Accidental Vegetarians, anyone?

Hey, I was just wondering if there were people out there like me, who are accidental vegetarians*?

*By this, I mean that you're like me in that you don't eat meat simply because you like fruits, vegetables, and grains better; not for any dietary or moral reason.

sort of - I've become a vegetarian because I've gone to university and can't cook very well or be bothered to buy meat so I've started living off vegetable stir frys, home made vegetable soup, salads and fruit!

I do still eat prawns lots though, or meat if I go out to eat but I've given up all meat, white pasta/bread, alcohol and chocolate for lent. It's a great excuse to diet!

Haha! I've given up chocolate and alcohol myself (though, being at a university and all, this makes socializing rather difficult considering one or the other is almost always readily available at every social gathering :P).

I'm like this, except I'm not a vegetarian because I still eat fish occasionally.

It's soooooooo annoying when I have to explain why I don't eat meat. No one seems to get it, and they just assume I'm a crazy animal activist. I try to not bring it up for as long as possible. A friend of 4 years just realized I didn't eat meat when she offered me a piece of her sweet and sour chicken.

Yes I suppose I fit into this category, I have quite often thought about this.  I don't keep meat in the house usually, I just don't really enjoy handling raw meat and the fact that you have to take care cooking it so as to not risk food poisoning etc.

I just find vegetarian food so much less hassle! I also really enjoy the health benefits of vegetarian and vegan food, and really just naturally have a tendency to prefer vegetarian protein sources - quorn (don't have to worry about stumbling on some gristle!), tofu, beans, chick peas, nuts etc. all yummy!

I do however eat meat without question if i'm eating out, or at a social event or at someone else's house. I guess my rule of thumb is that when I have control over cooking and eating my own food I will always just naturally lean towards vegetarian (and often vegan) food choices, but I don't make concious efforts to not eat meat if I am presented with it. Couldn't give up roast chicken!

Totally! I used to be quite a chicken lover before I went off to college, but then all meat just disappeared from my diet. I didn't trust the dining halls or myself with cooking meat. I still do have tuna fish sandwiches occasionally though since that involves no cooking skill whatsoever. Mm, tuna.

that used to be me for years. Then I read up on the meat industry, etc, and became "officially" vegan(in diet, at least)

yea this is a bit of a funny one.

My friend went to America to do this summer camp thing with kids. She made a bunch of friends who said to her, i bet you could never give up meat. She took it seriously. When she came back from America, we went out for dinner and she asked if the place we were at did vegie burgers. i shot her a confused look as to say 'ha, you vego, yeah right!' but she began to explain that she does not eat meat anymore.

bit of a weird star but i say good on her, its been a year and she is still sticking to it.

I started by stopping eating beef then I went to California to work and almost everyeone I worked and lived with was vegetarian and I just sort of stopped buying and eating other "meat" (chicken, pork..) without thinking about it.  When I got home I just didn't feel the need to eat it and when I did I didn't really like it anymore. 

I totally agree that cooking vegetarian is SO MUCH easier.  No worrying about cross contamination or thawing or making sure everything is cooked to just the right temperature or any of that hassle. 

I never call myself a vegetarian because sometimes I will eat meat, but for the most part I don't because I don't like it very much. Sometimes when my ovaries are screaming I'll dive into a burger but usually I'm all about meatless foods because they are yummier

The problem is I wouldn't say my diet is healthy as it could be because you can still do a lot of unholy things with veggies and cheese and dairy, ya know

I sometimes am - honestly, I kept saying I was accidently vegetarian last semester at school (cause I kept eating and shopping at vegetarian places). It was just that simple - I had nowhere else to eat, or thought that the meat I was offered was gross. Not so much this semester, but I'm still more vegetarian than omnivorous. Just no good meat to eat where I'm at (and I'm a fish person, and at school, you're always wary of the fish).

But yes, at certain times, I am an accidental vegetarian :)