Vegetarianism is Great but how do you Convince Your Friends?

Not everyone likes vegetarian or vegans. I am sure you are aware of that. But how do you convince your friends amid all the negative feedback that vegetarianism is great.

I have a theory in my mind that one of the reasons why some people don’t like vegetarians/vegans is that they are convinced of the benefits of a vegetarian or plant-based diet but really don’t want to make the sacrifice of giving up their meat eating. So they are upset at you because you have the will power to make the healthy choice and they don’t.

Well that is what I think. I might be very wrong. But at least we can agree on one thing; not everyone likes vegetarians or vegans. Agreed?

I am sure you can attest to the fact that adopting a vegetarian diet is great choice to make.  The challenge is how to convince the doubters.


lady wearing cap with word vegan on it


You already know (and have probably experienced), that there are persons who are trying to find every opportunity to ridicule your choice of a healthy diet and they go out of their way to point out everything that is wrong with it.

Are we giving these persons evidence to support their battle against us?

Sad to say, we do. Sometimes without even knowing.

The truth is that some of us who have put away meat from our diet and adopted a vegetarian or vegan diet are the very ones who give fuel to these detractors. How? you ask. By the way we look and by the way our food look and taste.

If you are trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle by embracing a plant-based diet and don’t want to be one of those persons who give fuel to the detractors, you should be careful to stay away from extremes. Yes you have removed all flesh foods from your diet and that is very good decision because it is well known that consuming meat increases your risk for many lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, strokes, hypertension and some cancers.

How you look


skinny man


So yes, you have made a good choice to stop eating meat. But you must remember that the body needs nourishment to survive. You can’t live on lettuce leaves alone. If you remove meat from your diet, you have to ensure that the nutrients you need are provided by other foods. Find out what you can eat on a plant-based diet to provide you with the necessary nutrients for optimal health.

The person who is not eating a balanced, nutritious diet will not look at all healthy and people will point fingers and ridicule his/her choice of diet. Definitely not a good example for the healthy diet cause.

What your lunch looks like


bowl of greens

Chances are, some of these same persons who are so strict in their non-meat diet, yet are not making sure that they are taking in sufficient nutrients, are the very same ones who prepare meals that are tasteless and look very unappealing to the onlooker.

That is another definite turn off. When it comes to eating, the nose, the mouth and the eyes play an important role. When you are preparing your meals, make sure that it is not only delicious and nourishing but that it is attractive to the eyes. If you don’t know how to prepare appetizing, nourishing, plant-based foods, you can get some ideas here.


Nag, nag, nag.



People who are committed to a cause are many times likely to be found pushing their convictions on others.

The easiest way to turn off someone from even contemplating adopting a healthy plant-based diet is to constantly nag.

I have a friend who is very good at that. His name is Friend A.

Friend A: What are you eating?

Friend B: Chicken

Friend A: How can you eat that? Don’t you know it is filled with hormones.

Friend A: What is that you are eating?

Friend C: Steak.

Friend A: What? Are you trying to have a heart attack? I haven’t had meat for 15 years.

Friend A: What are you eating?

Friend D: Some fish.

Friend A: You need to cut out this meat eating from your diet.

Friend A: You are still eating cheese? Don’t you know it’s not good for you.

Friend A: You need to cut out milk. I don’t touch the stuff.

This goes on for weeks ultimately resulting in the following scenario.

Friend A enters dining room.

Friends B, C, D immediately exits dining room (with their chicken, steak, fish etc.)

Conclusion: Don’t nag. It will get you nowhere.

Want to be successful in sharing the principles of diet reform?

Choosing a plant-based diet comes with many benefits the main one of course being health benefits. There are other benefits too, such as economic and environmental benefits. Learn about some of the health benefits here.

Let you friends, family, and even your detractors be drawn to follow your example by the way you look. Not weak and unable to work but strong and healthy. Let them find out how delicious and nutritious a plant-based diet is by sharing your fantastic, appetizing meals. And yes, you can share your experience with them. Let them see that it is not as hard as they think and offer support when they decide to give a no-meat diet a try, even if is only for a few days.

I can assure you the animosity will be gone.

Go out and be a champion for the cause of diet reform and continue on your path of eating a healthy, plant-based diet.

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