Are YOU the first?

Vegetarian...Vegan...

In your family, in your group of friends, in your city?

It seems like I am. Seriously, I just today finally met another vegetarian.

How supportive are the people around you of your lifestyle? When I finally told my friends a couple weeks ago that I've been vegetarian for 3-4 months, they were visibly appalled, and one of them even went so far as to say "you are a disgusting person."

This post is half rant/ half I'd-like-to-know-your-story.

Where on earth do you live that you get that kind of response?!  Seriously, it must be some backwoods place cut off from civilisation.  Or France...  'Surprised', you might expect.  But 'visibly appalled' is a bit strong isn't it?

Here in the South East of England announcing that you're vegetarian or vegan is so old hat that it doesn't warrant so much as a raised eyebrow.   Although the lifestyle seems to be a little on the wane, funnily enough.   More people are choosing to eat 'less meat' rather than 'no meat'.  Vegetarian products are disappearing from supermarkets because of low sales and restaurants aren't quite as imaginative as they once were with their 'veggie options'. 

When my brother introduced his (vegetarian) girlfriend to my mother a few years ago she passed no remarks.  But after she'd gone Mum looked at me in dismay.... "What am I going to give the poor girl for Christmas dinner?!  Sprouts?"  

I'm the first person to stop eating meat in my family, but none of them really minded due to growing up in the south-east of England as gi-jane mentioned.

However I regularly get the piss taken out of me at home by friends about my choice, silly because I only ever used to eat the occasional piece of chicken anyway.

i only have like two or three friends who are vegetarian. i know NOBODY else who's a vegan. sad :(

I was the first in my family, though I was followed by my niece for a while who then retreated back to being an omnivore when she met a new boyfriend (well, it's true).  I've been a vegetarian for about 15 years, and my husband has been veg for about 30, so we're pretty much immune to the barbs and comments. 

Actually, I've gotten quite a lot of less-than-ideal reactions over the years, and it still drives my mother slightly crazy.  And I live in California, where hypothetically people are pretty open minded.  When travelling to certain areas of the US it's even more difficult, although I can defuse the situation by laughing and explaining that I'm one of those weirdos from Cali. 

That someone calls you a "disgusting person" says a lot more about them than it does you, and I'm sorry that you had to go through that. 

gi-jane- It's true, they were appalled. A few of them even treat me differently now. And the thing you said about the cow-eatin' deer-shootin' back woods (I phrased it a little differently)...yeah. It's true.

Maybe I should move to England lol.

i'm the first in my family. i know one or two friends who are vegetarian, too, though.

yeah. a year after the Skinny Bitch craze i know a couple of pseudo-vegans but I'm the oonly one I know who stuck to it and never cheated my age.

and definitely out of my family.

 And the thing you said about the cow-eatin' deer-shootin' back woods (I phrased it a little differently)...yeah. It's true.

Maybe I should move to England lol.

That's too funny for words.  I'd always thought that 'Hicksville, USA' populated by lots of little rabbit-chasing Elmer Fudds in check jackets and deerstalkers was a bit of an exaggeration!   If vegetarian wrong-foots everyone, are people allowed to be gay in your town?  Atheist?   Hmmmm...    Yes, come and live in a civilised part of the world where 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' may not be enshrined in a written constitution but where pretty much anything goes....

gi-jane- Sounds like a plan! haha

I was the first vegetarian in my family (and also the only vegan I know)...Since then, my younger sister has also gone vegetarian and some of my friends, though I have NEVER once pushed any of my ideals or beliefs on anyone, it's just sort of happened naturally.

My boyfriend is wonderful about being open-minded and trying new things, and also trying to come up with new vegan meals for us to eat, and has significantly cut down on his meat intake...though I would love him just as much either way.

People do wonder what to serve me, but I usually bring something along that's vegan-friendly that everyone can share if they'd like. My family's been great about leaving butter on the side of the veggies at holiday dinners, and setting aside some plain potatoes for me that aren't mashed with dairy. It's been a very comfortable transition for me most times. The only time it can be a little off for me would be weddings, where sometimes you don't have a vegan-friendly option...I usually eat beforehand, or bring a Luna bar or something to tie me over, and people are usually more than happy to take the wedding cake off my hands :)

I don't know any other vegans! I've only ever met one. She was my manager at my old job, a few years ago. When I went veggie I was 10 and the only veggie I knew... since then I've "turned" two of my friends :) Nobody was supportive or unsupportive, it was just how I am. Being vegetarian is so effortless and common these days that it is barely even a "thing". But they really don't get my new-found veganism.

I get no support from my friends for being a vegan. They think its stupid. My family weren't very happy about it either, but at the end of the day its YOUR decision, your life, your diet, your body. Nobody else's choice.

I've been cooking for myself since I was about 14 anyway so I never ran into home-cooked meals issues. But now my mum is asking things like.... "I'm making soup - do you want me to use vegan stock?" Weird since she never cooked for me before, but its nice. I do get hassled and mocked by my friends at work though, but I stand by my decision! It's not like I'm asking THEM to do it!

i'm the only one in my family, but luckily there are a few of my friends who are veg, and 4 people in my SO's family who are as well. and my SO eats my veggie cooking without complaint. but of course when we eat out, he usually eats meat. i just refuse to buy/cook it.

i tried going vegan for a while but i it didn't work out. it took so much time and MONEY, which are 2 things i don't have a lot of at the moment. i am gradually figuring out convenient ways to eliminate certain things and learn where to buy and how to make certain things, so i think going vegan will be a slow process, but once i get there, it will be smooth sailing. i've been experimenting with things like tofu and nutritional yeast. someday i will go all the way. but for now, i'm doing the best that i can.

umm, shyea. the first EVER in my family on BOTH sides. Im also one of the first democrats.

the rest of my extended family (outside of my parents) live in the south, on hog farms. can you say clash of viewpoints there?!

visiting them = NOT FUN.

I was the first in my family, but not the last. I have a cousin who is a vegetarian. My mom's response to when I went vegan was "Well if you can stick with it, that's great"

I don't know what to do for holidays. My mom would probably make me something, but my aunts and uncles are pretty set in their meat and cheese ways and just about everything they make is full of one of those if not both. Kinda glad I'm staying home these holidays.

No one else cares really. I'm in orlando and there are a lot of vegan/vege friendly places to eat. The reaction from the status quo of people I work with "omg you're crazy, do you know how GOOD BACON TASTES" to which I say "Yes, I know bacon tastes good. Lots of things taste good, doesn't mean you should eat them".

I don't have a boyfriend or anything. So no problems there. My kid eats vegan when she is with me. But I can't control what her Dad feeds her ..

I am the only veg*an I know.  My family was horrified when I transitioned from vegetarian to vegan...telling me how 'unhealthy' it is.  (This coming from people who consume McD's 3x per week, huge overflowing platefuls of meat potatos & gravy, and fatty desserts daily.)  Im in Alberta and anytime I tell someone Im vegan, I get one of 3 responses:

1-Whats that?

2-So what do you eat then/what else is there?

3-I'd die if I couldnt have steak.

There are NO veggie places around here, I have to adjust something if I want to eat out, and I still cant completely trust its vegan.  I went to St.John's NL in the summer and they have a restaurant called the Sprout...THE BEST TOFU EVER!!!  It was the only time I didnt worry about what the cook was putting in my food.  Sometimes I wonder if there are any other veg*ans in Alberta...

I live in Portland, Oregon where being vegan or vegetarian is pretty well received by the masses. However, many people still find it odd that I don't eat meat. When I told my parents I was going to be a vegetarian, they assumed it was a phase and I would soon go back to my meat eating ways. Now that I'm vegan, they think I'm crazy and have no idea what to feed me when the family gets together. My first response is usually, "What do you eat? Lettuce?". It's funny how people assume you don't eat even if your normal sized. They don't try to go outside of themselves and consider that maybe their diets are the ones that are lacking in variation.

I'm the only vegan I know, and the first vegetarian in my family. My brother married a vegetarian, so in that I have found a friend in my family.

No one else understands my reasons and they consider my passion for animal rights to be "obsessive". I'm lucky to have a meat eating boyfriend who supports me 1000%.

I'm the first vegetarian in my family, a few others "tried" it out, but nothing really long term. It took my parents and extended family a long time to accept it, a lot of the relatives still make jokes about it and such,don't understand still after 3 years. I know one vegan and two other vegetarians, but none are in my friend circle, they tend to find it pretty off as well.

I don't know any other vegans or vegetarians (except my son).  When I became a vegetarian back in high school a girl I knew became one also but that only last about a year with her.  I'm sure there are others around me but I just haven't found one yet but then again I haven't really looked.  It was never hard for me at all family and friends all supportive.  That all changed when my 5 year old decided he wanted to become vegan now its like the end of the world.  They question everything he eats and the amount.  School is really hard as well but he sticks to what he believes in and won't eat anything unless its packed by me.  I'm also really lucky that I found a great doctor who has no problem with him being a vegan.

I'm in Alberta too and I recently completed 2 months of being almost vegan! I wasn't good at the butter (I bought special soy stuff to use at home, but when you go out to eat it's hard).

I recently came off the 2 month meat-hiatus and my friends are all saying "what do you eat? do you get enough protein? blah blah blah."After awhile it totally turned into the Charlie Brown teacher noises... whah whah whaaaah.

I admit, I became veg-ish after the skinny bitch books and a summer in Europe on a tour with MEAT crazy meals. I was SOOOO sick of meat I couldn't stand it. Then I read some stuff (like on the peta website) and couldn't take one more bite.

I was about to give up and become a flex-itarian (eat meat when I want to) but I think that I should  not give up. I'm tired of being in limbo for the last month and I am going to go back to being fully vegetarian with a vegan twist (lactose issues in my home).

Thanks for letting a newbie share!

Lol! Ah, this post brings up memories. I actually lied to my parents for 6 months before I moved out of the house- if they'd known I was a vegetarian they would have suspected me of being a 'crazy liberal' and also of being a 'heathen.'

Now I'm in college and I've got a good amount of vegetarian friends. And since becoming vegan, I've never felt better!