Philosophical Vegan Forum

Is there any way to be able to avoid it? The thing is I work in a restaurant as a cook and everything has meat and animal products there but I also like cooking and it's what I want to do as a job. I also like the taste of meat and the smell and in the past I was vegan for a while but starting to feel weaker and as far as I know I was getting enough protein and enough of really everything. Is it normal? I'm ready to go back to it again but I know I will go back to eating meat in the future again. What can I do?

You should look into mock meats. I live in a house with 5 other meat eaters. If I probably didn't live with them I would start to remove mock meat from my diet. I love products by Amy's, and Gardien. Beyond meat is also another good one.

If you're having cravings, mock meats are a great way to go to help satisfy them. Beyond meat is available pretty widely now.

What does your diet normally look like?

_Doc wrote:You should look into mock meats. I live in a house with 5 other meat eaters. If I probably didn't live with them I would start to remove mock meat from my diet. I love products by Amy's, and Gardien. Beyond meat is also another good one.

brimstoneSalad wrote:If you're having cravings, mock meats are a great way to go to help satisfy them. Beyond meat is available pretty widely now.

Okay thanks. I'll try have more mock meat and see if it work.

How long can you go without any animal product?

vegan81vzla wrote:How long can you go without any animal product?

The longest time I have been without animal products was 3 months

Cloppy wrote: The longest time I have been without animal products was 3 months

That's pretty good! I think you're closer than you think.

Worst case, even if you just had some meat four times a year, that would be almost a hundred times better than eating it every day. Just to keep in perspective how good of a job you're doing to make it three months between being overcome by a craving.

I think mock meats will help you a lot.

brimstoneSalad wrote:

Cloppy wrote: The longest time I have been without animal products was 3 months

That's pretty good! I think you're closer than you think.

Worst case, even if you just had some meat four times a year, that would be almost a hundred times better than eating it every day. Just to keep in perspective how good of a job you're doing to make it three months between being overcome by a craving.

I think mock meats will help you a lot.

Strongly agree, my mouth still waters occasionally when I smell or see meat. If it weren't for mock meats I probably would have eaten meat again. I'm even able to avoid the meat in my house but, you work with meat. Yet, I still have the same temptations.

Cloppy wrote:The longest time I have been without animal products was 3 months

Well, i don't know what to tell you. I do not "crave" meats or other animal products at all. I live with carnists so I smell and in some cases even help them prepare their animal containing meals, but I don't even find appealing to taste them. When offered I just reject them, and if for some reason I do taste some dairy or egg containing product, I find it too greassy, fatty, or not at all pleasant to my taste. I guess it all have to do with how you regard your veganism and your views on why one should exclude them from one's diet. Why do you try going vegan?

vegan81vzla wrote: Well, i don't know what to tell you. I do not "crave" meats or other animal products at all. [...] I guess it all have to do with how yoy regard veganism and your views on why one should exclude them from one's diet. Why do you try going vegan?

Some people don't have many cravings.
Unfortunately, if you lack cravings it makes it hard for you to empathize with others who do, and you come off as bragging or as condescending.

Vegans who have had cravings and overcome them have experienced important character-building, and gain the ability to empathize and be more effective activists and advocates.

It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the reasons somebody became vegan. People who are vegan primarily due to concerns for animal suffering, animal rights, or the environment have cravings just as easily as those who eat vegan for health reasons.
By the same token, it doesn't matter what your reasons are for quitting smoking, whether because of your health, saving money, or because your partner (or potential date) hates the smell, you're still probably going to have some cravings.