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According to Psychology Today, roughly 75% of vegetarians eventually return to eating meat with 9 years being the average length of time of abstinence.
The most common reason former vegetarians cited as the reason they returned to meat was declining health. One vegetarian turned omnivore put it very succinctly:
I’ll take a dead cow over anemia any time.
Other former vegetarians cited persistent physical weakness despite eating a whole foods plant based diet while others returned to meat at the recommendation of their doctor.
Another big reason that vegetarians returned to meat was due to irresistable cravings. This occurred even among long term vegetarians. Respondents talked about their protein cravings or how the smell of cooking bacon drove them crazy.
One survey participant wrote:
I just felt hungry all the time and that hunger would not be satisfied unless I ate meat.
Another put it more humorously:
Starving college student + First night back home with the folks + Fifty or so blazin’ buffalo wings waiting in the kitchen = Surrender.
Even the 2017 Netflix documentary What The Health was unable to name a single vegan population group that was successful long term!
Sustainably Raised, Grassfed Meats Prove Enticing to Vegetarians
About half of vegetarians originally gave up meat for ethical reasons. Pictures of confined animals standing on concrete in their own excrement and the stench of factory farms on country roads from 5 miles away is no doubt plenty of reason to turn away from meat. Some former vegetarians, however, have recognized and embraced the grassfed movement back to sustainable and humanely raised, cruelty free meats as a real ethical alternative.
Some of these converts back to meat view buying grassfed beef and other sustainably raised animal foods as a new form of activism similar to their boycott of factory farmed meats when they were vegetarians.
Berlin Reed, a long term vegetarian with the tattoo “vegan” on his neck is one of these. Now known as “the ethical butcher”, he believes that promoting customer contact with butchers which has been lost in recent decades with the rise of factory farming is the key to an improved and sustainable meat system.
Omnivores Healthier Than Vegetarians
The article in Psychology Today ended on a baffled note with the author wondering if meat eating could potentially be in our genes?
I submit that the results of this survey are not surprising and are in fact a testament to the research of Dr. Weston A. Price. Dr. Price traveled the world in the 1920s and 1930s visiting 14 isolated cultures in the process.
During this adventure which he documented in great detail with amazing pictures in his masterpiece Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Dr. Price concluded that while the diets of these natives varied widely, nutrient dense animal foods high in the fat soluble vitamin A, D, and K2 (also known as Activator X) were the common denominator. Consumption of these animal foods were revered in these communities as they bestowed vibrant health, easy fertility, healthy children, and high resistance to chronic and infectious disease.
This discovery was a disappointment to Dr. Price who had expected to find the vegetarian cultures to be the healthiest cultures of all. But, the vegetarian cultures he examined displayed far more degeneration and tooth decay than the omnivore cultures. This surprised him given that these vegetarian cultures did indeed have superior health than the Americans of his day.
However, he could not deny that the health of the indigenous omnivores exceeded that of the vegetarian cultures. Those consuming a wide variety of marine seafoods exhibited the most vibrancy of all.
Therefore, in the famous words of Pink Floyd, “Eat yer meat!”
And, while you’re at it, make sure it’s grassfed because even meat eaters hate factory farms!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources:
The Desperate Grab for Prescription Painkillers
EXCELLENT post! I have toyed with vegetarianism over the years, having come out of the whole 60’s generation, but have never felt that ultimately it was the right choice. I am so thankful now for my big, farm-family raising, and that I have stayed somewhat true to a traditional diet without even knowing completely why. I have two particular vegetarian friends, one has already gone back to meat because of a lack of vitality in her everyday experience, but the other is so into the animal cruelty issue that, whether she feels good or not, she’s sticking to it. I’m going to connect her with this post. I think it presents the issue very well without condemning vegetarianism. As stated, meat eaters (me definitely!) have a problem with factory raised animals too!
If a vegetarian is feeling weak or losing vitality, it is most likely because they aren’t doing something right. Undereating, eating too much fat, and yes, eating too much protein to try and compensate for a perceived lack. There are SOO many variables that could make a vegetarian lose health. I’d put my money on undereating any day of the week though…
A friend of mine was vegetarian for a while, and still decries animal cruelty – she now lives on an acreage outside of town, and her rule is – she “only eats animals that she knows personally”. Thus animals that were raised by either her or her neighbours. Animals that she knows were well-cared-for and well-fed.
That’s what I do! I used to be vegetarian out of compassion for the animals. I’m an athlete, so it was probably not the best idea. However, I lasted for over a year. My mother has been a follower of WAPF for a while, but she respected my decision. (I think she knew I’d come ’round!) My grandfather thought I was insane, of course, and told me so often. I think he’s the reason I lasted so long! 😀 Then, one night, my mother made a big, beautiful grass-fed pot roast, we’re talking about 9 hours in the slow-cooker, the fat just glistening all over these fabulous roasted mushrooms and carrots, bacon layering the top of it, and the SMELL… Well, you get the picture! My tastebuds sat up and begged, and I swear, my stomach just lunged for it from inside me! And then it hit me: uh, if my body wants the meat THAT much, maybe I should eat it! LOL! Afterwards, of course, my mom sent me to the WAPF website, and after a few weeks of research, I must admit, I’m a convert!
Gimme a fucking break. You seriously were a vegetarian for a YEAR? And you think that was a long time? And then you call yourself a “convert” back to meat, after just a year of basically trying to rebel against your grandpa? Fucking weak.
I don’t think this comment was absolutely necessary. In fact, I consider it extremely rude. Everyone has their own experiences, and whether you agree with it or not, isn’t it a better idea to simply let it be?
Good point, Susie. It’s important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater which is what sometimes happen when folks turn vegetarian to protest the abhorrent conditions of animals in factory farm settings. Meat itself is not the problem – its the methods that are being used to raise these poor animals. Once many discover the sustainability and ethical nature animals are treated in a grassfed setting, many times vegetarians will find their way back to eating meat and enjoying the many health benefits this confers as discovered by Dr. Price.
Yep, I certainly did. I tried it twice for a year each time, and during that time I was tired, sick… and developed low thyroid.
I was vegan for a while. Certainly didn’t last and didn’t make me feel healthier. Now bacon is my best friend along with all the other meats, eggs and cheese. I feel much healthier now.
What did you eat when you were vegan? You can’t just say “I went vegan and it didn’t work”. That is so vague. Let’s get some details and I’ll guarantee that I can diagnose your failure.
Look, Paul, it has been proven (look it up) that the only way to get vitamin B12 (a REQUIRED nutrient) is to eat animal products! And don’t tell me that “I just need to take supplements.” Supplements aren’t found in nature. If we were ment to be vegan, we’d be able to produce our OWN vitamin B12, like herbavores. But we’re NOT herbavores, hence the reason why humans are OMNIVORES, and need to consume both plant AND animal foods!
This argument makes me want to cry. We are HERBAVORES. Our teeth look just like the grazing cow and deer. NOT like the omnivore bear.
The reason we require B12 supplements while following a vegan diet is because modern man has sapped all of the nutrients out of the soil. If we rotated crops as our forefathers knew to do, we would get all the nutrients from our food.
These arguments stating man should be omnivorous are self satisfying and errant. The reason most people would go back to eating meat is laziness. It is much easier to throw a steak on the BBQ than to chop and prepare a nutritious vegan meal.
Sorry Nancy, but our teeth are closer in nature to the omnivorous chimpanzee than the grazing cow or deer or carnivorous bear. We have herbivorous grazing and carnivorous meat eating functions of our teeth as omnivores do. We do have smaller canines than the chimp that likely come from our discovery of fire and breaking away from eating raw meat. But our teeth and our stomachs are still absolutely built for meat consumption. Its not unnatural in the slightest for a human to eat meat. We are omnivores, not herbivores or carnivores.
Cry at the argument all you wish; but reason will side with it. I find no fault with vegan lifestyle, but for anyone to arrive at that lifestyle or support it on the grounds of teeth similarities with cattle and deer is erronous.
I chop and prepare nutritious vegetables and other foods every time I throw a steak on the BBQ. As I’ve prepared vegan meals I really don’t see any difference in effort, so I don’t understand how you arrive at your conclusions that meat is lazy. It does appear to me that calling people lazy for eating meat while claiming that their arguments make you want to cry is the more self satisfying and errant action here.
This is a wonderful post and so true! We know a family who have been vegetarians and are returning to a meat-eating diet, and sure enough, the mother had been craving eggs for so long and really relished in eating an egg the other day. Their daughter is loving eating meat again as well. They were eating a lot of soy and the mother had a lot of digestive issues. She went to a naturopath I recommended (who happens to be a WAP chapter leader) and I am sure she gave her the soy talk. 🙂 Her gut is being healed now, which started their road to vegetarianism, since meat would cause digestive upset with the mother. I am just so delighted that this family, especially with growing children, are back to eating meat!
Nickole
we only returned because we raise, hunt, or fish for our meat now.
I returned du to the fact mony got tight and i try to only eat all natural harmone free or free range but that can get expenise the only reason i can eat meat is becuse i dont see what happens if i lived on a farm we only be eating what we grow and all the animals would have names and be pets i cant kill something that i take care of its not in my nature to be like or kill anything liveing dont like hunting i think its mean.
My sister in law and brother in law have too, gone from being vegetarians to carnivores….they now have much more energy and claim they feel so much better with regards to their health. Great post:)
it was an extremely difficult realization for me that my body really needs animal protein. but my whole mindset has changed in the last 15 years or so with the proliferance of grass fed/pastured animal farms and seeing first hand how well the animals are treated. i’m fortunate to live in an area with great access to good meat. yes it’s expensive but i stretch it as best i can.
Interesting, however I would NOT RECOMMEND EATING PORK BACON, HAM, ETC. Not only is pork not recommended in the Bible but it usually not nitrate/ite free.Grass fed is the way to go. Also, seafood I would stay away from. It is the cockroach of the sea.
I’d suggest you read Romans Chapter 14. The Bible clearly does not condemn one food over another, that was certain religious leaders of those times that made up those rules and stated that anyone who broke their rules was ‘unclean’ and ‘unworthy’.
Also, seafood is not the cockroach of the sea – that doesn’t even make sense.
I think Jennifer meant that lobster is the cockroach of the sea. As far as I know, it has that nickname because it kind of looks like a bug, and because they’re both indiscriminate scavengers.
You’re right though- the dietary laws had a purpose in the Old Testament (there are probably many reasons, but one speculation is that by not allowing pork or shell fish, the Jews could no longer easily eat with gentiles- severing a major point of influence. Dunno if that’s true or not though.), but were abolished in the New Testament.
Let’s leave religion out of it and say that, if you’re worried about your sources, stick with ruminants. Pigs and chickens are omnivores. That means they’re harder to keep well, and also that they can’t be purely grass (or grain, which is baby grass) fed and be healthy, so it’s not always the “way to go”.
Besides the ethical obvious, why do I care how healthy an animal is if it’s “just” going to be killed so I can eat it? Because I’m only as healthy as what I eat, and that goes for plants too – 2-week-old broccoli isn’t going to fuel my body like something fresh from the garden.
And yeah, processed crap is still crap, whether it’s Hot Rods or Frosted Flakes. In meat products, if it’s pink, it’s probably got nitirites/nitrates in it. In homemade brisket or slow barbecue that comes from celery or other natural sources, but day in and day out, especially from factory sources, it’s likely not wise.
Interestingly some shellfish can be sustainably farmed, making mussels f.ex a more common menu item on fish nights in my house than salmon.
Are you really that ignorant??? First of all, the Bible should have NOTHING to do with what you eat. Secondly, as a divemaster, I can tell you lobsters are NOT considered the “cockroach of the sea”.
I learn so much here! Thanks, Sarah, for all the informative posts. ~Lisa
some of the healthiest people in the world eat tons of seafood. As long as you’re not buying farmed fish and you pay attention to where it’s coming from, seafood is good for you… certain types of fish in particular. Especially fish broths
I personally will probably never return to meat eating (vegetarian for 12 yrs, now vegan), but I fully support and even encourage others to eat whole food diets that include organic dairy/eggs and grass fed meat. The only ‘meat’ that I ever miss is pepperoni, hahaha.
I see story after story about people who had to go back to eating meat to feel better and get energy back. I know for myself if I go without eating meat for even one lunch or dinner that I feel unsatisfied, I get hungry so much faster, and just feel anxious. I saw a vegetarian say that people miss eating meat because “people are addicted to meat”………..like it is sugar or a drug. I had to laugh at that one. Our bodies crave meat for it’s nutrients, not because it is an additive substance.
Excellent point Brenda. There are good cravings and bad cravings. I sometimes get cravings for fish eggs and I can tell you they are NOT addictive! LOL I think I sometimes get these cravings because there is some nutrient in them that I desperately need.
Even a sugar craving can be good as it tells you that your gut is imbalanced and that you need more fat in your diet. Cravings are information we need to listen to and when we ignore them we do so at our peril.
My mom has been a vegetarian since she was 12 (she is 62 now) for no reason other than she doesn’t like meat. It grosses her out. But…she doesn’t mind soup made with real stock, wears leather, and would cook meat for the family she just wouldn’t eat it. She subsists almost entirely on hard cheese, nuts, and fruit with an omelet thrown in every once in a while and a weekly pizza night. Not the optimal diet for sure, but at least it’s not filled with gross soy-based fake meats and whatnot. Those gross her out even more than real meat thank goodness!
I too used to be a vegetarian…but I recovered. 😉
My friend was vegetarian & just recently went back to eating meat.But the thing is she doesnt even eat good! She says shes against factory farms,but she eats it & fast food!! And me the meat eater is eating grass feed beef & not supporting factory farms. Idk seems a bit backwards to me.
Very good post, Sarah. Last weekend I went to a baby shower for a relative who is vegetarian. I very badly wanted to find a way to tell her about eating well for her baby and herself. I found a post you wrote (don’t remember when) about the sacred foods cultures ate. It was excellent. I hope you don’t mind but I copied some of the main points and wrote the name of your blog at the end so she can look you up. She started reading the note and then gave me a puzzled look. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her since so I don’t know if she thinks I’m as loony as the rest of the family does. I couldn’t help thinking she will be a new mother bringing a brand new baby into the world. We all want our babies to be as healthy as they can be but we don’t really know how to do that anymore. I should mention she does eat seafood so I guess she’s not a strict vegetarian.
Hi Linda, feel free to use that info any way you can to get the word out especially to women of childbearing age who are pregnant or are planning to get pregnant. It is so much easier and better to prevent problems in your child than attempting to backpedal later and fix the problems that occur from the mother not eating a nutrient dense, traditional diet during pregnancy and feeding this type of diet to her child during his/her growing years.
I have been a vegetarian since I was 15 (14 years). I have four children between the ages of 18 mths and 6 years old. I did not eat any meat throughout my pregnancies, and my children are all very healthy and rarely get sick. I too find it offensive to say that we are hurting our children by eating this way. Many vegetarians get rid of the meat, but think it is ok to eat a bunch of processed foods & “fake” meats. That tends to give vegetarians a bad rep. We eat whole fresh foods, vegetables, fruits, beans/legumes and some grains which we soak/sprout ourselves, and nuts & seeds. I workout intensely 5 to 6 days a week, and never feel like I am lacking energy to make it through my workouts or my day. The only supplement I need is Vitamin B12 and since the DRA is pretty low, I don’t feel bad about having to take a single vitamin daily. If these vegetarians are switching back to meat due to lack of energy or health, they are not consuming a good variety of foods to ensure they get everthing they need.
Just want to mention that I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 20 years and never ate a bite of meat my entire pregnancy. My son was born 100% healthy and was almost 9 pounds. I nursed him for 13 months and never lacked milk for him. He is very bright and healthy. To say that vegetarians are possibly hurting their children during pregnancy is offensive to me. There are many people who eat meat because they don’t give any thought to their diets at all, which seems much more dangerous to me. I doubt you will find too many vegetarians that don’t think daily about what they are eating.
I too was vegetarian /nearly vegan for nearly 9 years. I began eating meat with my pregnancy in which right away I began severely wanting meat. Even vegan friends of mine talk about having to eat cheese or sushi in their pregnancies. Years earlier my body was craving “something”…..I tried adding in eggs for a year. Unfortunately in the early years I also consumed a lot of soy. I was always chiefly concerned and opposed to “factory” farming. We consume grass fed, organically raised meats, I still wil not eat beef; however, we lots of bison instead. I do eat some raw cheese; I do not drink cow milk either. I still think milk cow milk is basically for baby cows. Great post!!!!
I never felt good before I was vegan…
I’m vegan, and allergic to everything I could never eat meat though, just thinking about a slab of flesh in front of me makes me want to hurl… I get sick enough from soy, and wheat among other random things I don’t think I could keep a dead animal down…
Hi Sera Ant,
The following statements in parathesis are from the article “Copper-Zinc Imbalance: Unrecognized Consequence of Plant-Based Diets and a Contributor to Chronic Fatigue.”
I think that you may need to go on the GAPS diet due to the allergies. Since you seem to not really tolerate meat, I wonder if you have a copper-zinc imbalance: “I feel that digestive recovery is the beginning, whether a person is coming from the standard American diet or some version of a light or fat-restricted diet. As in my case, the particular nutritional dilemmas a person has gotten into can tell a lot about the struggles developing in his or her body. Gittleman, who had studied the work of Paul Eck, develops his point made above: “Many people switch to a lighter diet because red meats and other types of animal protein feel ‘heavy’ in their system. Ironically, this feeling can develop from copper excess, or zinc deficiency, or adrenal insufficiency. Individuals with copper-zinc imbalance have trouble digesting and absorbing fat and protein in particular, so they often opt for diets that avoid foods rich in these nutrients.”
Being vegan for a number of years without getting adequate zinc in the diet can be very dangerous, especially in the modern world. Without adequate zinc, large amounts of copper can be stored into the tissues and can cause a lot of problems: “Disruption of the copper-zinc ratio is an overlooked contributor to intractable fatigue that follows excessive reliance on a plant-based diet. The result is toxic accumulation of copper in tissues and critical depletion of zinc through excretion.”
Here is the article for you regarding this issue:
http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/metabolic-disorders/591-copper-zinc-imbalance
I am not surprised that you get sick from soy. It is not something one should eat in any quantity, unless fermented. But “I can’t keep a dead animal down” is vegan-speak. I never think of meat as “dead animal” just as I never think of broccoli puree as “dead vegetable”. Both were alive before they end up on your plate. Rather than taking this depressive look on food we should be grateful that the world/God/the Universe, take you pick, provides us with things to eat to keep us healthful and happy. Not using these resources means refusing the gift of nature and denying your body the things it needs. Respect animals, by all means, But don’t forget that, by nature, you are nothing but another animal and deserve that same respect
I LOVE this.
“Dead vegetables.” Ha! What a great response to one of the more popular, illogical “vegan-speak” catchphrases. Well-said.