moment.
You don't have to eat meat to be healthy, but its a DAMN good way when consumed in proper amounts, where-as substituting meat for vegetables can be hard especially when you're young & the only one in the house like that.

I'm personalyl of the opinion that you wait, limit your intake of meat to once a week or so & ask your mom to help you with preparing vegetables etc so in a few years time when you're less dependant you either A) have a valuable skill or B) are able to cook your own non meat meals & have grown substantially in that period of time consuming meat.
& as somebody said don't believe everything PETA etc throws at you, they show the worst case scenarios. I for example know that Ireland treats their animals like royalty basically its why our meat & dairy is renowned for high quality. But my problem lies with the termination of the animal life which i see as wrong, factory farming is worse naturally but my problem lies with termination of animal life where not necessary

vegetarian
just my personal opinion on the matter which will probably reap thumbs down

You're 13, becoming veggie now can impair your growth and development. Don't believe everything you read and see about animal processing for human consumption

Its a phase. trust me i did the same thing when i was your age. you'll grow up
God didnt put animals on this earth to watch them over breed. he put them on earth for us to have food

Man up. Eat some beef.

Well meat is quite essential for a young human's growth. The immune system, muscles, bones, all of them require intake of iron, which is found in meat. There are lots of other vitamins in meat. Of course you can be healthy, meat or no meat, but it is REALLY recommended you DO eat meat.
And eating animals is natural and part of the circle of life. Survival of the fittest and so on. they eat each other too, remember?
So unless you are completely disgusted by meat you should eat it. until you are 21 IMHO, because human body grows and develops until the age of 21.