Vegetarian Lifestyle by Juta Kvederaitė 7B

To Meat or not to Meat?

If You Are What You Eat, Does That Make You Dead Meat?
This is written by me, Juta, who is going vegan for about 4 months now. I will pass you the information that I know, I collected and thought about. Will you make the decision to go green or not by my words, I don’t know, but what I do know is that I will definitely make you interested and keep you thinking about it every time you put a poor animal on your plate. Lettuce begin!

Q: What is vegetarianism\veganism?
A: Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish. Vegans are vegetarians who don’t eat or use any animal products (including milk, cheese, other dairy items, eggs, honey, wool, silk, or leather).

Q: Why do humans do this? Aren’t they supposed to eat meat to stay alive?
People choose this lifestyle for many reasons such as – they love animals, have health issues, and think about the environment, ethical concerns, dislike of meat, non-violent beliefs and economics. It is important that you know why you are going vegetarian, because that will keep you going and don’t give up. Trust me when I say that sometimes you will want to cook some bacon or make yourself a delicious turkey sandwich! But then you will think about the reasons why you are on a meatless diet in the first place, turn around and pick up a delicious apple.
As for the debate about staying alive with meat – according to many vegan experts, our bodies aren’t made to digest meat. If we eat meat 3 times per day, our system has too much protein, fat. That leads to health problems by time. However, many sources tell otherwise. So, there is really no answer for that. Meat eaters say it’s important, while vegans say absolutely not. In my opinion – meat isn’t necessary, but it isn’t unhealthy to eat it either. I personally dislike the taste of meat, and think it’s wrong to kill animals for food purposes. Just choose for yourself if you don’t have medical complications.

Q: Can I go green if I don’t like vegetables?
A: This question is a popular one. When people hear the word “Vegetarian”, they think that we ONLY snack on cucumbers, lettuces or tomatoes.. And that is incorrect. Yes, our diet does consist vegetables, but we also eat grains, proteins, fruits, fats.
Grains: this food group includes bread, pasta, rice, wheat, oats and barley.
Proteins: includes dry beans, peas, lentils, fortified oatmeal, soybeans, spinach, tofu, soy, nuts (for vegetarians – Greek yogurt, eggs)
Fruits & Vegetables: this section is the center of vegetarianism. “Vegetarians should aim for at least six to eight servings of vegetables and three to four servings of fruit per day” – Loma Linda University School of Public Health. Try finding a solution for your dislike to greens (example: make your own pasta sauce with tomatoes, make a tortilla – use the in stores rounded bases (make sure they have all natural ingredients) with an avocado filling) for this lifestyle you need to try many things and experiment until you find what you like!
Fats: The body requires a small amount of dietary fat to ensure proper brain development, temperature regulation and protection for organs. One serving of these healthy fats might include 1 ounce of nuts or seeds, 2 tablespoons of nut butter or 1 teaspoon of some kind of edible oil.

10 Tips for Vegetarian\Vegan for the first time
1. Before going vegetarian I would suggest to research. Don’t quit eating meat right this second. It doesn’t work like that, and you’ll just mess up your immune system. Take it slow.
2. Talk to a doctor. You need to ensure you’re safe and healthy while doing this. Some people actually need to eat meat to stay healthy! So before making your decision, speak to a professional.
3. Watch documentaries. This is optional, but if you are serious about going meatless or just simply not bothered to google some info and want a more interesting way of learning, this is perfect. I will list some documentaries you can watch (be aware of gory images)

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4. Don’t be surprised when someone doesn’t agree with you and don’t pressure your friends and family to adapt the same diet. Not everyone wants to go meatless, but it would be cool if you had a friend or a group with you going veg, because it would support and help you to keep going. So find an internet group on social media, and share recipes! You don’t need to bring up your choice on every conversation.
5. Don’t be a bad person, choose this because you want to, not because you want to lose weight or something else. Eat by color, not by calorie.
6. Take a cooking class… or just watch a YouTube video with a veggie chef if you can’t afford the time and money.
7. Eat smart. Just because vegetarians have delicious junk food, doesn’t mean you only eat them. They aren’t a staple.
8. Visit a farm or a shelter. Make a cute piglet or chicken your friend, see how much they show love to you and then think about killing and eating it for one meal. It might change everything you think about meat.
9. Make sure you have enough info about veg life. When someone tries to trash your lifestyle, give them a taste of their own medicine by pointing out the bad stuff about meat eating. Don’t get furious by this, keep calm posture and show your intelligence. I have experienced this many times – I start thinking about screaming and pulling my hair out when a person argues about this, but staying calm and collected will show that you are educated and you know what you are doing.
10. Make a speech for your parents if you’re underaged. You can’t just drop a bomb “I’m vegetarian” and just expect them let you. First of all, they will probably ask ‘why?’ Answer honestly, with the reason or two (health, economics, political view, hate killing animals, etc.). Offer to buy the products and cook them yourself. Look up recipes. Show you are responsible for this and you will look after yourself.

Going vegetarian or vegan doesn’t mean that you will only annoy people while dining out. So, carrots anyone?
Let me know what you think in the comments about vegetarian lifestyle! 🙂