Most Vegetarians Return to Eating Meat

I thought this was pretty interesting considering how militant some vegetarians can get about it. Not trying to change anyone's mind I am a live and let live guy just thought this was good info...

It appears that for the vast majority of vegetarians, abstaining from meat is only a phase rather than a permanent life choice.

According to Psychology Today, roughly 75% of vegetarians eventually return to eating meat with 9 years being the average length of time of abstinence.

The most common reason former vegetarians cited as the reason they returned to meat was declining health. One vegetarian turned omnivore put it very succinctly:

“I’ll take a dead cow over anemia any time.”

Read more here: www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com...

I tried veganism for a couple years but experienced some health issues. I think the problem is factory farms not meat in general. Grass fed organic beef satisfies my protein cravings without the side effects of factory farmed beef raised on hormones vaccines and in their own feces etc.

About half of vegetarians originally gave up meat for ethical reasons. Pictures of confined animals standing on concrete in their own excrement and the stench of factory farms on country roads from 5 miles away is no doubt plenty of reason to turn away from meat. Some former vegetarians, however, have recognized and embraced the grassfed movement back to sustainable and humanely raised, cruelty free meats as a real ethical alternative.

Some of these converts back to meat view buying grassfed beef and other sustainably raised animal foods as a new form of activism similar to their boycott of factory farmed meats when they were vegetarians.

Of course this will not make some vegatarians happy but just remember you have a 75% chance of returning to eating meat

A couple of close vegan friends all started eating meat again after a few years. The realized they were starting to feel weak and were getting sick more often.

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Being extreme in anything, more often than not, extreme turns out to be a bad thing.

I'm not judging here, but humans actually aren't meant to eat meat and it is shown to encourage cancer growth, not to mention the effects red meat and animal fat have on blood pressure, cholesterol and the human heart. It's your bodies though and your choice on what you eat.

What a load of cobblers. I beeen vegetarian for 10yrs and never felt the need to return to eating meat. Humans are in fact not even omnivours, bears and dogs are but not humans. Humans are in fact frugivours with a little of bit of insectivour and herbivour thrown in. Palmitic acid which is found in high concentrations in red meat has adverse effects on the body not to mention making the body more acid and therefore more prone to acidosis which in turn ups your chances of getting cancer.

i've been a veggie for 20 years now. other than my g'ma's meatballs, i've got little desire to return to a carnivorous diet.

however, to each their own, as the OP says. i am no zealot, and believe that some meat is a natural part of the human diet.
i simply choose otherwise.

i will stand by two principals, though;

1st: factory farming of any meat is inhumane and unhealthy. choose grass fed free range if you have the opportunity or means.

2nd: i do not believe we are meant to consume as much meat as we do (especially here in the states).

anyhow, no matter what you choose to consume, be grateful.

reply to post by Kali74


I'd like to see the unbias scientific sources for your claims ..please ensure you aren't referring to processed/hormone injected meat and also take the time to make the distinction of the type of meat you are claiming causes these ailments ..does it include poultry and fish as they are meats as well? Thanks in advance for your due diligence prior to posting your response to my questions.

arent we opportunistic omnivores? we're meant to forage on grains greens roots fruits,

and dapple in (fire-seared) fish/seafood, poultry, insects, and some meats.

yea most ppl i know were devout vegans one year then sloppy fastfood processed meateaters the next.

nothing wrong with some fish bird or lean steaks on the grilly.. too much red/fatty meats of course are no good as the "body makes all the cholesterol and saturated fats we need"

any more is extra extra extra

everything in moderation!

reply to post by hawkiye


Completely understandable .. the cravings can be intense. I never noticed weakness since not eating meat.. but then again I never went crazy and tried to be a vegan either.

reply to post by Kali74


Ummm.. my teeth structure and digestive system would suggest otherwise..

My primary concern with meat is not knowing where it comes from, not that I'm eating an animal.. I absolutely despise vegans however who claim "we are not meant to eat meat". Convince yourself in your own way I guess.. just don't expect others to believe you.

reply to post by hawkiye


It boils down to one thing regarding a vegetarian who doesnt eat meat for ethical reasons: the strength of the individuals will. The BS excuses given for WHY their will wavered are irrelevant. The only thing relevant, is the wavering of their will, and their failure to adhere to their principles.

IMO, meat is an addiction, and like any other addiction, to refuse to sate it requires willpower. You could also make a thread called "Most Recovering Alcoholics Return to Drinking Liquor". However that thread and its contents would still only suggest one thing: that most people have little self-discipline and choose to sate their addictions/urges instead of doing what they know to be right, whether that be preserving their liver, or preserving their soul.

Ethical vegetarians must always keep in mind what is more important to them: satisfying an ancient addiction, or holding fast to their principles of compassion.

One vegetarian turned omnivore put it very succinctly: “I’ll take a dead cow over anemia any time.”

A disgusting and deliberately misleading quote by the source article. Putting that quote forward smacks of bias from the author.

I turned to vegginess only a few months ago and enjoy the feeling of being meat
free, more or less.

Struggling a bit with what to eat though, as I must admit that i feel hungry
a lot.

If anyone wants to share some meal ideas, please do.........

Thank you

Sigh... more meat industry propaganda. I guess this is discounting the millions of Indian and Asian people who remain vegetarian their whole life and remain perfectly healthy. I am almost seven years in and have never been healthier. My sweat no longer smells. My skin is clear. I do not have anemia because I educated myself on the properties and content of food.

Just wanted to add I do still enjoy eggs and meat but nothing has to sacrifice its lifespan so I can enjoy a feel a fleeting flavor and texture on my tongue.

reply to post by rigel4


There is a whole line of fake meat products made from soy .. sausages, lunch meat, turkeys .. you name it. Personally it tastes more processed than processed meat .. but supposedly it's just soy.

My personal favorite are mushrooms (with everything) .. so many meals you can make with mushrooms. And yogurt .. I eat more greek yogurt than I probably should. It helps if you have a specialty store. It also helps if you're like me and eat the occasional fish (caught by the river near my house of course) .. nothing satisfies a meat craving like a freshly caught salmon steak on the grill. But that's only if you're not a vegetarian for ethical reasons. I just don't like processed meat, and real fresh meat from a butchers shop is expensive.

I was vege for 14 years. It was originally a self righteous teenage thing and then become just a way of life. I never really craved meat and enjoyed my food. Then after trying for 5 years to start a family as a last resort I started eating meat again and not long after I got pregnant. It could be coincidence but seems unlikely. The weird thing for me is I like alot more meat now than originally, nothing hits the spot like a rare dripping steak which I would never have touched before. I also have a few friends who where militant veges who have recently admitted that they would have secret stashes of cooked meat tucked away and would binge on them. I think it may be quite a common thing. All I know is that first burger I ate when I returned to the world of meat was the best tasting thing I had ever eaten! I would never go back

I crave a 20 oz Porterhouse steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions every six months. In between I don't crave or want it but once it hits, I need it. My body must need it.

i highly admire vegans and vegetarians, the stable ones that do not overeat. i dont see how some people - whether vegan, veg, omni, ovo-pescatarian or whatever - can have it on their concious to overeat/waste, when so many others in the world are starving.

alot of devout vegetarians i noticed, still eat products containing EGG occasionally. which is weird cuz occasionally an egg is fertile by accident (ie a stray/overlooked cock in the henhouse),

interesting how most (buddhist) monks eat any food offered - even beef- and so are not picky - however do not kill/prepare animal dishes, as part of the dharma. this also mirrors our opportunistic omnivorous evolution.

Perhaps, somehow, needs vary among humans for reasons we don't understand. After reading this thread, I immediately thought of the following passage which appears in Book 3 of the Histories of Herodotus concerning a meeting between Persian emissaries and the King of Ethiopia:

Last of all he came to the wine, and having learnt their way of making it, he drank a draught, which greatly delighted him; whereupon he asked what the Persian king was wont to eat, and to what age the longest-lived of the Persians had been known to attain. They told him that the king ate bread, and described the nature of wheat- adding that eighty years was the longest term of man's life among the Persians. Hereat he remarked, "It did not surprise him, if they fed on dirt, that they died so soon; indeed he was sure they never would have lived so long as eighty years, except for the refreshment they got from that drink (meaning the wine), wherein he confessed the Persians surpassed the Ethiopians."

The Icthyophagi then in their turn questioned the King concerning the term of life, and diet of his people, and were told that most of them lived to be a hundred and twenty years old, while some even went beyond that age- they ate boiled flesh, and had for their drink nothing but milk.

In the only recorded issue in ancient history where two different people's discussed longevity and diet...

Vegetarians live 2/3rds as long as the meat eating society.

Considering that this meeting took place because the King of the Persians, Cambyses, sent spies into Ethiopia in order to gain intelligence for a planned invasion; it also appears that vegetarians are more prone to violence and unprovoked hostility.

Please rebut this if anyone of you can point to an instance where this situation was reversed.

nutrients are nutrients, it would be presumptuous to assume all veg diets are healthy and all non-veg are not or vicey versa.

it's likely the sat fat and bad cholesterol of especially RED and FATTY meat that clogs arteries (including the heart) and shortens lives:

www.cnn.com...

and as far as longetivity, the only proof aside from megdoses of resveratrol and telomerase-preserving enzymes, is.... CALORIC restriction, which is also generally independent of veg/nonveg diet types.

reply to post by Shirak


Although both Asian and Indian diets consist of a lot of vegetables and fruits, they are not vegetarians as they also consume a lot of Fish, Poultry and Pork...Indians don't consume Beef for religious reasons..but Asians do.

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by Ericthenewbie


Unbiased? Is there such a thing?
ATS member purplemer did a thread about this not too long ago so I can be lazy and direct you there. There's charts etc in the thread somewhere also. Thread

On a personal note, I was raised vegetarian and I'm perfectly healthy. My parents made the switch after they had been dating a while so even in the womb I was veggie as was my son. He's 12 now and has chosen to experiment with being a meat eater, I can only hope he follows my footsteps as I followed in parents.

Decent documentary on hulu.

Originally posted by Kali74
I'm not judging here, but humans actually aren't meant to eat meat and it is shown to encourage cancer growth, not to mention the effects red meat and animal fat have on blood pressure, cholesterol and the human heart. It's your bodies though and your choice on what you eat.

You are incorrect. Red meat in abundance, or "too much of a good thing" can certainly be a contributing factor for such ailments.

The following is actually a slightly revised, but more or less repeat post that I did from a similar answer on another thread. It is my post. Feel free to look it up. I feel it applies here, and it was a bugger to write. Please forgive my lazyness. So once more:

All mammals have canine teeth. Canine teeth have been apparent in homo sapiens long before our evolutionary inception as homo sapiens. In short, we've had canine teeth since before we were human. They are a necessary adaptation that predates modern existence, memory, and our entire species. Our 'forefathers' had canine teeth before they had thumbs or a frontal cortex... Or really, before they even got out of the trees or (possibly) up into them in the first place.

The real question in terms of carnivore or omnivore when it comes to our teeth is the relative size and structure compared to other teeth, in conjunction with jaw size, strength and structure. In this regard, compared to other mammals, and primates specifically, the canine tooth reference is the only thing that might hold water for an 'humans are not carnivores or omnivores' argument.

But boy it's a stretch and a big one; there are other omnivore opportunists with similarly small canine and jaw structure, without a mouth full of sharp teeth. So... Not much of an argument at all really. There is a biological template for a niche that we fit into.

We also have dietary needs that are best met by a diet that includes meat as well. In fact, in terms of our original evolution... When we were still hunters and gatherers and hadn't domesticated animals to get milk yet, our only source for many of these necessaries, beside meat would have been eggs. In societies without alot of resources they will invariably seek out, or attempt to cultivate (and often highly prize) domesticated forms of 'fast and dirty' sources of protein from animals. This quest for animal forms of protein is universal enough to be considered an instinct, and certainly a dietary requirement.

Binocular vision, and our critical thinking capacity, are huge arguments in favor of an omnivore, or even a predator. We also have an elongated small intestine and lack the huge colon of other apes.

Also, the argument has been made: 'What do we need big canines for when we have thumbs and the intelligence to make a kill-it-slice-it stand in that is often even more efficient, and puts us at less risk?' (Like a knife, or a spear).

There is fossil evidence the predecessors to homo sapiens were butchering animals and eating meat as long as 2.5 million years ago... And, further evidence that the habit carried through the evolutionary steps to, well... Us.

It has also been put forth by anthropologists that we wouldn't have been able to even develop such a big brain without having access to meat... Seafood specifically. Docoahexaenoic acid is a major contributor to brain growth, and seafood has lots of it. Not to mention that meat (in general) is a far more energy concentrated food source than plants (in general), and we wouldn't have been able to sustain, and continue to evolve such a big, energy-consuming, monster as the human brain without it. In fact, this is the standard view currently held in most of the anthropological community.

Long story short, there is a great deal of evidence that we wouldn't be able to comprehend the morality of eating meat (or not), or even be able to build a society that would allow such a luxury, without our ancestors eating meat.