It all started in school when my English teacher asked us to write an argument on whether eating meat was good or bad. I wrote mine from a vegetarian's point of view, even though I was a meat-eater. I wondered how it must really feel not to eat meat, and so I did an experiment by going vegetarian for a week, and this is how it went:
Telling my mum... she told me she would try to cook vegetarian food for me even though all my family were meat-eaters, and we usually ate meat every night. I ate pasta one night, pizza and chips for two nights, a stir-fry one night, and some noodles another. Luckily, I liked all the food so I think it was harder for my mum to think up vegetarian meals than it was for me to eat them.
Telling my friends... they were all surprised and said things like, 'I could never do that' and 'I tried it for a day and I still didn't manage it'. About four of them decided to do the vegetarian experiment as well. I know one of them did it for six days, and another did it for a weekend. One gave it up after realizing she had ham sandwiches for lunch.
Eating at school... It wasn't hard to find school lunches that were vegetarian, as my lunch didn't usually have meat in it anyway. But I was quite annoyed when a girl waved some chicken from her sandwich in my face. I often had to check things like crisps for gelatine and because the ingredients are usually in very small writing, it took quite a long time to read it properly.
My final thoughts... I don't really like the fact I am eating animals, but the problem is I don't really like much vegetarian food, like eggs, tomatoes, cheese, beans, sweet corn and nuts. Maybe I might be a vegetarian when I am an adult, because then I will be able to cook and buy my own food, but I definitely won't do it while I am still young. I think this experience has changed my opinion about vegetarians. I sort of thought vegetarians were a bit awkward before, but now I realize that all vegetarians have a reason to be one.
Many people go veggie and then find it harder than they thought. Why not write in with your advice for a new veggie to show how easy it really can be?
About the team
This story was produced by Jordan Daley, 11. It was published by The Vegetarian.
