People ridicule me for being vegetarian?

I care about animals deeply so I went vegetarian, and my friends give me a hard time about it. What can I do, or what I can say in return to get them to shut up =P.People ridicule me for being vegetarian?
Give them the facts, and then make a point of feeling absolutely nothing... They are just misinformed, and people always resist change. They might also feel guilty in your presence, so be sensitive to that.



Here are two videos that can supply you with some information to pass on:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6_hjA4cd鈥?/a>



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r3uGuWDl鈥?/a>
I am not a vegetarian, but I applaud you for sticking to your guns. It just shows that you have a stronger will than your friends do. Just tell them that you would like to see them try to do something as hard as committing yourself to being a vegetarian; I bet they would fail. Just make sure that you are getting enough proteins with vitamin supplementation. Good luck and take care!People ridicule me for being vegetarian?
Email them the trailer for 'Earthlings' as your reason why you went vegetarian.

If that doesn't affect them in any way or make them respect your decision and wish that they had the determination you have to not eat animals then they are not people you want as friends anyway.

I have been vegetarian since a child and some people still look shocked when I say I don't eat meat - I always say that if I could not kill an animal myself, skin it and eat it then I don't want someone else to do it for me.

How many of them could kill a baby lamb, pig or calf? How many? I tell you - probably none of them apart from the odd psycho that belongs in the army or working at a slaughterhouse or in Porton Down or a cosmetic lab - testing on animals - not the kind of people you want as friends anyway.

No - they are cowards that are quite happy not to think about where their meat comes from.

Don't apologise for making them feel guilty that they prefer not to think about animals suffering or not to give a darn about where the meat they are eating came from.

If they saw they wouldn't touch it. If they had to kill ittheyy wouldn't touch it. They are cowards.

Don't lecture people unless they comment on your vegetarianism because they all feel guilty about it and will attack you back. Just make sure that anyone who asks or picks on you gets the full guilt trip from you and they won't open their mouths again - guaranteed.
You are either very young, or have an exceptionally immature group of friends. I'm sorry to hear this is happening. I think I would ask them specifically why my vegetarianism bothered them. The answer will inevitably be that they just enjoy ridiculing people, in which case I would probably find new friends.People ridicule me for being vegetarian?
Make them vist a slaughter house, they'll soon sway to your way of thinking.
Unfortunately there isn't much you can do to change their behavior. As Depeche Mode said, "people are people." You may be teased and/or ridiculed by some for anything that others perceive to be unusual or different. And you can't say that you've never been part of this type of behavior as well. Ever gossiped or made fun of someone for any reason with your pals? Maybe the way someone dressed, their hair (or lack of), the way they talked, walked, acted, danced, played a sport, etc., etc. This is called prejudice and we are all guilty of it. It is a big part of the maturity process, and once you get past doing it all the time then you'll be a better person, as will your tormentors.



Anyway, you could always gravitate towards other friends. If your current group of pals doesn't share your interests or mesh with your personality, then maybe you should work on finding new ones that are a better fit. You will make tons of new friends over the course of your life - why not start now? You've not doubt found support on YA, so this is a good place to start. There are undoubtedly vegetarian groups in your area that you could join an find plenty of support and new friends.



If that's not an option for you, then you need to get a thicker skin. When they belittle, just shrug your shoulders and take another bite of your food. If you allow them to get to you, then you can bet they'll keep it up for the rest of your relationship with them, since they know they have some power over you with their ability to rub you the wrong way. Apathy toward their remarks is a great comeback. You can stand up for yourself, too, and shoot right back, but then they'll might follow my advice from the last paragraph and lose you for a friend.
Like religion and politics, everyone has there own ideas and opinions, for me I never even discuss my lifestyle with friends I know are not willing to look at it from my perspective, why do they ridicule you, do they think it is a bad lifestyle choice or are you just an easy target to to pick on, explain to them both your moral and health issues related to it and if they cannot accept it, then it s time for some new friends.
My advice is that you stand up for yourself, without resorting to personal attacks in response.

If you can successfully do that, you will have handled yourself better than 90% of the vegetarians that post on yahoo answers.
I think you would enjoy the book "Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World", by Bob and Jenna Torres (2010). It has a whole section entitled "Hell is Other People" that discusses this very topic and offers some coping strategies. I've included an excerpt below:



"...maybe your friends aren't so receptive. Maybe they're the kind that hit you with the million hypothetical situations ("would you eat meat if..."), chew steak loudly in your face, yell at you, hide meat or dairy in your food, or give you a really hard time about being too difficult. In this case, our advise is simple: tell them this is your choice, and you expect them to respect it. Give them some time to come around, but don't tolerate too much bullsh*t, particularly if they're hiding non-vegan things in your food. Be firm but polite, and don't let the teasing get to you. You should stand up for yourself, but don't get sucked into stupid arguments, especially while you're eating. If you've been patient, polite, and non-harassing, and your friends still give you sh*t about being a vegan even after you've asked them to give you some leeway, you might need to find new friends." (p. 136, para. 1-2).



Best of luck to you!
If you care about animals so deeply, go vegan. The egg and dairy industries are arguably MORE cruel than the meat industry.



As for your friends, it depends on what they're saying. Email me some things they tell you...I'll give you some come-backs. :)
You could try explaining the reasoning behind your choice, but a better solution is probably just to tell them that it's your decision and you don't care what they think. Then ignore their teasing. They'll lose interest and move on if they stop getting a rise out of you.