How many people have you turned vegetarian?

I know I've done at least 50-60 in my lifetime....My goal was to get 1,000...I don't know that I can measure it though, with all the literature and DVD's I have given away without following up with people, but I imagine I'll have a good guess when I've surpassed 1,000....

Anyway I was just curious if you guys have turned any of your friends or family members vegetarian? How did you do it if you did???

 

1 my sister for lik 2 weeks

 

One of my best guy friends. It went something like this.
Him:"thank you for staying on me about the veg thing I didnt realize how awful it was for me and the world around me."
me: "what?"
Him: "Thank you really it shows that you care about me, and dont want me to kill myself with bad food"
me: *huge smile*

 

haha ive asked the same question, drumminmama, but i haven't got such a positive response! way to go! haha, i usually get something like 'i only eat chicken'...lol what does that mean?

i don't try to convert people, though, but i generally let them know the reasons why i'm not eating what they are eating. no preaching, though. i think preaching has a negative effect and turns people away. you only need to tell them once. I do pass out literature, though, but only to people who want it.


ive learned that if you just mind your own business and do your own (veg) thing, somebody will eventually notice and ask you about your veg food/lifestyle.


i got my mom to eat vegan with me 4-5 days out of the week (when my dad's out of town at work) and pesco the rest of the time, and my brother buys mostly vegetarian food now. my dad's moving towards pesco also. one of my friends is pesco now but i think he's on his way to veganism haha. AR people usually do that.


it's like religion...you can't always preach your way into people's hearts/minds, but you can always let your actions speak for you.

 

Hmmm... drumminmama I think you can blame myself on you too. I had several influences & reasons, but I think it was our "talks" that helped me actually make the final leap

Other than my daughter - who is still in a state of flux but is still working towards it, I don't know that I've helped change anyone. On the other hand, I haven't gone out of my way either. People ask questions & I answer them, but that's about it.
love,
mom

 

drumminmama: In my case, it was def. not solely you, but you made a definite contribution to my veganism. After hanging on to that salmon for so long, I think it really was largely a few passing conversations with you (re: pescatarianism) that got me thinking toward that way. Actually, it was your current habits in terms of your transition toward veganism that made cutting dairy and eggs less scary for me. And once I'd started to make the effort to "cut back" I realized how easy and simple it was for me, and how much better and happier I felt. You definitely have a gift, without being pushy or preachy, of making people contemplate and think through their own decisions.

I personally try not to get preachy. The only reason it comes up much is because I love cooking and I'm in love with my first ever veggie garden. But I'm not pushy about it - around here most of the people I meet get overly defensive about their meat-eating habits and I'd much prefer a quiet life to ducking punches from beef farmers forever. I do know of one person who went vegan about a month after me, due solely to my influence, though. She's a friend in Oregon who had some similar digestive and health problems to me. She had been vegetarian before but ate meat occasionally in January, and dairy/eggs on a regular basis. After I'd got the dairy out of my system I felt so much better I called her to share this amazing discovery. Within a couple of weeks of our conversation she called back and said she'd transitioned to vegan and felt sooo much better. It's been almost 6 months and she hasn't looked back!

 

I don't really worry too much about converting people, just live by example and stay open to answering questions.

My roommate ended up giving up meat not entirely through my efforts, but maybe it helped seeing me cook and eat good healthy food. She still has fish sometimes, but it's still something I suppose.

My family are still omni, but I cook for the family so they're eating more veg food and all.

 

I haven't converted anyone that I know of. This board, combined with reading a book by Dr. McDougall, has helped me begin to get the dairy out of my diet.

Since I'm a mom of five kids, I know I am influencing them. My 15-year-old still loves a good hamburger, and he isn't crazy about veggies, but I see him really thinking about eating meat. Given a choice, he would rather eat, say meatless spaghetti than a chicken dish or a steak. It's a process, definitely, but I see the wheels of thought turning in his head as an animal lover. My DH agrees with me in theory, but his taste buds win out in his choices (unless I'm cooking).

 

I never converted anyone. I believe in freewill. If people want to eat meat, then they are granted the freedom to do so. If people want to know why I'm vegetarian or the problems with meat, then they'll ask me.

 

1

 

I was converted by my son (over 10 year ago) and now even my husband (total omni) is eating more all veggie meals. Mostly I just started cooking vegetarian and when he (husband) didn't want to cook his own meats he was eating only what I cooked. The other day he ordered a vegie burger (at a local pub) and really! liked it.

 

A lady I worked with went vegetarian for a few years but has since gone back to eating meat. My sister has been a vegetarian for about 8 years. My fiance went vegetarian about 9 months ago. And who knows how many I've helped go or stay veg through my website at http://www.veggieboards.com. I wouldn't say I converted anyone though. I think it's a highly personal choice that each person needs to make on their own and would never push anyone into it.