How can I convince my parents to let me be a vegetarian?

I'm 15 years old and I don't even really like meat. the only time I'll eat it is when I'm distracted. Otherwise I just think "Dead cow. Dead pig. Dead animals." and it really grosses me out. But my parents just don't understand. And my parents are fairly young and very opinionated and they think that it is just stupid. How can I convince them that I really don't want to eat animals? Also, what are some good books or websites that talk about vegetarian nutrition. Let me know as much information as you can.How can I convince my parents to let me be a vegetarian?
There is a Japanese analogy/proverb that goes like this, "The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down". People are like this everywhere. When you tell your family that it is your personal belief that animals should not be eaten, they take a look at themselves and it can be subconsciously translated into, "What you do is wrong and I choose to be right."



Your parents have probably been taught a huge amount of misinformation by their parents and their teachers while growing up. You really need to research vegetarian diets and health before you even think about saying the "V-word" in front of your parents.



When you have gathered enough information and feel confident in a vegetarian diet's ability to maintain or even improve health, you may mention to them that you have made the decision. They may be shocked, angry, worried, curious or many other things, but you must NEVER react to their behavior and always stay calm. If they are able to speak to you and respect your choice, please tell them everything and answer all questions. If they are rude, inconsiderate, judgmental, violent, or verbally abusive, refuse to continue any conversation until they can speak to you with respect.



The best advice is to study everything that you can about a healthy vegetarian diet and keep yourself in good shape (better than most people your age or than your friends/family if possible). If nobody that you know shows a genuine, positive interest in your choice, don't give them the privilege of the knowledge that you have gathered. Work your way around any attempts they make to trivialize your beliefs and if possible, go shopping with your parents and buy things that aren't obvious veggie fare. Instead of trying to sneak fake meat into the cart, toss in lentil soup, peanut butter, pasta, fruits %26amp; veggies or anything else that you have learned is needed to fill any gaps in your diet.



There have been vegan Olympic gold medalists and a vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada鈥?/a>



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If you want to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, the transition should be quite simple. Almost all meats have widely available commercial replacements. All that you have to do is replace any flesh in your diet (beef, pork, poultry, seafood) with meat analogs or just leave it out altogether.



You should keep in mind that a journey such as this can be quite short but should just be the beginning of a longer one to a plant-based diet with no animal products. This is because of the reality of factory farming in which animals that are kept alive to produce milk, eggs, etc suffer much more and longer than animals that are raised to a certain weight and then slaughtered.http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/

http://meat.org

Some people use the word "vegan" in reference to this idea, but be aware that applying that label to yourself should always come with the inclusion of wise activism and advocacy.http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/in鈥?/a>

Two extremely important examples of this are that you should never speak to someone about vegetarianism/veganism without their consent and genuine interest or as a comment on what they are eating AND your dietary beliefs should never be used as an introduction or explanation of who you are as a person. Veg*ism should be something that comes up AFTER people get to know you and they offer you a situation that makes it confusing to withhold the information/discussion. Also, if you are presented something that you choose not to eat or you are

ordering food/eating together somewhere/picking the best place to eat.



When you you hold off on the subject until it's necessary and then act like it isn't a big deal at all, people are usually surprised and WAY more interested and curious than if you were to bring it up when someone's eating or just using it as a conversation starter.



A responsible vegan ALWAYS studies the subject of their own health and how to keep their body completely provided for in every sense. http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

To neglect their body is to define a plant-based diet as unhealthy and is the opposite of helping the animals.



Just to clear things up, the vegetarian/vegan diet is not composed of salads, vegetables, fruit and fake meat. Fruits and vegetables are always important but they DO NOT make up the largest portion of any healthy diet.

A balanced plant-based diet includes grains(breads, pasta, rice,cereal), legumes(soy, beans, peas, lentils), fruit and vegetables.

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/f鈥?/a>

http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/

http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/ea鈥?/a>

Being vegan can be an art, one whose challenge is to take things that involve the suffering of the innocent and change them into something free of cruelty.



A vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.



Technically the term "vegetarian" does imply that you don't consume anything that comes from the body of an animal that requires killing it. Many ingredients such as gelatin and glycerin are found in many candies, Fig-Newtons, and many of other foods as well as rennet found in many cheeses.

http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-in鈥?/a>

The best thing to remember is to take your time so that for example: when you are comfortable not eating beef and pork you can then give up chicken when you are sure you can make the commitment permanently.

Depending on your age or reliance on parents or regional options, it may not be best to give yourself a label. The important thing is to do your best to make progress and be committed to your compassion towards animals. Never put your focus onto what you or other people use to describe yourself.



If you meet someone that talks down to people for eating meat, dairy, etc or to you because they think they are "more veg" than you, laugh in their face and tell them they are a disgrace to the entire philosophy. People like this only hurt the idea of veg*ism AND the animals. The point of all of this is to live compassionately and and as free from cruelty as you can, all the while maintaining your health and a positive attitude. People who don't maintain either, need not open their mouths and represent our beliefs.



If you actually choose to read all of this, I hope it helps. If not, feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.



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I'm vegan and these are some of my favorite things to eat:



Breakfast: bananas, cream of wheat with brown sugar and soy butter, cereal, pancakes or french toast with real maple syrup, vegan "sausage" patties, smoothies.



Snack: BRUSSEL SPROUTS =) no joke



Lunch: VEGAN "SAUSAGE" SANDWICHES, sandwiches with vegan deli slices(Tofurkey is the only one that's kinda funky), fruit, dinner leftovers, couscous salad, vegan sushi, potato or pasta salad.



Dinner: sloppy joes, "sausage" and gravy with homemade biscuits, Spaghetti and Trader Joe's "meatballs" or TVP, lasagna, Thai pad see ew, pad khi mao(drunkard's noodles), pad prig king, tofu+eggplant with basil sauce, yellow thai curry with tofu or vegan chikn and veggies and jasmine rice, Indian dal with homemade roti or dosai, channa masala, aloo gobi, vegetable or minestrone soup, pizza, STEAMED "PORK" BUNS with potstickers or spring rolls, sweet%26amp;sour/orange/lemon chikn, vegan pho or wonton soup, baked tofu, BBQ homemade seitan (tastes like BBQ'd ribs)



I use these sites to find recipes:

http://www.foodnetwork.com

http://vegweb.com

http://www.recipezaar.com
Wow... sometimes I think the same thing (especially about hamburger, I REFUSE to eat hamburger) but I am definately a carnivore. I love steaks, pork chops, and fat slabs of chicken breast... so I really can't share your pain about fighting with your parents on that one.



They can't FORCE you to eat meat.... they can't shove it down your throat.... so just don't eat it if you really don't like it. I'm sure they'll get tired of it eventually and leave you alone.How can I convince my parents to let me be a vegetarian?
You might have to wait it out--you'll be on your own soon. If the path of vegetarianism is the path of compassion, you might have to acommodate to spare the fights. But definitely try to show them that you can lead a healthy lifestyle without eating meat.
Hunger Strike!How can I convince my parents to let me be a vegetarian?
I think the best way to do this is to talk to your doctor about it, and ask HIM to talk to your parents. When they have accurate information from a medical authority, they will let you do it. They are more likely to listen to someone they trust rather than you.
Plead with them to stop force feeding you the things you don't want to eat. I just hate it when parents tie their kid to the floor, stick a funnel into his mouth and start stuffing steaks, bacon, chicken and other animal parts into him.



If this doesn't work then simply stop eating meat yourself, on your own with no permission asked for and none accepted. At 15 you ought to be able to make this decision yourself.
tell your parents that just as it doesnt make sense to them to not eat meat it doesnt make sense to you to EAT meat, except there is the added fact that it bothers you to eat dead animals, tell them it really bothers you and you now and you can get all the healthy eating you need from fruits and vegeatables and beans-Im sorry they are giving you a hard time about it too-at 15 I think you should be able to decide if you want to eat meat or not-I remember my grandma forced my sister to eat pork when she decided she didnt want to eat it and that hurt me-a pig is the most disgusting thing on earth-additionally tell your parents you are not trying to disrespect them or cause hardship, since you know they buy the grocerises and take time to cook for you, its just something that is bothering you, and you would be very happy to just eat whatever else is available besides meat.-tell them you love them and you know they want your happiness and this would truly make you happy-best of wishes
well most meat eaters are ignorant and don't truely care for other's choices in life.



it doesn't matter what you do to convince them, they're not going to budge.



ignorance is bliss they say...



just don't eat the meat... keep not eating it. what are they going to do? ?? think about that one.
I'm with "supercool" on this, show your parents some responsibility. have a sit down with them so you can discuss the issue. NO yelling and whining, tell them WHY you want to do this and show them ideas of what to eat. remember it has to be full nutritious meals. eating just lettuce is not healthy . be prepared to have to make your own dinners for a while ;)

your parents are probably just concern that you wont get all your nutrions. if you can show them that you can be a vegetarian and still get get all your nutrients they should come around eventually.



there is a site www.vrg.org/nutrition/ they have a lot of information for vegetarians and vegans they also have a page in there for "vegetarian nutrition for teenagers" (its in the middle of the page) or if you don't like that one just google vegetarian nutrition there are tons of sites out there.



Good Luck to you ;)
They need to see you as a responsible adult capable of making your own life decisions, even if you are young. You need to have more in-depth reasons and don't be argumentative. Offer to prepare your own food but you cannot ask them to go out of their way to help you. They should respect your wishes but you need to approach it in a mature way. Good luck.
you cannot expect them to accomodate a different menu in their home . pass on the meat . get permission to fix yourself some beans or eggs. study the subject and do it for yourself in your own home
just say you want to be a vegaterian and stop killing cows and stuff
Turn 18, %26amp; buy your own food, that should convince them.
I totally understand wat ur saying, even though im nnot a vegetarian, but maybe if you told your parents how you felt about it and the showed them you could take responsibility for it - even if it means making dinner for urself. i think they miite understand if youtry to explain ur thoughts on it to them. good luck! :)
Make a long list of proteins that you love that are meat free, or ways that you can get protein without eating meat.

Tofu

Peanuts

Lentils

Soy beans

Tinned baked beans

Red kidney beans

Poppy seeds

Sesame seeds

Fortified soy milk

Almonds

Figs

Haricot beans

Spinach

Brazil nuts

Chickpeas

Kale

Broccoli

Spring greens

White cabbage

show your parents your list, and also tell them they will save money on meat :)

oh, and "quorn". look it up.

also, make smoothies with wheat germ and tofu.
I became a vegetarian when I was 11. This was no small feat for me, seeing as how my family is Italian and the world revolves around food and meat. When I decided to stop eating meat, I did so one day at the dining table and I told them I didn't want my steak. My dad thought it wouldn't last very long, even bet me that I couldn't go two months without eating meat. 15 years later, he definitely lost the bet. My parents were not very accommodating at first, but when they saw that I refused to eat the meat, and I was pretty much eating peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches every day, they became more accomodating. My mom even took me to a doctor to get nutritional advice. So just refuse to eat meat and tell them why. Be honest, don't get angry with them, and show them you are serious about it. They will come around because they're your parents and they love you. Good luck!
this is a great thought of yours to be a vegtarian.