I have recently become a vegetarian and all of my friends are treating me different. They are making fun of me and tell me I am being stupid. They also say that there aren’t any successful people who are vegetarians. I know that isn’t true because carrie underwood is a vegetarian. They also tell me that I am not helping animals just because I don’t eat meat. What should I do?
12 responses so far ↓
1 BlueSea // Nov 4, 2008
Perhaps it is because you're making it such a big deal you're telling everyone.
Simply stick to your choice but don't go around telling everyone. Really, there is no need.
2 Yippy Skippy // Nov 4, 2008
bring up these names Leonardo Da vinci
Gandhi
Prince Fielder baseball slugger
Albert Einstein was not strictly vegetarian but thought the idea would help man-kind.
Socrates
Plato
there are many more but maybe you should do some research. I also recently turned vegetarian and at first they made fun of me, but now I always call them Omnivores and they shut-up. just inform them.
3 hlkljgk // Nov 4, 2008
Well, some of the MOST successful people were/are vegetarians.
http://www.ivu.org/people/
Here are a few:
Vegetarian Politicians and Activists
* Ariana Huffington
* Dennis Kucinich
* Rosa Parks
* Cesar Chavez
* Julia "Butterfly" Hill
* Andrew Bartlett, Australian Senator
* Coretta Scott King
vegetarian Musicians, Singers, Pop Stars
* Brandy
* Gustav Holst
* Shania Twain
* Dwight Yoakam
* Erykah Badu
* Bob Dylan
* Joan Baez
* Benji Madden and Billy Martin, from Good Charlotte
* Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice)
* Anthony Kiedis, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers
* Belinda Carlisle
* Common
* Davey Havok
* Conor Oberst, from Bright Eyes
* Dizzie Gillespie
* George Harrison
* Leonard Cohen
* Paul McCartney
* Ziggy Marley
Vegetarian Actors/Actresses
* Rosanna Arquette
* Alec Baldwin
* Kim Basinger
* Ellen DeGeneres
* Omar Epps
* Corey Feldman
* Richard Gere
* Hayley Mills
* Mary Tyler Moore
* Leonard Nimoy
* Sandra Oh
Vegetarian Athletes
* Martina Navratilova
* Tony LaRussa
* Hank Aaron
* Jack LaLanne
* Billie Jean King
* Joe Namath
Vegetarian Authors/Writers/Poets
* Alice Walker, writer
* Allen Ginsberg, poet
* Upton Sinclair
* Clive Barker
* Deepak Chopra, author and doctor
* Kafka, writer
* Louisa May Alcott
* Mark Twain
* William Blake
* Voltaire
* Leo Tolstoy
* George Bernard Shaw
* Percy Shelley
Other famous vegetarians, miscellaneous
* Steven Jobs
* Dr. Ruth Bates
* Casey Kasem
* Don Imus
* Chelsea Clinton
* Jane Goodall
* Uri Geller
* Mr. Rogers
* Yoko Ono
Historical Famous Vegetarians
* Vincent Van Gogh
* Susan B. Anthony
* Immanuel Kant
* Leonardo Da Vinci
* Ralph Waldo Emerson
* John Wesley
* Plato
* Pythagoras
* Sir Isaac Newton
* Clara Barton
Some other great reasons to be a vegetarian:
http://www.vegsource.com/how_to_win.htm
And do what's best for you; don't pay attention to your friends on this.
4 Matt // Nov 4, 2008
People are idiots. They see something unfamiliar as a threat. Just try to ignore it as best as you can. Don’t preach to them. Let them do their own thing, and ask them kindly to let you do yours.
5 Y // Nov 4, 2008
This is sadly a bit of a typical reaction from people who just don’t ‘get it’. The best thing you can do is show them how it hasn’t changed you, make sure you treat them the same and do the same things with them…. just avoid the meat obviously! Slowly over time they will forget about your ‘oddity’ and they will revert back to normal behaviour.
And look up vegetarian on wikipedia, there is a huge list of really famous successful people who are/were vegan/vegetarian. And if they bring it up just start rattling of those names.
The first month is the hardest in my opinion….. just get through it!
6 Melanie K // Nov 4, 2008
First of all, whenever you give up doing something that your friends/co-workers still do, this will happen. The reactions to becoming veg are just like, say, quitting smoking. Think about a scenario where someone says to a longtime friend “Hey do you want to go have a cigarette with me (just like we’ve always done)?” and the friend says “No, I quit smoking. I don’t smoke anymore. Its bad for my health & the health of people around me.” The one who didn’t quit think there is a judgment being passed on them because you are no longer doing something they still do, and that makes them uncomfortable. Rather than feeling uncomfortable themselves, its easier to shift the feeling onto you — put YOU on the defensive!
I can remember when my friends said very similar things to me. Tell them that if everyone in history used the “doing this isn’t changing anything I’m only 1 person” excuse to avoid standing up for what they felt was right, we’d never have ended slavery in the US, segregation, given women the right to vote, etc! EVERY movement starts SOMEWHERE!
Also, its about YOUR conscience as much as the animals!!
No successful vegetarians? You ready?
# Abdul Kalam Dr., President of India and Space Scientist - info
# Abraham Lincoln, former President of the United States - info
# AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON/Hare Krishna - info
# Adam Ant, musician - info
# Adam Carson, drummer of AFI - info
# Adam Russell, bassist of Story of the Year, vegan - info
# Adriana Karembeu, model - info
# Adriano Celentano, singer - info
# Ahmet Zappa, musician and actor - info
# Alan Donohue, singer of British rock band The Rakes, vegan - info
# Alan Ford, actor, British - info
# Alanis Morissette, singer - info
# Albert Einstein, renowned scientist - info
# Albert Schweitzer, theologian, philosopher, and physician - info
# Alexandra Paul, actress and environmental activist - info
# Alice Walker, poet and writer - info
# Alicia Silverstone, actress, vegan - info
# Alison Lohman, actress - info
# Allen Ginsberg, poet - info
# Ally Sheedy, actress - info
# Alyssa Milano, actress, vegan - info
# Amber Benson, actress - info
# Amber Valetta, model and actress - info
# Amitabh Bachchan, Indian celebrity superstar - info
# Amy Ray, musician from Indigo Girls - info
# Andre Tonelli, musician and instrumental guitarist, vegan - info
# Andre 3000 Benjamin, musician from OutKast, vegan - info
# Andrew G, actor, vegan - info
# Andrew (Whitey) White, musician and guitarist of Kaiser Chiefs - info
# Andy Dick, comedian and actor - info
# Andy Hurley, musician and drummer of Fall Out Boy, vegan - info
# Andy Serkis, actor - info
# Angela Bassett, actress - info
# Angie Everhart, model and actress - info
# Anna Paquin, actress and Oscar winner of The Piano - info
# Annalise Braakensiek, model - info
# Anne Hathaway, actress - info
# Anoushka Shankar, musician and sitar virtuoso, vegan - info
# Anthony Grayling, writer and columnist - info
# Anthony Kiedis, singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, vegan - info
# Anthony Perkins, actor - info
# Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, actor (fictional) of Simpsons, vegan - info
# Ariana Huffington, writer and polictical activist - info
# Aristotle, Greek philosopher - info
# Ashley Judd, actress - info
# Avril Lavigne, singer and musician - info
# Axella Johannesson, folk musician - info
# Barbara Bouchet, actress - info
# Barry White, musician, vegan - info
# Beatrice Wood, artist - info
# Belinda Carlisle, singer of the Go-Go’s - info
# Benjamin Zephaniah, performance poet and author, vegan - info
# Benji Madden, musician and guitarist of Good Charlotte - info
# Berkeley Breathed, cartoonist - info
# Bernadette Peters, actress - info
# Bif Naked, punk rocker, vegan - info
# Bill Pearl, bodybuilder - info
# Bill Walton, NBA All-Star basketball player - info
# Billie Jean King, tennis player - info
# Billie Joe Armstrong, musician and singer of Greenday - info
# Billy Idol, musician - info
# Billy Martin, rock musician of Good Charlotte - info
# Bob Barker, US TV show host - info
# Bobby Rock, musician and drummer - info
# Bobcat Goldthwait, comedian actor - info
# Bonnie Raitt, musician and singer - info
# Boy George, singer - info
# Brad Pitt, actor - info
# Brandon Barnes, musician of Rise Against - info
# Brandon Boyd, musician of rock band Incubus - info
# Brandy, R&B artist and singer - info
# Brendon Urie, lead singer of Panic! at the Disco - info
# Brian Bell, musician of Weezer, vegan - info
# Brian Fair, singer of Shadows Fall - info
# Brian Greene, theoretical physicist, vegan - info
# Brian May, musician ex-Queen - info
# Brigitte Bardot, French actress - info
# Brooke Shields, actress - info
# Bryan Adams, singer and songwriter, vegan - info
# Bryce Dallas Howard, actress - info
# Buddha, Indian Saint and Spiritual Master - info
# Candice Bergen, actress - info
# Carmen Miranda, Brazilian bom
7 Lady Jane. // Nov 4, 2008
Obviously your friends aren’t the most animal conscious people, just don’t talk about it with them. There is no point trying to get them to turn vege when they’re obviously so against it.
If you don’t bring it up it will eventually die down & they won’t think about it.
& there are many great & successful veg*ns, as people have already posted lists.
8 heyy // Nov 4, 2008
maybe eating meat is a big part of their life so its awkward for there friend not to
9 Kitten // Nov 4, 2008
Just ignore the teasing they will soon tire of it.
10 Jordan S. no on 8 yes on 2 // Nov 4, 2008
Brad Pitt is a vegetarian, no it's true. Just tell them your less likely to be obese.
Say "why do you guys even call yourselves my friends if you tell me I'm stupid on a regular basis?
11 goodygoodywitch // Nov 4, 2008
If they’re truly your friends, they probably don’t really care and are just messing with you. If they’re doing it to be mean then you need different friends.
Another thing is that you need to do it correctly. If you’re going about being veg correctly and it doesn’t affect your health, then it’s OK. However, lots of veggies go about it unhealthily and they could be trying to help you with your health.
Also, I don’t know how you’re approaching it. Are you expecting others to accommodate you, or are you accommodating others? Like, are to extra picky about where you eat? Or, are you willing to skip a meal to hang out with your friends and not be a pain in the butt?
Also, who brings up the veg, they do, or do you? Did you make an announcement about becoming veg? Typically, when I’m discreet about it, people deduce it (”how did you know I’m veg?” “You have no meat on your plate” “oh”). You can’t wear it like a badge, nor try to convince other to go veg (not that I’m accusing you, but some people do).
You can have a good comeback. Just simply state your reasons for being veg. Point out that it’s not hypocritical to draw the line where you did (as opposed to, would you eat a dog, rabbit? why not? how arbitrary). Also point out that there are entire cultures/religions that are veg (*cough* Indian people/Buddhists/Jains *cough*).
As for the you’re not helping animals comment, well, at least you’re not hurting them.
Or, you could simply not acknowledge them. If you don’t give a response, they won’t bait you.
12 nzproud // Nov 4, 2008
well. your probably just over reacting which is making them tease you a bit more. if i was you though id start to eat meat. the human body needs meat. you get huge amounts of protein from it which vegetables cannot give you. vegetarians never grow to their full height and potential. their brain is also as not efficient due to the fact that you do not recieve much protein.