Thinking about becoming a vegetarian?

I want to be a vegetarian because I love animals and really do feel bad about the way they are treated as livestock. However, my family (both immediate and extended) are BIG meat eaters, because we are all Sicilian and come from a fisherman family (my dad is 7th or 8th generation fisherman). So as you can imagine it is hard to even MENTION being a vegetarian to my parents let alone BE one.

 

What do you suggest I do? Should I tell them? Should I find other ways to help animals?

 

Thank you so much for reading!

It's always good to be honest with parents.  Explain how you feel calmly and sensitively.  (Especially if dad's job relies on people eating fish) They may agree or they may disagree.  Just remember that families have to work as a team and it can cause friction and extra work if one member decides they want to do things differently.  Cooking different meals for one... practical things like that.... are more likely to be raised as an objection than any deeper philosophical arguments about alternative lifestyles or concern about nutrition. 

But do discuss how you feel with them because it would be an interesting conversation.  If your principal concern is animal welfare you could suggest that they buy more ethically-produced meat and dairy products.  However, if you're not the one paying the food bills, that can be a big ask because it tends to be more expensive.   Or you could express concerns about health (cholesterol levels?) and suggest that some vegetarian meals should start featuring on the family menu.  Offer to cook everyone a vegetarian meal perhaps...?  The more you can demonstrate commitment the less you'll come across as just following some whim. 

Ultimately, when you live at home and you're part of a family, there are always compromises. When you set up your own home you can create your own rules. 

Thank you so much! This was very helpful and I am planning on talking to my parents about this sometime tonight

you could also try being pescetarian first (an eater of seafood but not any other meats) and make the conversion more gradually? There are also arguments for ethical arguments pescetarianism... though you might or might not agree with them.  I'm sure that should sit better with your family, since your dad is in the fishing business...

well, my parents raise pigs, and they have been very accepting of my choice.  i've been a vegetarian for 12 years now....i think it helps that i got over the preachy stage a long time ago.  advice?  learn to cook.  i cook for a living and i can always make something meat-free that pleases my folks when i go home for a visit.  (i do admit that for father's day i made steak.  i hear that it tasted good, but i BSed my way through it based on reading and TV recipes.)

aside from fish, does meat play a big part in sicilian cooking?

Let me start by saying having differences in your eating preference than your family is can be a very attainable thing, depending on your circumstances.  I'll give you an example of my neighbors.  The husband is a deli meat distributor and the wife is a vegetarian and has been for quite some time, and it works out very well for them.  So compromises are certainly possible, especially if you are willing to do some extra work/cooking.  I would agree with doedoebird in saying your best option may be to start off as a pescetarian and slowly remove the fish from your diet when you are ready.  That is what I am doing right now and it is working out great.  Just move at the pace that works for you and your family, don't rush it if you aren't ready.  It is a big commitment and hopefully one that you will want to stick with so give yourself (and your family) a proper transition time.

do your parents cook a lot of meat in general or just fish? you could become a pescatarian (someone that eats fish but abstains from eating other animal flesh). that way you would not be supporting factory farms.

every little bit helps. and at least the fish you are eating was caught 'by hand' by your father and not from a farm, right?

then when you are a bit older and living on your own and providing for yourself you can decide if you'd like to go fully vegetarian or even possibly vegan.