I'm not sure how to approach him with this, he's not mean or anything, but he does eat a lot of meat. I cook all the household meals. He is a kosher Jew, so I know he understand about not eating things for moral reasons, but he loves beef and chicken, shrimp, turkey...most everything animal.
What's a good way to approach him with the news? Does anyone have a similar situations, and if so, how do you live day to day with this issue?How to approach my husband about becoming a vegan???
Tell him that it is important to you and that you love him very much and want his support. Make sure you are knowledgeable and strong in your views.
If he gets antagonistic (not because he is a bad person, but because your new decision might make him feel looked down upon,) say that you will not get drawn into a debate. Reiterate that you love him and that your decision is important to you.
Also, make sure that you know tons of vegan and vegetarian resources, recipes and information. If he sees what he perceives as you *suffering* or lacking, he will take on a negative view quite quickly.
Because you are taking on a new lifestyle, and because you are usually the one cooking (boy am I going to get bashed for this one,) you should continue your chef role and cook his meat as well... at least for a while, and at least until it really starts to bother you.
Cook dishes you are used to making, but put the extra meat etc. into a separate dish. He can add it to his portion of the food. Also, begin incorporating new, vegan dishes. No one said that every meal needs meat. Don't announce or make a big deal, just make some vegan dishes.
Always make sure he knows that you are not judging him, that you love him and that is support is important to you.
Some good books to help with potential emotional issues are, ';Living Among the Meat Eaters'; and ';Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World.';How to approach my husband about becoming a vegan???
Thank you.
I hope all goes well.
:)
Report Abuse
buy the book ';Slaughterhouse'; and place it where he will see it.
If he loves these foods, I think pushing him to accept your ideas of food will create a problem. When you asked about a good way to approach him with the news, it sounds like you have made up your mind not to fix any of the meals he likes because of your preference in diet. I think may cause even a bigger problem.
This is one of the main problems with forcing a lifestyle on another. Just because they are a spouse does not mean they have to go along with you on this. I believe initially there may not be a tiff over this, but when he see you are serious about forcing him to eat your way, there will be a growing problem. May be some control issues here, I think.
Just be honest with him. Without judgment tell him that you are starting to move in this direction and why.
Let him know you will not put any undue pressure on him but admit your hopes that he might one day move in this direction with you.
All you need to do at this point is to simply ask him what he thinks about what you have conveyed.
The rest you will have to play by ear as you wait for time to unfold.
I'm sure your husband loves you and supports you so explain to him that this is important to you and you feel very strong about being a vegan. He will ask lots of questions so be ready for them. You can also get him to do some research to answer his own questions.
When it comes to meal times, and you are still ok with cooking meat for him, then make enough to freeze or get him to cook it himself on the weekends or when he has time and freeze it for later.
Wow, it's definitely quite different from a teenager telling their parents, huh? I suppose you could ease him into it. Start just randomly cooking veggie meals as a way of introducing the subject (not as a way to convert him). When he notices, say you're interested in changing your diet. And when you feel the time is right, explain it as best you can. That you're not judging him (cause lots of non-veggies feel threatened by this sort of thing). Give him your reasons, and I'm sure he'll respect them as you've respected his dietary wishes. I suppose it'll be a bit strange for him at first, but there's no reason you can't work through it with love and understanding.
My fiance isn't vegetarian or vegan, but I wouldn't say it's a wedge issue between us. Since dating me, he's learned to make the best vegan pancakes (so he can bring them to me in bed :-) ), and when we're dining out or traveling, he's the first one to make sure I'm happy with what I'm going to be having for dinner, jumping through hoops to make sure it's vegan.
Good luck. :-)
Watch with him some vegetarian education VCD or DVDs. Thanks!
Good luck on the conversion!
Be sure to get the lastest news from vegan.org:
Richmond, VA
According to vegan.org, fully 80% of all fruits and vegetables appearing in American grocery stores and markets are pollinated by CAPTIVE BEES. The philosophy of Veganism prohibits the ingestion or use of ANY product that is made from animal (including insects) flesh or is the result of animals being held captive in order to gather products at their expense.
Of course all meat products are Non-vegan. Products such as honey, milk and eggs are also considered non-vegan, and now in light of the widespread use of CAPTIVE BEES in all facets of fruit, vegetable and soy bean production, those products are now declared to be non-vegan.
The TRUE Vegan's diet may now consist of ONLY grains, rice(which do not use bee pollination) and water. No other fruit or vegetables will be allowed unless the grower is certified to be using wild bees exclusively in crop pollination.
I, like many moms, cooked more than one meal at a time to suit special needs and wants. Eat what you want and if he sees the good in it, he'll join you. Otherwise, cook him something else or have him cook for himself. Just doesn't sound like a problem. To each his own, right?
Tell him '; I am not going to eat dead animals anymore';
If that does not convince him, take him to a slaughter house.
First off... a little confused. He's kosher and he eats shrimp? but moving on...
Wow, I had almost the exact same experience. When I was a kid, around ten, I decided I didn't want to eat red meat anymore for moral reasons. I slowly eased into vegetarianism and in and out of vegan-ism. My family are also all Kosher Jews, so I knew the natural reaction to eating habits would be ';are you meshuggenah? eat some liver';. My dad was and still is a huge beef eater. I decided to tell my mom first. Explain why you want to be a vegan and how much it means to you. Also, make sure he knows what you can still eat (ie salads, grains, etc) so he feels in the loop. A big thing with my family is chicken.... all the time. Make sure he knows that it won't be an inconvience for him; you'll still cook the chicken, and if he brings home chicken soup for dinner that its no big deal if he slurps it down in front of you. Explain to him the rules of vegan-ism... 'cause that will remind him of the reasons why he's kosher, and he might empathize with your decision. Assure him that you'll have food in the house for you, and that he's welcome to try anything he likes. By telling my family my decision, my sister actually joined me in being a vegetarian, because she realized how good the food can still be! He'll adapt, trust me. Everything will work out just fine.
Good Luck!
(by the way... Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur Break Fast, Passover, make sure you bring stuff to the holidays feasts... or you'll starve! trust me... been there, done that :).
No comments:
Post a Comment