Vegans Who Started Eating Meat Again Share Their Experiences
Reddit user Capital_Brain2676 asked: 'Vegans that started eating meat again, what happened?'
Most restaurant menus have caught up with the times to offer plenty of options to patrons with various dietary restrictions.
Vegan dishes tend to be a top priority, with gluten-free options being a close second.
Thanks to these options, groups of family and friends can dine together and not be limited by restaurant choices.
But when there's a sudden break in routine on the next outing, it can be jarring when the vegan in your group suddenly orders prime rib or a juicy burger that is not a plant-based patty.
What the whaaat?
Curious to hear from those who did a dietary 180 after routinely nourishing themselves with food grown from the earth's soil, Capital_Brain2676 asked:
"Vegans that started eating meat again, what happened?"
Some people were told what's good for them.
Point Made
"I know someone who was a vegetarian for 13 years simply because someone told them they couldn't do it. I guess he figured 13 years was enough to prove a point and went back to eating meat after."
– ottersandgoats
"I feel like 2-3 years would be enough though??"
– WebBorn2622
On A Dare
"I knew a girl in college who did that. She was dared in middle school to become a vegetarian and... she just stuck with it. More power to them."
– ComplexWest8790
Some people were left with no choice but to ditch veganism.
Thanks, Mickey Ds
"Got cancer. Ate whatever my body would take without throwing up and that just happened to be chicken nuggets."
– BratS94
When Choices Are Limited
"Homeless and pregnant = eat what I was given."
– anon
"I’ve always wondered this actually. If a homeless vegan eats what they’re given. I’ve given homeless people subs in the past because of veggies, protein, and carbs (all necessary things) and wondered if they would eat it if they’re vegan. I’m sorry you’ve been on that road. I hope things are better for you now."
– Saltwater_Heart
The Saying Goes
"There is a reason for the saying 'beggars can’t be choosers,' you give what you can/have and you can’t always accommodate the person you are giving it to, don’t think too hard about it. Also, hope OP is doing better."
– Reikotsu
Certain medical conditions prevented these Redditors from sticking to their restrictive diets.
Cooking For Two
"I still eat mostly vegetarian food and have done all my life. However my husband was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and coeliac which means that a high fibre/lower iron diet is not an option and a lot of the substitutes aren’t gluten free. More often than not when he has meat I’ll leave it or have the veggie equivalent but there are just not enough hours in the day to make 2 separate lasagnes and sauce etc."
– Chanel-Chic
Troublesome Ailment
"As someone who has UC, that's very cool of you to cook a more UC friendly diet. I dated a woman for 6 months who was a pescatarian. Every time I cooked, it was something we both liked and could eat. Every time she cooked, she focused on what she wanted and it didn't seem to matter whether I could eat it or not. She was nuero divergent and had it in her head that veggies = good regardless of what it did to my insides. For anyone who doesn't know, UC is inflammation due to my immune system attacking the lining of my colon. So it's inflamed (unless you're in remission, which a fair amount of people aren't). Large amounts of fiber makes the food sit there longer and get more packed, which hurts like all hell being tight up against inflamed tissue. And certain ones create gas of an unimaginable magnitude and strength."
"Anyway, a fair amount of the time, I had to order delivery or takeout because otherwise, I would have been farting or sh*tting my brains out overnight. So I appreciate what you've done like you wouldn't believe."
– Wishilikedhugs
Bye Bye Veggies
"My gastroparesis diet led me off my vegan diet as well. I can’t handle legumes, leafy greens, and most vegetables. Hard to be a healthy vegan without any of those."
– Jefauver
When Vegan Ingredients Turn On You
"Yup. Crohn’s Disease ended my 17 year vegetarian stretch. I’m in remission now and don’t eat red meat but I am sensitive to several vegan friendly ingredients like garlic, onions, cauliflower family and now I can avoid them without starving."
–friscodayone
Cooking For A Full House
"Back when COVID had everyone in lockedown, myself and my roommate's family would take turns cooking dinner and it was fine. Then my roommate went on the NOOM diet, her daughter was diagnosed with GERD and couldn't have anything acidic, and her husband was diagnosed with celiac. Oh, and another family member disliked potatoes. I finally had to bow out. It was way too much of a pain in the @ss to cook a meal that met all of those restrictions."
– panda388
Sometimes, you just gotta have meat.
Costco Chicken
"Not my story, but a good friend of mine was vegetarian, very nearly vegan for over 10 years. One day she was in Costco and walked past the rotisserie chickens. Without thinking she put it in her cart. When she got home she stood over the sink and ate it with her bare hands. She had no idea what came over her. Her telling me this story is still one of the funniest things I've ever heard. She is still very plant forward in her eating, but she won't hesitate to order a burger or a steak when she wants it now."
– NotAlwaysGifs
Ravenous
"I went on a weekend backpacking trip with a girl who had been religiously vegan for a few years. It was a pretty physically intense trip, and the last day heading back was in pouring rain the whole way, so by the time we got back to our car, we were absolutely exhausted, filthy, and starving."
"There was only one restaurant anywhere nearby, one of those highway diners. We get there and I notice she's got this kind of crazy look in her eyes. I ask if she's okay, and she just says 'I need a steak.' I laugh, but she goes 'I'm serious. I can't help it. I need a big greasy piece of meat right now or I'm going to die.""
"Sure enough, she orders the biggest steak on the menu, and wolfs it down in minutes, and the crazed look goes away. After that, she went right back to being vegan like nothing had happened. The look in her eyes was a little scary to be honest."
– AxelShoes
Unless it's a matter of life or death, there's no way I can survive being a vegan.
I don't have a strong enough will power to avoid eating meat.
So if that day ever comes when I'm forced to make a major change in my diet that won't include red meat and you're around me all the time, apologies in advance for my perpetual state of being hangry.
Food is not one size fits all. Just because you're a fan of one kind of food, it doesn't mean you'll like anything under that category.
I adore vegetables, but I shudder just thinking about eggplant.
Meat is the same way. Just because you eat meat doesn't mean there aren't certain kinds of meat you refuse to consume. Redditors shared what kinds of meat they don't eat, but their reasons are not based on taste preference -- it's about the ethics of eating a certain kind of meat.
Curious about what those types of meat may be, Redditor Candid_Reading_7267asked:
"Meat eaters: what type of meat, if any, is off your menu for ethical reasons?"
Too Sweet To Eat
"I used to raise calves and I’ve learned that if you socialize a cow they are the sweetest things. I once had a cow lay down next to me in the grass and put her head on my lap. I don’t eat beef now."
– TheShining02
He's A Survivor
"I don't eat pork or any pig meat. I used to work on a farm where I raised pigs. Five adults and something like 40 piglets. I fell in love with them. I used to just go on my off hours and hang out in the piglet pen They would just leap all over me and give me kisses They're massive smart. I can't eat them now anymore or less than I don't eat dogs. They're untouchable."
"There was a runt piglet, I nicknamed him Slayer because he probably shouldn't have survived, but he did. He was hardcore, so I had to give him a hardcore name. He was a runt named Slayer. It perfectly fits him."
– trebuchetfight
It Needs To Be Painless
"Any that comes from an endangered animal (e.g. tiger meat) or any that have abhorrent extraction practices (e.g. shark fin)."
"I know that the other types of meat I consume do not grow on trees, that something had to die for it to be made available, but there is a difference between killing an animal with a quick pressure gun and cutting off their fin and throwing them back into the sea to die slowly and painfully."
– Pink-Camellias
Full Stop
"Anything that is cooked alive"
– Sweetcherry66
The Sea Creatures We Love
"Turtle meat because I like turtles"
– Godmyass
"Agreed. And octopus because they’re just so cool and intelligent. They already live such short lives."
– NahWeGotCreampies
Shocking
"I won't support anything that is obscenely wasteful."
"When I was 14 and went fishing with my Dad I caught a Shovelnose Shark. Absolutely gorgeous creature it was almost as big as I was."
"We took it home and I honestly thought it would feed all 8 of us (it was a holiday so it was my family and my Uncle's family)."
"Anyway, dinner gets served: everyone else had Chicken, and I was served what I could only describe as cooked fish that looked like the size of maybe 2 or 3 big sausages."
"It turns out that only the tail meat is actually edible."
"I was M O R T I F I E D."
"Killed a giant animal only to basically eat 2 hot dogs worth of actual meat."
"Never went fishing with my Dad again because it turned out he knew that when I caught it. If I had have known I would have thrown it back."
– rayjaymor85
What's In A Name?
"Any animal with a name that I know."
"We raise chickens. Thought we'd wind up eating them after they stopped laying eggs, but my kids named the flock and I couldn't bring myself to do it."
– Trail__Junkie
The Big Reveals
"Veal. I remember being a kid and my mom made us breaded veal and said it was chicken and when we finished announced “you just ate baby cow!” I cried so much lol."
– littleleg0s
"My stepdad's grandparents owned a farm. They let him name a cow after himself when he was about six. One night they were having burgers for dinner and his grandpa just said "Guess what? We're eating Johnny for dinner!""
"I never will understand why the hell the idea to feed him the cow sounded like a good idea to him but especially why they decided to tell him they'd slaughtered and prepared it mid-bite."
– psy-ducks
We Are Family
"Apes."
– Mooseboy24
"Especially chimps, they're our closest relatives in the animal kingdom and beautiful, fascinating animals. And now they're an endangered species partly because they're being hunted for bushmeat."
– NotFeziboy
–
Just A Baby
"As a dairy farmer the only meat i will not eat is veal. And I have seen on here a lot of misinformation about the practices of animal farming I would like to clear up a few from the perspective of a dairy farmer. Cows who are 5 plus years old don't usually get slaughtered I personally have 50 plus cows over the age of ten which I am very proud off."
"On my farm or in the uk generally none of my calves get sent to veal production all of the beef calves get slaughtered for meat between 24 and 36 months and each beef bullock has spent all summers out on grass."
"Cows and calves do get separated when they are born this is for the benefit of the cow and us as we get the milk and the cow gets fully milked out and is comfortable. The calves get cows milk for 2 months after they are born and 1 months further on replacer."
"Sorry to ramble there is just a lot of misinformation on the subject."
– Lamies_
–
Don't Want To Be Part Of The Problem
"It would have to be on the endangered species list. I would try anything else at least once to see how it taste."
– Nogardknight
Made To Eat
"Any mammal that was not specifically bred on a farm to be served as meat for humans - off limits. Especially mammals from the ocean and sharks, not cool to eat."
"Pork, beef, mutton, chicken and fish. Why do you want to kill anything else for food?"
– Great-Cantaloupe542
Can't Do It Anymore
"Lamb because of their intelligence and personality level. We bottle fed a lamb and had it in the house. This made me quit red meat also. I don't buy chicken but will eat leftovers if the kids don't. Still eat fish and egg. I've contemplated bow hunting deer once in a while still."
– EmbarrassedLemon33
Not Going To Get Sick
"Bear meat. Heard it contains tons of parasites."
– Xtoxy
Eco-Friendly
"I don't eat cow meat if there's any other alternative. It's not the best thing for the environment. I'm not committed enough to be a vegetarian, but I try to stick to more sustainable options."
– pipersweeney
Completely Awful
"Shrimp, crab, lobster. They get boiled alive. Animal cruelty at its finest."
"(I'm also Jewish which forbids eating these but I don't really follow the religion, I don't eat pork only because it seems disgusting, I don't fear any gods so I guess shrimp crab and lobster count as ethical)"
– TheGoodThingsGL
My Old Pet
"I won’t eat rabbit because I love bunnies and had a pet rabbit at one point. I want another someday."
– Hexactinellida
Man's Best Friend
"Dogs and cats probably any common pet"
– Dudeman1245
"Can't believe it took this long for someone to say dog"
– ikindalold
I'm a big meat eater, but after all that...I may have to reconsider my diet.
Who can resist having a medium-rare slab of filet mignon, perhaps with some béarnaise sauce, on their dinner plate?
That would be true vegetarians, that's who. But no judgment here.
After all, vegetarians reap healthy rewards, including having lower blood pressure and a lower risk of chronic diseases.
Carnivores, on the other hand, can't imagine not having a juicy burger, or even chicken and fish. But just because meat-eaters love their meat doesn't mean they limit their dietary options, come supper time.
Curious to hear about the palates of strangers on the internet, Redditor TinyRobotParts asked:
"Meat eaters of reddit, what is your favorite vegetarian/vegan dish?"
Got that napkin tucked into your shirt with fork and knife at the ready?
Then, let's go. The following home chefs shared their favorite dishes grown from the earth.
Put It In A Pot
"Veggie soup. Simple to make, a lot of room to experiment and individualize it to your liking."
"It's also healthy and cheap."
Shaking The Bag
"So I cube some sweet potatoes and toss the chunks in a big ziploc bag."
"Then I add olive oil and spicy BBQ rub."
"Shake the bag so the oil and rub coats the potato chunks and then slow smoke at 225 until soft."
"It's flippin delicious" – Ron_F'kin_Swanson
Indian food was brought up repeatedly as having the best-tasting vegetarian/vegan dishes.
"Amazing Use Of Potatoes"
"Nobody else makes vegetarian food that seriously tastes insanely good across so many different dishes. It rarely even feels like its vegetarian because of their amazing use of potatoes and other high calorie veggies."
So Many Options
"Even as a meat-eater, baingan bhartha is my go-to at Indian places, followed by aloo gobi. And there's so many dishes that can be made veg without too much issue - korma, saag, biryani, even vindaloo. Pretty much the only thing I've found that doesn't really work is murgh makhni (aka butter chicken), and even then I've had some passable versions, just not quite to my taste."
Palak Paneer
"Palak paneer is my absolute favorite. There's no Indian restaurants where I live, and my attempts at making it myself have been less than successful."
"I live in a very small town in Wisconsin currently, and we literally have like five or six Mexican restaurants but zero Indian or Thai."
"As soon as I can I'm moving back to Cincinnatinati, specifically Westchester/ Sharonville. Indian buffets and Pakistani restaurants every 5 ft. It was glorious."
Mediterranean cuisine offers plenty of delicious vegetarian options for omnivores.
Simple Pasta
"too many but for example, spaghetti aglio/olio (with garlic and olive oil)"
"Crunchy Cheese Pizza"
"Eggplant parmesan is one of my favorites too. It's like a little crunchy cheese pizza and I could eat the entire eggplant in one sitting by myself."
– Struana
Falafel Is Not Awful
"Falafel sandwich, with extra tahini, poured on. The places that do it really well (which is rare) are the best restaurants on earth to me. So amazing."
"Plenty of people might be like 'eh not for me'. Then they try it and their mind is blown."
I'm a meat-eater through and through, but I have found that, as I got older, I like less heavy meals.
While Margherita Pizza is technically not a vegetarian dish since it has no vegetable toppings, it has become my favorite non-meat dish.
I found that the simplicity of the pie's basic ingredients made it more flavorful than having it topped with ground sausage and pepperoni.
But if I had to go with a favorite vegetarian dish, I would say vegetarian lasagna is right up there.
Suddenly, I have this sudden urge to eat my way through Italy. Who's coming with?
Living on a smart, comprehensive and healthy diet is an essential part of living long and with energy. We all try so many different ways to nourish our bodies and most of the time... we're doing it wrong. It is an arduous task to stay with some of these ways of life. Not eating meat or cheese or eggs? I don't know how people do it. Yes we want to save animals and it's not ideal that we harvest their bodies for our own fulfillment but when your starving... the guilt fades.
Redditor u/eitakvo wanted to hear from all the people who gave in and went back to gobbling meat by asking...
ex vegans, why did you start eating meat again?
"be flexitarian"
I became vegetarian specifically to fuel an active eating disorder. When I got on the path to recovery, I started eating meat again. TheDrunkenGiraffe
This is a big reason that my GF and I stick to talking about going "flexitarian" or similar, rather than committing to any hard and fast rules of any sort.
Restrictive diets are pure fuel for eating disorders, and both of us have suffered in one way or another from them. fklwjrelcj
Luxuries....
I was vegan for 3 years and had gone home to my community which is tremendously poor. To have cold cuts and a bag of Doritos is a luxury. My Aunt who was going blind made a family feast and everyone came, and she made a very traditional Lamb Stew. My heart broke when I thought of how much of her income she must have spent to make this possible and felt like a completely entitled outsider when I told them I was vegan.
They couldn't comprehend when food is so hard to come by, why anyone would choose to not eat any protein available to keep from being hungry. Being vegan comes from a first world position of entitlement. It is a luxury to choose what you eat, when so many eat whatever is available, not out of an ethical decision, but out of necessity. jad3dcr0w
Too Excessive....
I became homeless and couldn't afford to be picky about my food.
My life is stable now finance-wise and i now eat a balanced diet with meat, try to eat a lot of veggies, and i sometimes eat fast food and candy, which i didn't do when i was vegan.
Reason I became vegan was i thought meat is gross, and i still think it is so i still don't eat it too excessively. jgoigjfs
Fainting....
GiphyI lost a lot of weight (to the point that people asked if I was ok). I was tired and had low energy. I ended up being anemic. I slowly ended up getting to a point that I started eating meat again. HamfastFurfoot
Plant Revenge.
Fairly stupid reason, because I broke up with my ex.
I was game a vegan to support her, and it felt weird eating meat while she was so against it. When the relation was over however, I no longer felt the need to support my ex in that way. Thus meat was back on the menu boys!! PJSegers89
Eat Smart.
GiphyA friend had to abandon it when they finally got treatment for their eating disorder. They were already malnourished, and 15 years ago in the Midwest there weren't a lot of good vegan options around. Their therapist also kind of insisted, because it was somewhat being used as an excuse to not eat or not eat anything substantial. Over time they just transitioned back into eating a normal, non vegan/non vegetarian diet.
Now its kind of a mindscrew that they can go just about any fast food restaurant and get Beyond or Impossible, various nut and soy milk is sold everywhere groceries are available (including some well stocked gas stations), and no one looks at you funny if you ask about the ingredients in a dish. say592
Just a heads up....
Just a heads up, as both a vegan and a doctor here - most doctors have little idea of how nutrition works outside of a few modules they learned back in med school. If you want proper advice on a substantial diet change see a dietitian (not a nutritionist).
Your own doc is going to know your medical results and labs of course, but their diet advice is often (not always) fairly broad and not even remotely comprehensive or up-to-date.
The best thing to do is see a doctor and a dietitian where possible, and have them work together to get things sorted. Lazy_Raccoon
The First Sign of Blood....
GiphyNot vegan but vegetarian,
I was vegetarian for a good 4 years, once I hit the 4 year mark, energy was at an all time low, my whole body felt weak, and the kicker I had very, VERY frequent nose bleeds.
it was so often I was use to it for a while, eventually the nose bleeds came to be too much, and I started eating meat again, then the nose bleeds stopped all together I haven't had a single nose bleed thus far, mind you I quit being vegetarian 2 years ago. Cringing_Regrets
Tacos 4-EVER!!!
GiphyWas vegetarian for 12 years. Had a mental breakdown after a death in the family and instead of drinking or getting high, I went out and got a steak taco. Life is too short to miss out on tacos. AAM13353
Love Eats....
I divorced my vegan wife. cramburie
Same reason I stopped eating chicken breasts after broke up with the gym-animal ex boyfriend. failedtester
Wife and no Bacon / New girlfriend and bacon. SquanchingOnPao
Also.... therapy!
GiphyI was using veganism as a guise for an eating disorder for well over a year. When I finally realized I was in trouble, after losing 80lbs, I went and bought lamb chops and devoured them. Also therapy. SassBerryPie
Mostly veggies....
I still eat mostly vegetarian food and have done all my life. However my husband was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and coeliac which means that a high fibre/lower iron diet is not an option and a lot of the substitutes aren't gluten free. More often than not when he has meat I'll leave it or have the veggie equivalent but there are just not enough hours in the day to make 2 separate lasagnes and sauce etc. Reddit
Fevers.
I was on a diet for health reasons. When I was told I was allowed to eat meat again my fridge started looking like a Mexican fever dream. DasDoesSomeThings
I'm imagining that as lots of dancing tacos, quesadillas, beans, and chickens while mariachi bands play on a swirling tie dye background. Sapper501
"burned"
Got a genetic illness which makes me permanently anemic. My body only absorbs a tiny amount of iron from food and that amount is "burned" pretty fast. Turns out it doesn't help to cut that tiny amount as well. Also i didn't replace the meat, i just left it out so i basically ate less food.
Edit: The genetic mutation i have is called Thalassemia (specific type: Thalassemia Beta intermedia) Its pretty common especially in mediterranean people usually only severe cases are properly diagnosed since you cant really do more than iron infusions blood transfusions etc. stolenkar
When in Japan....
GiphyI'm still as veggie as possible but I moved to a country where is is 10000% harder to be vegan (Japan). This is mostly due to not knowing a ton of Japanese and the fact that there is fish or meat in soooo many restaurant foods and the culture here isn't like in America where you can ask for items to be removed or substitutions... Not that my Japanese ability would allow me to do that anyway. SummerMournings
How Much? For Food?
I was vegan for a year when I lived in a big city that had lots of inexpensive options for what one could eat. When I moved to a small town in beef country, the cost of good produce quadrupled, as did the cost of meat substitutes. I quickly learned that if I didn't eat whatever I could get my hands on, I would starve, so I started eating meat again.
Some people say food deserts aren't real. They are. Ivytongue
Travels....
I was traveling in Africa (edit: this part of the trip happened to be in Zambia, not that the specific location really matters for the point of the story), and stayed in a small village off the beaten track. I had just arrived and as the matriarch of my host family was showing me to my room, and helping me get settled in, her boys were out back slaughtering a goat for me.
I couldn't turn down that meal, because that goat represented a substantial part of the family's assets.
The whole experience made me realize that the social constructs around sharing food are far more important to me than what the food is.
If someone is serving it, I will eat it with gratitude.
Edit: yes, my stomach did not handle it very well. That said, my stomach was having difficulty anyway. There were unspeakable things done to the pit latrine.
Edit: no, I would not knowingly eat human flesh. Fortunately societal taboos on this are much more universal than are taboos related to eating goat. grindermonk
For a Stretch....
My brother-in-law went vegan for a stretch. One of his pet causes is donating blood. As soon as he's able to, he's down at the blood clinic donating again.
Anyway, on a vegan diet, his blood iron levels got too low to donate blood. So it was back to meat for him. But his daughter (my niece) is still vegan, and it's driving them nuts, because she'll only eat those vegan chicken nuggets, and they're getting pricey. originalchaosinabox
Let's See....
I wanted to see if it made me sick. I've since eaten it here and there but it's not often. I was vegan (food and otherwise) for near a decade. I'm planning on going back because I can honestly say that I've not been missing out. It's possible to veganize about anything these days.
Oh, also. No it didn't make me sick at all. SquizzleSE
Life's Too Short!
GiphyMy aunt was a vegetarian for health reasons. The day she got diagnosed with cancer she went to In-n-Out. lovelymoth
There is nothing better in life than hearing the phrases... "You WON!", "Free" and "Lifetime Supply!" Hearing those sentiments can make your heart melt; no matter what the prize is.
Heck, give me a lifetime supply of Corn Flakes and I'll jump for joy. The victory of winning is a highly potent drug. If only all the times we won something money could be involved, then we'd all die happy.
One Redditor asked Anyone who won a "lifetime supply" of something, what did you win, and are they still supplying it to you?