US My mom forces me to eat meat-Pls Advise!

Vegan diets can be some of the healthiest diets, by the way. So improving your own health is one good reason to move toward veganism.

Here is some information on that:


 
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Maybe 🤔 if you could sit down and work out a compromise with your mum .
You will eat the Sunday chicken soup for three months (or whatever) and if you still fell the same as you do you can eat your own vegan soup.
Your mum probably thinks it’s just a fad you are going through.
 
Maybe 🤔 if you could sit down and work out a compromise with your mum .
You will eat the Sunday chicken soup for three months (or whatever) and if you still fell the same as you do you can eat your own vegan soup.
Your mum probably thinks it’s just a fad you are going through.

Totally agree about the compromise. I think the problem here is that the mum is worried that she is 'losing' control of her child and it
has nothing to do with veganism.
 
I think that recommending the child accuse his parents of child abuse is extremely dangerous. It might permanently damage his relationship with his family.

If it is only the once week chicken soup; he should eat it until he is out of the house. Nothing is worth damaging a relationship with an otherwise loving family.

My recommendation is to eat as little meat as possible at home, or in school. It is, probably, very difficult to do this in many countries. Menus in Polish restaurants, and buffets, in Chicago have entire plates filled with meat and a small serving of potato.

I, also, understand the misunderstanding about meat. I have been invited places for dinner, and was served chicken because "it wasn't meat".
 
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I looked and saw Loveletter, the original poster, lives in Croatia. So things are likely very different, with not just as much information, such as about vegan living, or a very healthy way with that which is better for health and well-being than other ways of living. Having this information and sharing it would be an advantage. I don't how everything is there, but here where I am saying to someone else about one's self being force-fed is not the same as making an accusation of abuse, but just saying what really happens, that someone else may determine is abuse.
 
I don't think you understood my comment. I obviously know that chicken is meat. But I'm being forced to eat it , that's the issue
I'm glad your account here was fixed!

Now, to help you with the problem you have with your mother: Parents sometimes worry about their sons' and daughters' eating habits- but this is a new one for me, even though I've been vegetarian since 1972. She is worried that you're not getting enough fluids?! I've never heard that this is an issue for vegetarians, any more than for people who eat meat and everything else. She also doesn't try to make you eat other meat- only this soup.

I'll try to think of an approach you could use to convince her. Has she explained why she thinks you're not getting enough fluids in your diet? Soup is often rather salty, although I don't know your Mom's recipe for Sunday Chicken Soup. It's true that chicken soup has a reputation for being almost like medicine in some places...
 
I'm glad your account here was fixed!

Now, to help you with the problem you have with your mother: Parents sometimes worry about their sons' and daughters' eating habits- but this is a new one for me, even though I've been vegetarian since 1972. She is worried that you're not getting enough fluids?! I've never heard that this is an issue for vegetarians, any more than for people who eat meat and everything else. She also doesn't try to make you eat other meat- only this soup.

I'll try to think of an approach you could use to convince her. Has she explained why she thinks you're not getting enough fluids in your diet? Soup is often rather salty, although I don't know your Mom's recipe for Sunday Chicken Soup. It's true that chicken soup has a reputation for being almost like medicine in some places...
My mother often claims that soup is healthy and that my insides will dry up. I'm not very sure if that is even true.
 
Since soup seams to be a primary concern of your Mother's, what if you ask to cook for a Sunday dinner, and come up with an awesome minestrone and crusty peasant bread? Watch enough YouTube vegan cooking videos, and you'll be a plant based chef before you know it!
 
My mother often claims that soup is healthy and that my insides will dry up. I'm not very sure if that is even true.
I've never heard any nutritionist or any other credible source claim that soup of any kind is required for good health. If anyone else knows of one I'd like to hear about it.

And there seem to be a lot of sources of nutritional information that seem to suggest chicken is unhealthy:





 
I think we need to be careful about suggesting going to the authorities because it´s not clear if your liberal American/Western values are the same in other countries. It may not work and just damage the relationship with your mother. I am not saying you shouldn´t go to the authorities either, only that it´s hard for us to judge that at this point.
Yep. Where I am from excessive violence is normal, especially in families.
It is against the law, but it is accepted by society so reporting is meaningless.
Plus if your survival depends on your parents, having the government remove you from them
& put you in a homeless shelter for kids, your survival chances drastically decrease.
 
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Here is my advice.
Do not eat the soup.
She can not force you, lest she tries something brutal.

Hunger, the feeling of it, is actually healthy.
Because it activates certain, important systems that are otherwise dormant.


So, just eat anything else when available that has no animal products, when such foods are available.
You have a potato & a bucket of water? Wash it, put it in there, and cook it.
That is completely edible. You can also eat raw vegetables, fruits, etc.
Be stubborn. They are stubborn too, but you have better reasoning behind it. Theirs is just tradition & unreasonable habits. Yours is preventing murder & torture, moreover, just excluding animal products from your diet, even if it is not a particularly healthy diet, is still healthier.

I have been in a similar situation. My parents eventually gave up on trying to force me.
If you need some template on which foods your body needs, or ideas, try an app called 'Daily Dozen', assuming you own a touch-screen phone.
 
I went vegan a couple of months ago because of ethical and environmental reasons. Everything is going great and I do not see any problems in my everyday life because of it. Well except for one.
My mom doesn't force me to eat meat luckily, however she forces me to eat chicken soup, she claims that I'm not eating enough liquid foods, and as long as I'm in her house I have to eat whatever she asks of me. We eat soup every Sunday and it's unavoidable. I've tried every trick in the book at this point. I tried explaining why I'm vegan, my mom didn't listen to me, I tried introducing her into veganism even going as far as to show her a full documentary, she claimed it was all just "lies". So with her not respecting my choices of being vegan at all, I tried different tactics. I poured soup back into the pot when no one was looking, when someone was looking and there was no way to pour it into the pot, I just refused to eat it, that didn't work very well, my mom yelled at me, slapped me and force fed me. What should I do?? I tried everything?? Should I just eat and put up with it until I leave the house?? I feel so guilty eating the soup, I even cried when was forced to eat it. I feel like such a evil person, even though it wasn't in my control. I need help!!
Well call a lawyer be the representative of god that said not to kill not to lie and to respect not stealing other people time life is yours and veganism is the solution with the blue sky and the fresh air and the sun that give energies to the plants
 
I went vegan a couple of months ago because of ethical and environmental reasons. Everything is going great and I do not see any problems in my everyday life because of it. Well except for one.
My mom doesn't force me to eat meat luckily, however she forces me to eat chicken soup, she claims that I'm not eating enough liquid foods, and as long as I'm in her house I have to eat whatever she asks of me. We eat soup every Sunday and it's unavoidable. I've tried every trick in the book at this point. I tried explaining why I'm vegan, my mom didn't listen to me, I tried introducing her into veganism even going as far as to show her a full documentary, she claimed it was all just "lies". So with her not respecting my choices of being vegan at all, I tried different tactics. I poured soup back into the pot when no one was looking, when someone was looking and there was no way to pour it into the pot, I just refused to eat it, that didn't work very well, my mom yelled at me, slapped me and force fed me. What should I do?? I tried everything?? Should I just eat and put up with it until I leave the house?? I feel so guilty eating the soup, I even cried when was forced to eat it. I feel like such a evil person, even though it wasn't in my control. I need help!!
I agree that this is worrying. In my opinion, morally speaking, it is abuse. Depending on your local/national laws, it could be legally abuse as well. Even if force-feeding your child (or adult child) isn’t illegal per say, the way that she is doing it (for instance, smacking you if you don’t eat it), could be considered illegal abuse.
If you are legally a minor, you could report this to child protection services or your local/national equivalent.
Whether or not you are a minor, you could also try reporting this to the police.
For the mother,
I know I probably won’t be your best friend for a while, given what I have just advised your child to do, but please listen to me, and to your child, for their sake and for the sake of the animals and the planet.
It is your child’s right to make the ethical choice to be vegan, whether they live in your house or not. Whether they live in your house or not, they are a human being with their own rights.
Speaking of rights, the animals also have those, morally speaking.
Your child can be perfectly healthy and happy without meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, etc. They can be perfectly healthy and happy living vegan. In fact, being vegan, and following a healthy diet, is associated with many health benefits. Your child can get all the protein, calcium and iron they need as a vegan.
Would you like to be force-fed? What makes you think you have the right to do that to anyone else?
Thanks.
 
My take.
You are 14. And in the end are the responsibility of your parents until you are 18.
I would eat the soup. It won't kill you. It's better to have a good relationship with your parents.
When you manage to leave home, or get a job, or both, you can buy and cook your own meals. By this time, assuming you have a good relationship with your parents, then you may even be able to convince them of why you are vegan.

Remember, being vegan has a "practicability" clause. As a young teenager it isn't practical to get on the wrong side of "old fashioned" parents. It will only cause anguish on both your behalves...
 
Is there no way of buying some tinned or packet soup for Sunday (if you can afford it), It only takes a few minutes on the hob or in a microwave (if you have one).

Soup is so easy. She may be open to teaching you how to make soup (if you are interested). It would be a good skill to learn.

If she is not against you not eating meat it's difficult to understand why you are not allowed to make a quick and easy soup for yourself which literally takes minutes (if not making from scratch of course)

It sounds like a horrible situation but I think g0rph is right about having a good relationship with your parents, although it would essentially be one sided based on the experience you are having.

Having said that - personally I would starve.

Congratulations on waking up to the animal abuse though.:heart:
 
(Original commenter here, got locked out of my account) I'm not very good at cooking, and yet again my mom doesn't trust me with preparing/cooking food, even the planest and sumplest dishes . I will try to research some vegan soup ideas , maybe there is one I could make, thank you!
Lentil?