Reply #27: Oh yes!

[friesianrider]

It was very hard for me to make the switch - I grew up on one major meat product every night at dinner (ie, roast beef, porkchops, chicken parm, etc). What I did was wean myself off one kind of meat one at a time to make the change easier. First I stopped eating all beef, then no pork, then no chicken. The chicken was the hardest to give up - I didn't eat beef or pork a while lot anyway, but I really loved blackened chicken on a Caesar salad or especially things like teriyaki chicken, chicken piccata, or lime chicken.

I think I was off beef and pork for two or three years or so before I was finally able to quit the chicken, too. But thankfully, there's so many really good faux meat products out there I can make my fake chicken dishes and don't really know the difference at all. I made a really great fake chicken stir fry in a peanut sauce the other night...it was awesome! I find since becoming veg I experiment much more with cooking. Plus it's much healthier and I'm not contributing to the cruelty and suffering anymore.

It's definitely rough for the first few weeks (especially as your body adjusts to no more meat), but if you do it gradually it helps a good bit. Or, if you're used to eating meat 4 or 5 times a week, change it to only once or twice a week, then once or twice a month. It also helps if I remind myself of the suffering that goes into that yummy looking chicken piccata - and it's an easy decision. :) I would definitely recommend to people trying to switch to do it as I did - one kind of meat at a time or very gradually. Stop with the kind you don't eat that often and work your way down the list. It will make it easier on your mind and body to do it gradually. For most people, they eat meat at every meal or at least once a day. Even if you don't want to go veg, there's no need for a human to eat meat that often. If everyone cut down their meat consumption by half it'd be a huge step.

And, if anyone's struggling with it, feel free to come to our Veggie group here at DU - we always are *very* accepting if you fall off the wagon and we can usually give some moral support and tips to help make the change easier! :)