Today is World Vegetarian Day! A day to “promote the joy, compassion, and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism”.
I have been a vegetarian my whole life and wouldn’t have it any other way. I know that vegetarianism isn’t for everyone, but for me, it is the perfect life style.
One thing I frequently encounter is people wishing they could be vegetarian (sometimes it’s just too difficult or not the right diet), or be less reliant on meat in general. The good news is, there are lots of ways to take part in vegetarianism without having to give up meat or alter your entire diet!
Meatless Mondays
Many people have been doing meatless Mondays (or Tuesdays, or…) for years. It’s an easy way to incorporate vegetarianism into your diet and find new creative ways to cook. Their website has hundreds of recipes and tips, I recommend this soup!
Fake Meat
Contrary to popular belief, we don’t just eat tofu! There are so many meat substitutes on the market that you can have most any normal meat meal with them. Fake turkey, fake burgers, and yes – even fake bacon are among my favorite! No, they don’t taste exactly like the real thing, but they’re pretty delicious!
Ethical Choices
It can cost a little more, but more grocery stores are selling eggs and meat that come from farms where animals are treated humanely. If you feel like you’re contributing to the mass inhumane treatment of animals, choosing ethical farms to buy from can do a lot of good.
Give Up Fur & Leather
Vegetarianism isn’t all about what you eat, it’s also about what you wear! Many animals are treated cruelly before becoming shoes or a coat, and ceasing to buy those products can have a real damaging effect on that market when done en mass. Trading that leather watch for a faux-leather one is an easy (and helpful) way to help animals, and it’s probably a bit cheaper too 
Be Nice!
Vegetarians get a LOT of crap from people – everything from being ridiculed, to having meat secretly placed in their food. I get a lot of eye-rolls, heavy sighs, and talking behind my back when I mention I’m a vegetarian, and it can be very disheartening. Being respectful to a vegetarian means a lot, so simply choosing a restaurant your veg-friend can eat at or making a non-meat dish at a Potluck is one of the most helpful things you can do!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
As I die hard meat eater, I can attest that the fake meat really isn’t that bad. The only big difference isn’t so much flavor as consistency/texture.
Another way to more earth friendly is to cut down on red meats. Cattle breeding is super detrimental to local environments and often results in a lot of ecological devastation. You only need red meat about once a week to get enough iron. The rest of the time it’s not only healthier to eat poultry, but cheaper and more eco-friendly.
Good point, totally forgot about red meat vs white vs fish. I think fish is always healthier and more eco-friendly but I’m not sure.
Fish is pretty healthy, but human consumption of fish is actually so high that is causing other animals to starve to death. This is the one time when factory farming (which can be done in a non-harmful way with fish) is really the best option.
This is a great roundup of suggestions to cut down on eating meat. Thanks for sharing! I want to include something like this on my blog…I’m going to add it to my to-do list
Awesome!! I look forward to reading it