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Why the vast majority of vegetarians return to eating meat within a few years. Is eating meat, in fact, “in our genes”?
For the vast majority of vegetarians, abstaining from meat is only a phase rather than a permanent life choice.
According to Psychology Today, roughly 75% of vegetarians eventually return to eating meat with 9 years being the average length of time of abstinence. (1)
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 irresistible 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 hugely popular Netflix documentary What The Health was unable to name a single vegan population group that was successful long term!
Sustainable Meat Proves Enticing
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 are no doubt good reasons to turn away from meat.
Some former vegetarians, however, have recognized and embraced the grassfed movement, finding their way back to sustainable and humanely raised, cruelty-free meats as a real ethical alternative.
Some of these converts 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. (2)
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.
Is Meat Consumption “In Our Genes”?
The article in Psychology Today ends on a baffled note with the author wondering if meat eating could potentially be in our genes? (3)
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 early in the last century living amongst and studying 14 isolated cultures.
During this adventure, he documented these isolated people groups consuming their ancestral diet in great detail.
Amazing pictures and the data from his analysis of these foods can be found 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 true vitamin A, D, and K2 (also known as Activator X) were the common denominators.
Consumption of these animal foods was revered in these communities as they bestowed vibrant health, easy fertility, healthy children, and high resistance to chronic and infectious diseases.
Vegetarian Cultures Compared to Omnivores
This discovery was actually a disappointment to Dr. Price.
He had expected to find the vegetarian cultures to be the healthiest cultures of all. This was due to the vegetarians of his day in the 1920s and 1930s being healthier than Americans eating a processed diet.
However, the ancestral vegetarian cultures he examined displayed far more degeneration and tooth decay than the omnivore cultures.
Dr. Price’s observation that vegetarians suffered from more cavities has been confirmed by peer-reviewed study in recent years.
Besides issues with caries, vegetarians also suffer from a high risk of fractures compared to the general population.
Dr. Price’s scientific integrity demanded recognition of the fact that the health of the indigenous omnivores far exceeded that of the vegetarian societies.
Those consuming a wide variety of marine seafood exhibited the most vibrancy of all.
Therefore, in the famous words of Pink Floyd, “Eat yer meat!”
And….crickets and other mass-produced bugs don’t count as a sustainable meat option despite what mainstream media claims! (4)
Ancestrally-inspired meat eaters hate factory farms whether it be for animals or insects!
(1, 3) Psychology Today
(2) Beating a Humane Retreat Back to Meat
(4) The Risks of Eating Commercially-farmed Insects
Alessandra
Probably this is a very American-centred study, I think that the situation in many other countries is different. I know some vegetarians who went back to eating meat (even if only occasionally), and some to eat fish, but mostly I know of vegetarians who turned vegan! Not me, I have been a vegetarian for 23 years now, and both my children are vegetarian (never had meat of fish), yet they are healthier (much healthier!) than their school mates, and top of the class too. They do lots of sport too, more than the average American kid I believe). It is very unlikely that they had missed any nutrients :-).
But maybe the people I know who are vegetarians tend to be also passionate about food, and can cook, I am Italian, obviously I know a lot of European vegetarians, and many Indian vegetarians too, then a few Taiwanese and Vietnamese (note that all the Asians have been vegetarians for many generations) and their cuisine is excellent.
I believe that the problem with the US (and possibly the UK, where I lived for 6 years) and even Australia and New Zealand (where I live now) is the bad diet in general. Only a few people spend time and effort cooking, most of the food (vegetarian or not) seems to come from packets, some families have take-aways twice week or more, or trays of food ready made to defrost, and very few people know how to cook vegetables.
It is not possible to become a vegetarian if you don’t care about what you eat, and don’t cook at home. It is obvious that you don’t need meat and fish to live well and be healthy (look at me! And I don’t even take supplements! I didn’t even need iron when I was pregnant, while most of my meat eating friends had to take it in pills even if they ate liver!) but meat eaters in NZ (big meat country, and the cows eat grass only here) have a really high percentage of health problems, obesity, cancer, diabetes, hart problems, low immunity and so on and on and on. It is not just meat of course, it is also fat and sugar, but mostly is bad cooking, or no cooking. Long time Vegetarians are healthier in anglo-speaking countries because they tend to cook at home with good produce, from scratch, and have a various diet. Those who cannot do that will fail, and will be forced to eat steaks again to get enough energy. In the long term they will suffer again because their problem wasn’t lack of meat, but lack of proper meals.
Mi advice? Doesn’t matter if you are a meat eater, a vegetarian or a vegan, unless you eat good food, have a varied diet, and cook properly (instead of opening packets) you are going to get sick.
Tim
I could not have said it better, so I won’t try.
I will just add that I have been a vegetarian for 22 years, and I am a construction worker and can go toe-to-toe with anyone I work with at any task. Honestly, I can usually go longer. It is not the presence or absence of meat in the diet that matters as much as the nutrient content and balance. While I may get hungrier sooner, that could be attributed to faster metabolism because of or in spite of absence of meat. So I eat smaller meals more often. So? That does not make me less healthy.
As for humane killing of animals, that is a contradiction in terms I do not think I can ever make peace with.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Considering that the people you are working with most probably eat mostly processed foods in their diet isn’t really saying much. Why don’t you compare yourself to some really healthy omnivores and not folks eating the Standard American Diet? I’d be interested to see you go to Paula Jager’s gym (she writes the fitness posts for this blog) and see if you can go toe to toe with those folks who are in shape as you obviously are but eat a primal diet. You might change your mind about how healthy your plant based diet is after that.
As for the killing of animals, you are killing plenty of animals such as insects and small rodents with your construction work. Insects are still animals after all. The great news is that you can be very healthy eating insects as your animal food. I was reading about a grasshopper stir fry dish that is a seasonal delicacy in Uganda. If you are killing them in your work, how can you justify not eating them on humane grounds?
Wishing for a less biased writer
Sarah, why do you choose only to respond to Tim and not Alessandra? Is it because you are biased towards finding justification for your guilty meat eating behavior? I would be interested in how or if you could respond to Alessandra who provides a more enlightened observation rather than someone trying to fit evidence into an argument. You can do better, I hope.
Brandi
I thought I would also mention that I had no need for Iron supplements during pregnancy either. Having less than 2 years between kiddos is hard on the body, but mine bounced back just fine each time all my blood tests were in the excellent range.
Terri
I was mostly vegetarian for about 30 years, and started eating meat about three years ago during treatment for cancer. I thought I was eating healthy, and did eat and drink a great deal of soy. During treatment my grandson came to live with us and when my husband started cooking hot dogs for him I was amazed by my craving. So I went in search of healthy meats and eventually discovered WAPF. I now love eating the grass fed beef and bison I buy from the rancher and the chickens I get from my CSA, although I still prefer to eat a great deal of vegetable as well. I agree that the quality of the meat is key and still eat vegetarian or fish at restaurants unless I know the source.
Sherry R
I was a vegetarian for 7 years, 3 of them I was vegan. I ate tons of soy products as well as whole grains (unfermented) , lots of beans, nuts and seeds. During that time I could barely get out of bed in the morning, had to take a nap everyday, and was 30 pounds overweight. But the thing that really convinced me to start eating meat again was being diagnosed with hypothyroidism after having three miscarriages. I had three children before becoming a vegetarian, so I knew I could bare children. My doctor at the time told me low thyroid can be a cause of miscarriages as well as having premature births. I am happy to say after coming to my senses and choosing to eat meat again I got pregant and had a healthy baby boy, who is now 14 years old.
Laurel Blair, NTP
I’m not surprised at all that most vegetarians eventually change their ways. What surprises me is that the average time it takes is 9 years! 2 years is how long it took before my health deteriorated to the point that I couldn’t ignore it any longer, and was forced to conclude that something was seriously wrong with my diet. Of course, I was in for a shock when I found the WAPF and realized that by avoiding meat, eggs, and most dairy (as well as eating excessive amounts of improperly-prepared whole grains and beans and raw vegetables) I had become deficient in fat-soluble vitamins! It took me 3 months to come to terms with this and start eating meat again. I remember reading about bone broth and having the most intense cravings for it! My body was desperate for minerals!
Erica
Hi Sarah,
I believe I read in one of your posts that you once drank soy milk. How long did you drink it for? Also, do you suffer from any long-term health issues due to the soy? The reason I ask this is because I drank soy milk for a short period of time prior to finding the WAPF.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Hi Erica, I did not drink soy milk for long and never drank that much. I did not seem to suffer any long term issues from it.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
By the way, I drank it for maybe 1 or 2 years at the most.
Nathalie
Hi!
Just to say, I was a vegetarian for 7 years and I started eat meat again while pregnant, my body asked for it and I took it seriously. And know, after 3 years of traditionnal foods, I realize all my health issue (joint pains, pollen allergy, libido loss) were nutrition deficiency related. I also get less sun burns now 🙂
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
I just looked and the ad right now is for grassfed beef! 🙂
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama
My dad was vegetarian for 7 or 8 years when I was a kid. He never got over the cravings, either. He’d done it for health reasons — not ethical — so I remember him caving a couple times towards the end when presented with a restaurant burger, and finally “losing” the battle when we were out for Thanksgiving dinner one year. We all encouraged him to eat meat again. A lot of what he was eating wasn’t even real food (some was — he did introduce me to a lot of interesting veggies! But also fake butter, “diet salt,” and soy substitutes). He gets quickly anemic on a vegetarian, low-fat, low-calorie diet. Big surprise, right? Because of his example, I dabbled in vegetarianism several times throughout my childhood. It never lasted more than a couple months at a time.
I even remember a couple of times that I’d eat “perfectly” for a few days (according to SAD) and I’d feel so…bad. No energy and starving. And I’d conclude “I need fat” but I had no way of explaining why, at that time. I just strongly felt that I did. In college I drank the fattiest milk available in the cafeteria because I was somehow sure it was better for me. My parents said, “Do you think milk fat is good for you?” I kind of did but had no explanation.
Once I found real food it all finally made sense! Imagine that. No more dabbling in vegetarianism or low-fat or any of the other “popular” diets. And my family’s healthier than ever. I’ve even passed this info along to my father who is not entirely convinced (he still uses aspartame and eats packaged foods if they don’t have trans fats — I’m trying so hard to convince him to switch to Stevia and try making and freezing his own meals!). But, there’s progress.
So, ultimately…this doesn’t surprise me at all. 🙂 I STILL can’t wait to see how my new baby does, because it’s the first one where I had real food through my whole pregnancy. We’ll see!
Starr Covey-Skinner via Facebook
I had anemia when I was a meat eater, since I have chosen to be vegetarian I now do not have it.
sara r.
I was nearly vegetarian before I got pregnant. My health had been declining and I didn’t know why. My thyroid was low and despite rigorous exercise I continued to gain weight. My thyroid wacked out when she was 5 months old but recovered. I now eat a traditional foods diet and I am right at the weight I thought I should be with much less exercise. Good thing, because now I don’t have time for that amout of exercise. I didn’t eat meat because I didn’t like the texture ; now I mostly cook it on the rare side.