My Vegetarian Journey

Hi! I’m Melissa, a long-time vegetarian and a someday aspiring vegan. Vegetarianism has long been a part of my life and one of the things that put me in the “crunchy” category. My journey, however, has not been a straight shot. While I have a clear vision as to where I want to go, it’s never been all or nothing or on a strict timeline; it’s developed with what’s worked in my life over time.

Here’s what my journey has looked like.

While I would love to say that one morning I woke up and decided to quit eating meat, I can’t say that that’s what happened. Here’s why: I was 12. It was 1993. I live in the Midwest. And bless her, but my mother (nor father) is not the type to jump at a challenge and embrace a lifestyle change on her pre-teen daughter’s whim, so we compromised and I quit eating animals with hooves. (I’m quite certain she was waiting for it to pass until I was nearly 20.)

Over the next seven years I ate a nauseatingly large number of dry, grey turkey burgers and 1990s box veggie burgers in lieu of hamburgers, pork chops, roast beef. While it wasn’t ideal, at least it was better for the planet, I guess. And shortly after I went to college, I quit the birds, too, and became a pescatarian (after all, tuna helper is some gourmet sh*t in college).

Fast forward another seven years or so and I met my husband. He is not a vegetarian (never has been and probably never will be), but his sister was vegan. This really has very little to do with my journey, but it was nice to know that my dietary choices would be supported in my new family.

And so hubs and I continued doing Friday night fish fry dinners until one day they became boring and the place in town that had the best fish fry closed its doors and suddenly I wasn’t really interested in eating fish anymore. So I decided that when we returned from our honeymoon I would finally quit eating fish, too. We were going to be in coastal areas in Croatia and Italy, after all — do as the locals do! And so I did.

But… but what about bacon?
Living in Wisconsin I get a lot of this. Actually, I’m not sure that it has anything to do with where I live; a love of bacon is ubiquitous. There were two things that the thought of made me salivate for years after I stopped eating them: bacon and Arby’s roast beef sandwiches. It took four years to get over Arby’s sandwiches, but bacon? Thirteen years. I can honestly say that I no longer have any recollection as to what the appeal of bacon was, but I know it was strong. All I can say to those going through this struggle is, stay strong.

Aren’t you worried about protein?
No, no I’m not. Protein deficiencies are very rare, especially in first world countries. Rather, the most likely deficiency is iron. I have become anemic in the past, but this was in those first few years after I stopped eating animals with hooves and was also just starting puberty (and hence, my period). I found a vegetarian iron supplement that helped with this and I still take it on occasion, particularly when I have my period. This particular supplement was also great when I was pregnant as they’re non-constipating, which can be a real issue between the hormones and prenatal vitamins.

Do your kids eat meat?
I once went to an agricultural seminar where one of the speakers shared an anecdote about her young daughter’s seventh birthday party. The woman roasted a chicken for the party, and sadly, some of the party’s attendees were unaware (then shocked and appalled) that the chicken was actually… a chicken… and refused to eat it. They were so far removed from the origins of their food that they didn’t even know what it was. I don’t want that to be my child. When my kids are at an age where they’re old enough to understand that something died so that someone could eat it, they can decide if they’re okay with that. My guess is that they won’t be.

In the meantime, I feel like my toddler’s eating habits are best without meat. She loves chickpeas, seitan, and broccoli pesto, which meet (and exceed) the nutritional value of their fleshy counterparts.

And lastly, the world’s population is large and growing and the current American diet is not sustainable. Having biological kids was a really difficult decision for me. Having children is literally the worst thing you can do for the planet. Nonetheless, I did it — twice — so I feel it’s imperative that I try my damndest to raise them to keep their ecological footprint small. A person’s diet plays a bigger role in this than the car they drive, so I may as well start them off on the right foot.

You said your husband’s not vegetarian….
No, my husband’s not vegetarian, but he’s perfectly happy with eating a vegetarian diet at home. Sometimes he’ll even order a veggie burger or stir fry with tofu when we eat out! There are only a handful of times a year that meat is in the house and it’s usually when we’re grilling out.

When will you go vegan?
Right now I’m focused on getting through the day to day with two young kids. I imagine that in the next year or two I’ll start setting resolutions to give up an item each year — eggs are on my short list — and I’m keeping my eyes peeled for a nice, secondhand ice cream maker. If nothing else, I’ll go vegan when the kids are out of the house, although I’m hoping they’ll join me in making the step long before then.

How about you? Are you vegetarian? Vegan? Considering either? Maybe pescatarian, fruitarian, or locavore? What’s your motivation? I’d love to hear your story!

— Funky Crunchy Mama