Do you feel bad eating meat and animal products?

[LostPrincess]

Hi everyone!

Last week for a challenge my husband and I went vegan for a week. It was surprisingly easy and we definitely have made some changes that we can keep permanently. I never intended to go vegan or even vegetarian from this but I've kind of surprised myself about this new perspective. I've eaten meat once this week because it was already in the freezer but we bought a goats cheese tart this evening at the shop and I feel guilty because I know I could be enjoying food just fine without meat and animal products.

I suppose the way forward is to research what I'm eating and to shop sustainably. I'd be interested to hear from vegetarians and vegans to hear how you started out. If you told me in January I'd even be considering a diet change like this I'd never have believed it! And for anyone who eats meat and animal products, do you ever feel sad about it? No judgement here from me - I had chicken nuggets for dinner on Monday!

[COL41]

I’m 51 and haven’t eaten meat since I was 12. Being vegetarian in the mid 80s was not easy and nowhere the choice that has appeared in recent years. I gave up meat after seeing a news article about cows being slaughtered as farmers had more milk than they were allowed to sell from memory and it really hit home I was eating an animal and haven’t eaten any since. without any pressure from me, DD16 then went vegetarian four years ago closely follows by DH who used to love meat but both did it for ethical reasons. DD will only drink plant based milks and won’t eat eggs so almost vegan

[Trusty ian]

I don't feel guilty eating anything tasting nice ,meat or otherwise.

[Gryff]

No we don’t coming from a country / fishing family background and still have family who make there living from farming / fishing / game industry
We’d never ever discount anyone’s choice of what they eat but only ask the accept ours choices

[Jedi Princess]

I’ve been a Veggie for nearly 3 1/2 years. I loved steak (rarer the better), bacon, black pudding etc.

I watched a film called Okja and that made me turn Veggie straight away. I’ve cut out milk too, and now trying to reduce eggs and also cheese.

[dotb]

Nope don’t feel guilty at all, don’t even give it a second thought. Don’t eat much fish but love steak and chicken.

[keeley78]

I don’t feel guilty or give it a second thought eating meat

[cornishfrogboy]

No. No guilt whatever. I am at the end of the day, omnivorous, but with a liking for Steak and Chicken.

[CG1]

Both my husband and myself became plant based at the start of the year (although I had been vegetarian for 15 years already). We did it for health reasons and it's easier to explain it as veganism to people who don't know what it entails - lockdown meant it was actually veganism as we really needed junk food! It still surprises me that so many people are judgmental around whatever other people choose to eat. Eat whatever you want, don't ever feel you have to justify your life choices. Personally, I wouldn't feel guilty about eating animal products, it would just gross me out, which is the reason I became veggie all those years ago. Each to their own, as with everything in life. 🙂

[Triciamcl]

I found it difficult to eat meat when young always felt I was eatingBambi or Thumper etc but as my family were big meat eaters it was hard for an11 yr old girl in the 70’s to become vegetarian. My uncle and cousins were Gamekeepers you can imagine what graced our tables ! However I gradually ate less meat but the alternatives were few andI stuckto occasional fish.. By the time I left home at 17 though I was pretty. Much meat free but still enjoying occasional fish,( my dad was a fisherman and the family had always enjoyed fresh fish on occasions when he had been away on one of his fishing outings but I couldn’t eat his catches as I had hated watching him cleaning them etc and I stuck to tinned sardines and prawns). However, fast forward another 43 yearsand I have been pescatarian ever since, I rarely eat fish now, the occasional prawn rather than cod or sea bass, usually as party of a prawn cocktail at Christmas. I love the variety available now and it’s much easier to be meat free and some of the Vegan options out there are lovely.