5 Crazy ‘What If’ Questions You’ll Get When Going Meat-Free

If you’ve recently made the switch to go meat-free in your life, congratulations! You’ve got a lot of great things coming. Not only are possible health benefits in your future, but you might also gain a whole new (and fun!) perspective on food and cooking, or at least gain a greater respect for other sentient beings and our planet as a whole. Trying animal-free recipes, finding new spots in town for grub, and looking up informative Animal rights, environmentalist, or health-conscious literature can all be very exciting. But, from one meatless eater to another, I’ve got to let you in on one of the biggest downsides you’ll face to cutting out meat. Brace yourself, because…

The worst “what if” questions of your life are coming! That’s right, going meatless can be great for many reasons, but it can also bring on a slew of crazy queries and whacky what-ifs. Your friends and family are probably baffled by your pretty common sense decision to not eat the literal flesh of other animals, and that confusion can produce some frustrating and misinformed conversations. Here are just 5 of the ridiculous “What if…” questions you could be facing soon. If you haven’t eaten meat for a while now, you’ve heard these too many times to count.

1. But what if you get sick?

How on earth are you going to get all of that necessary protein now that you don’t eat the bodies of dead animals? What if you become a protein deficient pile of skin and bones in a matter of days without meat?! It may surprise you, but the average American eats much more protein than is recommended for your health, which can have some negative health effects especially when derived from animal sources containing saturated fats and cholesterol. But get ready for another surprise: did you know that green, leafy vegetables like kale have protein, or that just by eating a healthy, balanced animal-free meal you can easily get as much protein as you need?

Vegetarian and vegan lifestyles have been found nutritionally adequate for all stages of life, including pregnancy and lactation, according to The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada. Additionally, reduced meat eating has been directly linked to a significant reduction in cancer risks and heart disease. And over all, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in meat, eggs, and dairy is healthier than a diet rich in meat and low in fruits and vegetables. We’re not saying that meat free individuals can never get the cold or flu, or that by simply cutting out animal products you will become the specimen of good health. So when someone asks, “but what if you get sick?” remind them of the number of times they’ve been sick in their life. Everyone gets sick from time to time, the only thing we can do is try to lead the healthiest and happiest life possible – and this is no doubt achievable without eating animals.

2. But what if you’re at a restaurant, or a friend’s house?

Your family drags you out to Big Al’s Meaty Cheesy Steakhouse for your brother’s birthday. Your mother turns to you and says, “Oh no, we’re at a restaurant, honey. I guess you’ll just have to get the veal platter with extra chicken on the side, just this once, right?” It’s like people assume that the moment you’re placed in a generally un-veg-friendly situation, it’s time to dig into the ribs and shovel those bites of popcorn chicken down your throat like there’s no tomorrow. Most restaurants come with meat-free options, even if the menu isn’t abundant with completely plant-based meals. Ordering a salad one night won’t kill you, and neither will asking a waitress if a dish you like can be made without the added animal products. Many establishments are more than willing to offer accommodations to their customers.

The same can be said for staying over at a friend’s house. When I was newly vegetarian in high school, my then-boyfriend’s mother jumped at the chance to make me feel welcomed with some great veg-friendly dishes. You’re always in luck if your friend or significant other’s mother is an adventurous cooker; they’ll quickly become your favorite chef. Some people just love to try out new things, and having you over can be a great excuse to do that if you ask ahead of time. If not, you can plan ahead yourself and bring some of your own food, introducing friends, family, and loved ones to great meat-free dishes. Plus, if you bring extra food, like one of these 10 recipes that even meat eaters will love, they’ll probably cherish the fact that they didn’t have to cook dinner!

3. But what if cows take over the world?

This might need a bit of explanation, but I can assure you, it’s a question people – seemingly reasonable people – have asked me and plenty of other people who don’t consume animal parts. The thought is this: if we stop eating animals, what happens to the animals? The same animals that we routinely breed for slaughter, the same animals who are artificially inseminated as a means of supporting the animal agricultural industry, the same animals who – given natural processes – breed nowhere near as much as we have them currently breeding for our own consumption. If a worldwide shift to meatless lifestyles were to occur, we know it wouldn’t happen overnight: we wouldn’t have a veritable surplus of cows who would roam free, terrorizing earth’s human citizens until we finally accept our new cow overlords. No, over time, the population of animals used for food would decrease due to a decrease in demand for animal products. Natural death, rather than inhumane torture and slaughter, would become the norm. In short, cows do much more currently to terrorize our way of life by being food products than they do by being happy and free. You don’t have to worry about our fascist bovine dictatorship any time soon.

4. But what if people don’t like you?

What if people think you’re an extremist? What if you get called pushy? What if guys/girls don’t want to date you, what if your parents hate you, what if some random stranger says, “You don’t eat animals? What’s wrong with you?”

And this is a great “what if” question, because it can be answered in similar fashion. And that is…

So what? So someone thinks that you’re going too far by showing a little compassion to animals and the planet (and your body). So someone thinks that when you talk about animal exploitation or why you’ve cut meat out of your diet, they roll their eyes and stick their fingers in their ears or tell you that you’ve become so preachy. So your parents get angry when you won’t eat their animal-filled cooking. So what? Making ethical decisions isn’t about making people fall in love with you. It’s about doing what’s right. Some people might not want to be best friends with you because of this decision, but know this: It will always be better to have friends that like you for who you are, that Support your choices and understand what is truly important to you, than to have friends who need you to behave a certain way.

So what if the wrong people don’t like you? The right ones will.

5. But what if you’re stranded on a desert island?

Saving the best and perhaps the most common for last, we get the age old hypothetical scenario, the vegetarian’s nightmare, the desert island. Just hypothetically speaking, of course, what would you do if you were stranded on a desert island and all there was to eat was a cow. Would you kill that cow and eat him? Just this once? (And doesn’t this one unlikely scenario prove that abstaining from meat eating in general is silly?)

First of all, if you’re stranded on a desert island with nothing but a cow, literally nothing but you and your bovine buddy, how are you going to kill him? With your bare hands? Good luck with that. Second, how did this cow survive on a desert island? Perhaps there are, I don’t know, plants on this island? Wild berries growing somewhere? Gee, I heard somewhere – I might be wrong – that wild fruits can be consumed by humans in order to gain sustenance. Might just be a crazy rumor, but any average desert island that could sustain a non-human animal’s life just long enough to be saved can likely sustain the human animal’s life. After all, and here’s the third point, after you eat the cow (that you probably can’t kill, nor have the skills or utensils to cook properly), if you aren’t being saved from this crazy hypothetical argument, aren’t you going to die anyway?

Offer a not so hypothetical question to your friend in return: if you lived where it was wholly possible to have a diet free of all animal products in order to reduce the suffering and slaughter of animals, why wouldn’t you?

Lead Image Source: Seitan and Mushroom Bourguignon with the Boxer