{"id":16299,"date":"2020-10-26T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T13:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=16299"},"modified":"2020-10-07T12:06:55","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T16:06:55","slug":"teen-faq-how-does-one-go-vegan-in-a-meat-eating-household","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2020\/10\/26\/teen-faq-how-does-one-go-vegan-in-a-meat-eating-household\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen FAQ: How does one go vegan in a meat-eating household?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Clarissa Hauber, VRG Intern<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nthere is one similarity that I have noticed from my own vegan journey and from\ntalking to my vegan friends about their journeys \u2013 it’s that living in a\nmeat-eating household was among each of our greatest concerns when adopting the\nvegan lifestyle. We worried that our parents wouldn’t support us, that we\nwouldn’t know how to cook for ourselves, and that maybe, we would be too\ntempted by our non-vegan pantries to sustain the lifestyle change. In my case \u2013\nhaving been used to my dad’s excellent cooking skills and my mom’s Sunday grocery\nshops \u2013 I questioned if I would even be able to keep up with my cooking and\nwith my grocery shopping. Though, with research, good communication, newfound\nindependence, and ambition, being vegan in a meat-eating household became a\n“new normal” for me in no time. And it certainly can be for you too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Research \u2013 an incredibly important aspect\nof developing a vegan lifestyle, whether you live surrounded by meat or\nnot.  Before you take on the challenge of\ngoing vegan in a meat-eating household, you should develop a solid\nunderstanding of the adjustments you will be making to your life. Start with\nwebsites such as PETA, The Vegetarian Resource Group, One Green Planet, and\nMedical News Today. Take the time to understand the benefits of the diet –\nenvironmental, physical, and ethical. Acknowledge the importance of your\nnutrition intake. Which foods will be your sources of protein, of calcium, iron\n\u2013 a vegan donut might make a cute\nInstagram post, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dependable nutrition source. Understand\nthe foods that you will be adding or eliminating from your diet. Try making a\nlist of the non-vegan, staple foods in your home, and then vegan alternatives\nnext to them. For example, say every Friday night is “Taco Night” in\nyour house \u2013 think of some alternatives for ground beef and cheese. Maybe a\ntortilla filled with scrambled tofu can be your Friday night, “Taco\nNight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Once you have a better understanding of\nwhy and how you will go vegan, it is time to communicate with the people you\nlive with. The first question they might ask you is, “why?” Explain\nto them why it’s a choice you want to make. Share with them the research you\nhave conducted. Are you going vegan to help combat climate change? Are you\noutraged by the treatment of animals in the agriculture industry? Or, do you\nbelieve in going vegan as an effort against world hunger? Try providing them\nwith a detailed explanation of why veganism matters to you so that your family\ncan do their best to understand and support you. However, you should not expect\nthat they will cater to your vegan needs \u2013 they will likely continue eating\nmeat. It is important to remain patient with those you live with throughout\nyour vegan journey. They might not understand your choice, and that’s perfectly\nokay. But remember \u2013 going vegan is your choice, not theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Going vegan in a meat-eating household\nwill require a new sense of independence. Being the only vegan in your home,\nyou will no longer rely on anyone for your grocery shopping or cooking. Whether\ngrocery shopping alone or with a family member, you will be responsible for\nacquiring the foods that you need as a vegan. Furthermore, it is unlikely that\nyour parents will be cooking a vegan alternative for every meal your family\neats. This means, if you cannot cook yet, you should probably learn. Not that\nyou need to become a master chef by any means but knowing how to cook a handful\nof vegan meals will make your life a whole lot easier. And with time, your\ncooking skills will improve, allowing for greater diversity in the meals you\neat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Finally, remember why you decided to\nbecome vegan \u2013 hold on to that. Keep the ambition that you started this journey\nwith. Being the only vegan in a meat-eating household will not always be easy,\nand there might be occasions that lead you to question this choice. Not to\nmention, meat can be tempting for some new vegans, so in order to resist the\ntemptation of meat in your home is to remember your \u201cwhy\u201d and to carry your\nambition with you throughout this journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nwords of advice from two of my vegan friends \u2013 who also happened to go vegan in\nmeat-eating homes: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people might believe that\nonce you go vegan family dinners are no longer possible \u2013 this isn\u2019t true. It\nis easy to cook vegan dishes or side dishes that everyone can share and enjoy.\nThose who desire meat can add a meat product to their own meals. Or, if possible,\nthe meat and dairy products can be left on the side. As a vegan, you don\u2019t\nalways have to cook something or eat something entirely separate from the rest\nof your family. (Abbey, age 17)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I first became vegan, it was\na challenge seeing my whole family eat things I couldn\u2019t eat and smelling all\nthe foods my mom would make that I couldn\u2019t have. However, what helped me was\nto always incorporate my spin onto the dishes my family would make. For\nexample, if my family were eating burgers or pizza, I would make myself a vegan\ncounterpart \u2013 this allowed me to enjoy eating meals with my family, even as a\nvegan. (Lili, age 17)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contents\nof this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian\nJournal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice\nshould be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on\nproduct and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to\nbe 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views,\nand mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product\nis suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your\nown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For related\narticles, see https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/teen\/#family<\/a>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Clarissa Hauber, VRG Intern If there is one similarity that I have noticed from my own vegan journey and from talking to my vegan friends about their journeys \u2013 it’s that living in a meat-eating household was among each of our greatest concerns when adopting the vegan lifestyle. We worried that our parents wouldn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16301,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16299\/revisions\/16301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}