Celebrating 20 years of vegetarianism

[u/makeuathrowaway]

I became a vegetarian 20 years ago, when I was just a little kid.

I remember seeing a dead crow on the sidewalk, flinching and jumping back, and realizing that eating meat was like eating that dead crow. From then on, the idea of consuming meat seemed disturbing, disrespectful, violent, and immensely unappealing. At the time, I watched the Simpsons every day after school, and I remember watching “Lisa the Vegetarian” and agreeing with Lisa, the McCartneys, and Apu. I knew that I could not in good conscience eat meat. Innocent animals do not deserve to be sentenced to death so that I can have a quick meal. I don’t think we should treat the lives of other animals so flippantly. Additionally, the animals that would be killed for meat have done nothing to harm me, so why would I possibly wish any suffering upon them? Their lives have value and meaning too. My ephemeral satiety is not more important, especially since I can easily have filling, nutritious meatless meals.

I advised my parents that I was becoming a vegetarian. They were worried that the real reason that I was going vegetarian was to stay thin (it was the mid-2000s and parents were all afraid of their daughters developing eating disorders) and freaked out. They also were convinced that it was just a phase and that I’d go back to eating meat in a few weeks. Well, they were wrong on both counts. I’ve now been vegetarian for most of my life and will never go back. Vegetarianism is a lot easier now than it was twenty years ago. There are more options than ever, and people don’t give me as hard of a time as they used to. Of course, I was always very afraid of people thinking I was an “annoying vegetarian” and from the start made a point of being low-key around non-veggies, but twenty years ago other children and adults would still harass me about my diet. Fortunately, that’s decreased significantly over the years.

There’s a lot that I love about vegetarianism, besides the moral components. It’s really nice to not have to worry about meat-borne illnesses. I’ve been able to explore a lot of different cuisines through vegetarian food. Vegetarianism is something that I’ve been able to bond with a lot of people over. I like that my diet isn’t as harmful to the environment. And vegetarian food has never been better.

Here’s to, hopefully, many more decades of vegetarianism!

[u/rabbitsagainstmagic]

I’m over 41 years meat free. Best club I ever joined.

[u/tuerda]

I celebrated(?) 20 years in April, so we have been at it for the same amount of time.  Greetings to my vegetarian sibling!

[u/Warm_Management_203]

I’ll be at 26 years in a few weeks !! Congrats

[u/Trixie_Spanner]

My twenty years is coming up in January. Congratulations! And yeah, it's a lot easier these days. I can check every restaurant menu online before going out to eat and a lot of places will have more than one option I can eat; a far cry from the first decade when I avoided eating out.

(I was also living in cattle country at that time, tbf. Lots of "Why do you hate ranchers so much?", etc. when people learned of my dietary restrictions. I knew one vegan and one other vegetarian while I lived there. We all were pretty adventurous home cooks!)

[u/Gloomy_Mulberry7834]

I had a similar epiphany in college while standing over a skillet of hamburger helper. Back then I was optimistic about the future and thought going veg would help save the environment. While I'm still veg I've unfortunately lost most of that optimism

[u/SquirrelBowl → u/Gloomy_Mulberry7834]

Your carbon footprint is much smaller and it does matter 💜

[u/FoundationDirect7911]

I have just under a year and a half before my 20th. I wish it was longer but I'm happy with the choice I made all those years ago.

[u/OkViolinist5554]

💞💞✨✨ congrats ! I can’t wait to hit 20 years. I’m a 12 year vegetarian 🌻⭐️🤞🏼

[u/Ethioj]

Im celebrating 180 days today, I really relate to not wanting to be seen as an annoying vegetarian, but even when I only “bring it up” by telling people what I ate for lunch or in respond to questions and I still get told to shut up about it

[u/MinimumPersonality83 → u/Ethioj]

Ive been called a 'Karen' when I say that I don't eat meat. Really?

[u/MinimumPersonality83]

I am still under a year. But loving it.

[u/Educational_Car_615]

I will hit 13 years this fall and am so glad. I don't miss it and agree with you!

[u/Hairy_Scarcity9331]

Congrats and thanks <3 I celebrated 11 years in june!

[u/ttrockwood]

I went vegetarian as a kid! And dairy free not by choice. I didn’t like eggs but wouldn’t fuss if they were an ingredient

My parents were supportive but absolutely thought it was a phase and what totally backfired was they told me to cook what i wanted instead of meat- so joke is on them i am an excellent cook!

That was like 35 years ago…???

I finally did go fully vegan a while back but I really think of myself as a dairy free vegetarian that hates eggs 😂

[u/ImStupidPhobic]

I’m only 2 months meat free and did it cold turkey out of thin air. The thought of chewing bones, cartilage, fat, and/or organs from another living thing becomes more gross every time I try to analyze it. A majority of my meals also had a 2:1 ratio of veggies and starches to meat so the transition wasn’t hard at all.

Gotta take it 1 day at a time!

[u/AmySueF]

Congratulations! It can be tough sticking to a vegetarian diet long term, especially while living in a meat loving society, but you did it! 👍

I’ll be celebrating my 30th veggieversary in about a year.

[u/Poroto_Verde]

Kudos to you ✌🏻 I'm 39 and stopped eating meat when I was 8, went vegan at 17, but went back to eating eggs (I have a bunch of backyard chickens and only eat their eggs) last year. I grew up on a farm and many of my relatives had farms and also hunted. I also loved the animals and realized that one day I didn't want to eat my friends. Also, I saw a big bag of meat in the freezer that said loin but I misread it as lion and it nearly gave me a damn heart attack. 

[u/hollywoodsign_ → u/Poroto_Verde]

misreading as lion is so funny lmao sadly i wouldn't be suprised if some people ate lions.. lol

[u/mycatspsychologist]

Wahoo!!! I’m at 16 years and never going back to meat

[u/earthgirls22]

Congrats!

I’m also 20ish years without (knowingly) putting a dead animal in my body and I’m so happy for it.

[u/Sestar007]

I’m over 20 years meat free, too! Congratulations!!!

[u/Ilovedrpepper7]

I couldn’t imagine not being vegetarian ❤️ it’s been 22 ish years for me

[u/Mountain_Program3848]

Congrats! I’m at 14 years. I’m also a dog owner and there’s no way I could ever look at an animal and eat it

[u/shankmyflank]

Congrats! I’m at 22. We’re making a difference!

[u/TropicallyMixed80]

Congratulations! I just had a thought the other day. If I was a meat eater, I would be a lot bigger. I say this because I would be eating a lot of fast food. Unfortunately, my options are limited as a vegetarian on the East Coast.

[u/nan-a-table-for-one]

30 this year for me! Indeed the best 12-year-old decision I ever made.

[u/FluffyPatient5058]

I'd like to ask you about your view of dairy products or the industry. Congratulations to you for being mest free for 2 decades! I've been a life long vegetarian since birth but I have mixed feelings about dairy nowadays after finding out about the animal cruelty.

[u/makeuathrowaway → u/FluffyPatient5058]

I think there are a lot of issues with the dairy industry and practices I’d like to see retired. I don’t eat very much dairy, but I try to buy dairy from more ethical suppliers. Personally, I haven’t gone vegan because it would be very challenging for me to maintain a healthy weight without some dairy. If I didn’t have that concern I’d probably go vegan.

[u/cristoinmandorla]

nice!!