Question for fellow vegetarians...

This is very weird! I've been vegetarian for.. ALMOST 7 years. I have about 2 more months before I hit that 7 year mark. For me, it wasn't that I didn't like the taste of meat..I used to LOVE steak and tuna. But after a while.. (when I turned 12), I suddenly became REALLY compassionate and sad for the animals dying and being killed for their meat - so I decided to "protest" in my own personal way. And I haven't ate meat..Since I was 12 years old (I'm now 19!). It's a pretty big accomplishment I guess. It really doesn't feel like it's been 7 years - I guess time flies.

My main reason for turning vegetarian was just for the cruelty of it all. I didn't want to feel like I was a part of that - so it's like I'm executing my own little boycott here. . Occasionally, I get weird cravings for meat - even these days! I used to get them VERY badly - probably for the first 3 years - but I ignored them, thankfully. And whenever I get a "meat" craving..I go and buy some Boca "meat" (fake meat made from soy/vegetables) and that usually does the trick. It's shameful that I still sometimes crave meat, but what can you do, really. I've never consciously WANTED to eat meat again - although, as I said, sometimes I got really weird and bad cravings for meat (although I've never allowed myself to act on them, that's for sure!) .

Unfortuantely I've never been able to take that next step into being vegan, and cutting out dairy. I'm hoping someday I'll have enough willpower to do this.

It's nice to hear from another vegetarian on the board here. .

Good for you!

I don't understand how a lot of people end up relapsing. But then I think that a lot of them are just trying to be vegetarian for their health.

I have been vegan for the past 10 years. I never want to try anything with meat in it again, because I cannot think of it as food, but instead I think of it as disgusting because some poor animal had to live a horrible life and die a horrible death just to make that.

I have some friends who are always saying they are trying to be vegetarian, but they just can't do it. I think there is no trying, you either do it or you don't. It is very easy now and it is getting easier all the time. Even when I first became a vegan, people were telling me I had it easy compared to people who had to cook all of their own food. Now I can go to the store about buy frozen dinners. There is so much variety now even for people who can't cook. There is just no excuse anymore for people who say they want to be vegetarian.

I guess I'm also vegan for health reasons on top of not being able to live with myself if I were harming animals. And environmental reasons as well. But mostly for the animals.