Meet seven former vegetarians who for one reason or another decided to return to eating meat.
"The meat called my name."
When I was 19, I got pretty grossed out about meat. I wasn't morally against eating animals (sorry) or animal by-products, it just stopped being appealing. One day, after a year of following a strict vegan diet, I saw my boyfriend eating a really perfect-looking roast beef sandwich. For some reason, that day, the meat called my name, and I couldn't resist stealing a bite. I thought I'd been fully satisfied with a diet of avocados, veggies, fruits, soy, and grains. But nope. One bite of a damn sandwich made me feel like a different person. I felt less fatigued than I had in months. I may have liked the idea of being vegan, but I will never give up meat again.
—Hannah C
"I was worried I'd be stuck with a bag of carrots."
I was a vegetarian for two years. Before going on a trip to New Orleans. I was worried the trip would get loose and I would find myself stuck with just eating a bag of carrots everywhere I went. So I started to prep myself, I wanted to take advantage of EVERYTHING NoLa had to offer. Including the food you hear about. That's when I decided slowly started adding chicken and beef back into my body.
—Ash C
"The meat patties just looked so much tastier."
After four years of being vegetarian, I finally caved during my first year at uni while out with some friends at a hipster burger place. The meat patties just looked so much tastier compared to the veggie ones I saw being served to nearby tables around us. That's when I said "f*ck it." and ordered a beef burger.
—Andrew C
"I realised my body was craving meat."
I started being a vegetarian because my housemate was and her eating habits just rubbed off on me. Until I recently went to Japan. My bad. But I was surrounded by amazing food all the time. I decided that if I wanted to fully experience the trip, then I would have to get amongst it and the culture. My first bite of kobe beef was cooked on a sizzling hot stone. It was pretty weird for me at first, but I realised that my body was kind of craving meat anyway. Haven't looked back since.
—Lily A
"I was missing certain nutritional elements in my diet."
I was a born vegetarian. Growing up, I never liked the taste of meat and refused to eat it. When I turned 8, I embraced a fully vegetarian diet. Shortly after uni, I started to incorporate fish into my diet from time to time. I felt like I was missing certain nutritional elements in my diet that eating fish helped with. Then, when I was 24, I moved abroad to a country that didn't make being a vegetarian very easy: It didn't have many easily accessible vegetarian options, and I wanted to take part in the food culture. So, I started eating meat again. Years later, I keep telling myself I'll go back to eating strictly vegetarian, but I just love indulging in a good steak or burger too much to stop.
—Kristen B
"I'll never be vegetarian again."
I was a vegetarian for over two years in high school, much to my mother's disappointment and inconvenience. One year at Christmas, the food just smelled so good that I couldn't resist taking a little bite. Later that week, I dove back into eating meat headfirst by ordering a filet mignon at a fancy restaurant. My mum was very happy. I'll never be a vegetarian again, even though I don't eat as much meat as I used to.
—Emily C
"I pretty much dove right back in to eating meat."
I was studying abroad in Northern Ireland, and my friends and I decided to have an orphans Christmas with a bunch of other Australians. My mum flew over to visit that week, and it was really special for a lot of reasons. When it came time for everyone else to eat the roast, I just couldn't NOT join in. It was about the experience more than anything. After that, I wasn’t going to pretend I was still a vegetarian or act as though it was a just blip. I pretty much dove right back in to eating meat.
—Casey C
See how eating Beef and Lamb as part of a healthy balanced diet works out for some in this video, The Trinity Experiment. Go on, take a look – it's for ~science~.
