# Non-vegetarians: Could you ever be a vegetarian? Vegetarians: Do you ever miss meat? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 20, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884 "2009-09-20T23:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/21 "2009-09-21T01:20:56Z")
I tried to go vegetarian for a year a while back, with occasional lapses on chicken and fish. Veganism is a system based on beliefs I simply do not hold. I’m open to eating less meat, or the occasional meat-free meal, but I am an omnivore and am unswayed by the moral arguments against eating meat. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/22 "2009-09-21T01:27:34Z")
I’d rather be waterboarded than go without meat. ---
**Author:** ![Transistor\_Rhythm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Transistor\_Rhythm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Transistor_Rhythm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/23 "2009-09-21T01:37:02Z")
I never could because I’d be one of those fat vegetarians. Something about soy and other veggie proteins just doesn’t fill me up and leave me feeling full and satisfied like a hunk of a lean meat. I did a veggie diet for a week once and it seemed like I was eating full meals every two hours, taking in way more calories than I would have otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![pabstist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@pabstist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pabstist)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/24 "2009-09-21T01:41:55Z")
Hey all you vegans and vegetarians- want to know a secret? When maple syrup is made, guess what? They use pork fat to help keep the foam down. Maple syrup has ANIMAL in it! Who’d have thunk? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/25 "2009-09-21T01:48:53Z")
> [@pabstist](#): > > Hey all you vegans and vegetarians- want to know a secret? > > When maple syrup is made, guess what? They use pork fat to help keep the foam down. Maple syrup has ANIMAL in it! Who’d have thunk? Who peed in your Wheaties? This was a civil thread. And frankly, most makers **don’t** use it. [Scroll down to maple syrup.](http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj97mar/973sugar.htm) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/26 "2009-09-21T01:55:30Z")
Non-veg here. I don’t eat red meat except for the once-in-a-blue-moon outing to a steak house. Mostly chicken, though I’d eat fish every day of the week if I could. (My daughter went through the vegetarian thing through college and for a while there we were knee deep in hummus, feta cheese, and tofu. We whipped up some interesting, creative and healthy stuff, but since she’s been home she’s been backsliding a bit.) I don’t eat meat every day, but as long as there’s Swiss cheese in the refrigerator, I’ll never feel deprived. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/27 "2009-09-21T02:00:02Z")
I probably could be a vegetarian if there was a good enough reason to be, as long as eating crap like squash and eggplant is not mandatory. I guess beans and tofu is where I’d get most off my protein, and I like the former and can take the latter in small doses. I’d still expect to be able to use dairy products and - possibly - eggs. I would probably not expect to be able to use fish. But - oh! - I’d definitely miss meat. It would have to be an exceptionally good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/28 "2009-09-21T02:01:04Z")
I could probably get by if circumstances forced me into a vegetarian diet, but I have no inclination whatsoever to abstain from eating meat. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/29 "2009-09-21T02:03:31Z")
Back in the late eighties I decided to go vegetarian in stages. First I cut out animal meat and just ate fish (and veggies). And that was as far as it got. Even though I lived in a relatively trendy part of London, I got fed up with the lack of choice in food when eating out. And I could see it getting much worse if/when I gave up fish. I couldn’t even think of how to cook flavorful vegetarian dishes seven days a week. I had steak tonight - it was excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/30 "2009-09-21T02:06:08Z")
> [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > If I had to kill the animals providing the meat myself, yes. Otherwise no. This is something I gave serious thought to in my younger, more philosophical days. I decided that if I had to kill and butcher my own meat in order to eat meat, then I could and would do it. As a single guy I’d need an awfully big freezer. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/31 "2009-09-21T02:09:37Z")
Well, lemme see here. Yesterday, breakfast: Beefaroni (leftover from Friday) Lunch: half of a turkey club sandwich, mashed potatoes with bacon and shredded cheddar and sour cream Dinner: beef stroganoff over whole-wheat pasta Midnight snack: remainder of club sandwich from lunch Today, breakfast: multi-grain English muffin with cream cheese and strawberry preserves Lunch: Leftover stroganoff from last night Dinner: Ribeye steaks on the grill, with grilled corn on the cob No, don’t think I could do the vegetarian thing. I’ve met vegetarians who were assholes about it, but have also met plenty who are not. The ones who _are_ assholes about it, though, I suspect if they were carnivores or omnivores, they’d find something else to be assholish about. IOW, just because the vegetarianism _coincides_ with the asshole behavior, doesn’t mean vegetarianism _invites_ asshole behavior. As for whether they’re doing it for religious reasons, health reasons, to be trendy, or because they just don’t like meat, or for environmental reasons, doesn’t matter one whit to me. As long as they’re not assholes, we’re cool. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/32 "2009-09-21T02:45:53Z")
I was a vegetarian in the late 90s for a few years, actually if you eat dairy and eggs, it’s really a breeze. I imagine trying to go Vegan would be much harder. I could do it but I’d be a lot fatter, see I love nuts and I could easily forgo dairy, eggs and meat and replace it with nuts but they are a lot more fattening. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/33 "2009-09-21T02:50:16Z")
…and I also hate how they get huffy and self-defensive when anybody criticizes them. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/34 "2009-09-21T02:50:56Z")
I’m an in-betweener. I was vegetarian for a long time (for no good reason), but for the last few years I have been eating meat because living in another country with a special diet seemed like more hassle than it was worth. I will gladly eat my sweet-and-sour pork, but I rarely cook meat or order it specifically in restaurants. When there is meat, I usually pick around it. I just don’t really like it that much. So I guess I could go either way. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/35 "2009-09-21T03:05:33Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > …and I also hate how they get huffy and self-defensive when anybody criticizes them. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HUFFY AND SELF-DEFENSIVE!!!/1/ :mad: I kid 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/36 "2009-09-21T03:19:43Z")
I could go vegan easily. We eat vegan at home, and it’s generally pretty satisfying. However, food is something that really turns me on, and I don’t want to have to rule any of it out, because I enjoy the experience of eating just about anything offered to me. Mr. Wild definitely started planning our diet better when he switched from vegetarianism to veganism… we used to eat way too much cheese. As a result, I’ve slimmed down some, and between diet and strength training, he’s put on some much-needed weight. Also, I think eating vegan at home bodes well for my future familial cholesterol issues, so that works out. I’m way too fond of odd organ meats that are very not low cholesterol otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/37 "2009-09-21T03:28:58Z")
I’ve been a vegetarian for 17 years, and I don’t miss meat. I used to like it just fine, though, and I never have a problem with others eating it. As for these strident, defensive, assholish vegetarians and vegans I’ve heard about, well, they must live somewhere else, because I’ve never met one. All the ones I know keep it to themselves unless there’s a reason not to, like a dinner invitation. When I get a dinner invitation, I say something like “I’d love to come, but I should warn you that I’m a vegetarian; will you be offended if I skip the meat and stick to the side dishes?” People either modify their planned menu (which is generous of them) or let me stick to the side dishes. I’m OK either way. Hey, as long as there’s wine… I wouldn’t mind becoming a vegan but so far it hasn’t worked out. Tried it for a month a few years ago, and spent the entire month fantasizing about the cheese pizza I was going to eat at the first opportunity. I may try again someday, but I’m happy enough as a “lacto-ovo vegetarian” (incl. eggs & dairy). ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/38 "2009-09-21T03:39:31Z")
I’ve been a vegetarian (ovo-lacto) for, um, 15-ish years, I think. I don’t miss meat. It doesn’t even look like food anymore. The hubby and both kids are meat-eaters, though. I think the kids would be fine eating veggie, but the hubby would occasionally be grumpy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zany_Zeolite_Zipper)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/39 "2009-09-21T03:39:43Z")
A question for the vegetarians who eat TSP: does the gas ever go away? I tried eating it for two or three weeks; the volume and odour were . . . impressive. A person from the EPA spent the entire time circling me muttering something about fugitive H2S emissions. Beno helped a bit, but my god the gas was foul. As far as vegetarianism would go, I could do lacto-ovo easily. The only reason I am not now is because I need something to put in a sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884/40 "2009-09-21T03:44:29Z")
> [@E.Thorp](#): > > As for these strident, defensive, assholish vegetarians and vegans I’ve heard about, well, they must live somewhere else, because I’ve never met one. Me neither. Just a lot of meat eaters whining about them and using them to justify being mean about vegetarianism. Trust me, I’d never bring it up to anyone unless it were wholly relevant because the last thing I want to do is talk about it in mixed company. I’ve also never really had a situation where I had to eat at someone’s house where it was a problem. There’s usually plenty of food that I can eat, and if not, I eat what I can and then eat when I get home. No one has to go through any trouble for me. Vegetarian for 18 years or so. Sure, I miss meat. I liked it and I’m sure I still would. That’s not why I stopped eating it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-vegetarians-could-you-ever-be-a-vegetarian-vegetarians-do-you-ever-miss-meat/510884.md?page=3)