As a vegetarian or vegan you may often wonder, why isn’t everyone vegetarian?
Many people do not have the desire to become vegetarians for many reasons that often include the comfort in the diet they grew up consuming, taste preferences, and concerns about nutritional deficiencies.
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Why Aren’t We All Vegetarians
Many of us are not vegetarians due to various reasons from a lack of desire to change, to concerns about health and the convenience of sticking with the diets we are used to.
Why Are People Against Being Vegetarian
There are many different personal reasons why someone hasn’t chosen a vegetarian or vegan diet.
The most common reasons for not being a vegetarian include.
- Comfort
- Taste preferences
- Convenience
- Not wanting to change
- Concerns about nutritional deficiencies
- Social Concerns
- Availability of food
Many People Find Comfort In The Diets They Grew Up With
The majority of us grew up eating the Standard American Diet or one that we feel a great deal of comfort towards.
I am sure many of us have fond memories of our childhoods gathered around a table enjoying a meal or helping our loved ones prepare food.
If the diet we grew up enjoying contains meat and animal products it can be extremely difficult to change to a completely different diet.
Is It Hard To Become A Vegetarian After Eating Meat
The first couple years of transitioning from a diet that contains animal products to one that doesn’t is extremely challenging.
You need to retrain your mind and palette to no longer gravitate toward animal products even if your heart has already made that choice.
It can also feel like a loss, a loss of the past and connections to the food you eat.
It does get better and becomes “normal” but, the road there is bumpy.
How To Be Vegetarian In A Family Of Meat Eaters?
Taste Preferences That Gravitate Towards Meat
As a culture we love meat. The flavors, textures, and connections that meat has towards happiness and memories.
We love grilling meat to celebrate Summer, cooking a turkey and feast for thanksgiving, and ham for Christmas and Easter.
Many people love meat “, especially bacon” and don’t feel as if they can live without it, or have any desire to.
Eating Animal Products Is More Convenient
You can not deny that eating meat and animal products isn’t easier than eating a vegetarian diet.
Many foods and restaurants are still centered around meat and animal products.
The fewer animal products you consume the harder it can get.
Eating meat is the most convenient diet a person can have in the United States.
Many People Do Not Have The Desire to Change Their Diets
Ask anyone who has even gone on a diet, it is one of the hardest things regardless of the type of change you are making.
Any change to your eating habits is usually met with challenges and temptations as well as some slip-ups along the way.
A lot of people have no desire to become vegetarians or vegans making it nearly impossible for them to do so.
How Long Does It Take To Get Used To Being A Vegetarian?
Concerns About Nutritional Deficiencies
Many people have concerns about not meeting all of their nutritional needs on a vegetarian or vegan diet.
This is not the case in most situations, vegetarians and vegans are usually healthier than their animal-consuming counterparts.
You need to look at the entire diet to make sure a person meets their nutritional needs.
A meat eater could also never eat fruits and vegetables and be lacking in nutrition.
A vegetarian could also survive off of processed and prepared foods and be just as lacking in nutrients.
Both diets can also be very healthy, it is very individual but, being a vegetarian does not mean you are nutrient deficient.
Social Concerns
Some people are concerned with the social aspect of being a vegetarian and being the different one in the crowd.
It is true, you don’t realize it until you sit down for a meal with meat eaters that are not familiar with a vegetarian diet.
Many people have no idea what you eat and assume you live off of salads and rabbit food.
They don’t mean to but, it can be uncomfortable and you need to grow a “thick skin”.
The social awkwardness may be enough for some to avoid the attempt of becoming vegetarian or retreat back to animal consumption.
Availability Of Food
Many of us are fortunate enough to choose the foods we eat.
We can ignore that there are many that do not have the same luxury and do not have the option to change their diets.
Final Thoughts
The world will not be entirely vegetarian or vegan anytime soon.
There are too many reasons engrained in us from memories, convenience, and preferred tastes to make many of us change.
