I went vegetarian at six years old. I announced that I would no longer eat my friends. Luckily, my mom accepted my decision and even became a vegetarian herself! My nephew decided to go veg at eight years old.

Most children are understandably horrified when they realize meat is dead animals, particularly when the children have been exposed to friendly animals like pets or gentle farm animals.

Most children are then socialized into believing lies about meat and animals. Children are told that they must eat meat in order to survive, they are told animals can’t feel pain, they are told that God wants them to eat meat or that it’s impolite to refuse to eat meat…

But some children ignore the lies and some children are told the truth. Some children go veg.

Countless children and teens go vegetarian simply after putting two plus two together: meat = murder. Or they do it during a period or self discovery, realizing they’re more ethical than their meat-eating habits. In fact, the Vegan Profile from Imaner reports:

“78% of vegans went vegan between the ages of 16 and 34, with 52% between the ages of 16 and 24. The average (mean) age for turning vegan is 24.1, although the most frequent ages are 19, 20 and 21.”

College campuses are ripe with recent vegans. And many people go veg far earlier than college.

Here are a few more stories of children giving up meat:

“I was raised in a carnivorous family. When I was a senior in high school we moved to a farm that had cows, chickens, pigs, horses, and rabbits. I stopped eating chicken when the family slaughtered 100 ‘old’ egg laying hens in one day.” says Deb at the Joyful Vegan, a collection of vegan stories.

Another story from Joyful Vegan begins like this:

“I tried to turn vegetarian when I was 12 but was confronted with mum trying to sneak ham into my sandwiches and so many comments of ‘it’s just a phase’. Having been unable to stand up for myself most of my life, I just conformed, it was the easy option.”

Jill writes that she did eventually go veg when she learned to stick up for herself and met a supportive vegetarian.

Laurel wrote:

“It was at the age of 12 that I first came to realize that chicken-the-animal and chicken-the-food were one and the same. For some reason, up to that point I had never made the connection that my Happy Meals came from a not-so-happy place. I can’t remember quite how I grasped this idea, but once I did, it became harder and harder for me to continue to eat what was once I living, breathing being.”

Jessica converted after watching Babe:

“The movie, starring James Cromwell and one pink piggy, Babe, was an awakening. Like the Buddha reaching enlightenment or the apple that had fallen on the head of Thomas Edison, I knew then that for me, my life was about to change. Though only eight years old, I’d decided never again to eat another animal. I looked at my food in a new way, and realized that pork, for example, was not merely a food product, but was once a living, sentient being. I reasoned that animals, like humans, can feel sadness, happiness and pain. From this broad comparison, the line dividing humans and animals is diminished.”

Laura at SuperVegan went vegan early:

“Laura went vegan at age thirteen and occasionally forgets that the rest of the world hasn’t caught up yet.”

Isa of the Post Punk Kitchen went vegan at 16:

“At the age of 16, Moskowitz, a born-and-bred Brooklynite eschewed her meat-and-potatoes upbringing and embarked on a vegan punk rock journey that would morph into a public access television cooking show and ultimately, into a successful career as a cookbook author.”

More stories of kids and teens going veg can be found here >>

Other vegetarians who converted as adults have looked back on their childhood:

“I grew up on a farm where pigs were slaughtered once a year, usually around my birthday. I remember burying my head with pillows so I wouldn’t hear the screams,” wrote Wendy.

“I was raised in a meat-eating household, and vegetarians were viewed as an exotic myth to scare children away from their steaks. I did not come across the word “vegan” until I was an adult. While I do not remember the exact moment, I am sure that I just decided at the age of 20 or so that eating flesh caused needless suffering to beings with central nervous systems capable of experiencing pain and fear,” wrote Pete.

“When I was 11 I went to a friend’s house for dinner. They were preparing lobster, which I had never had before. I watched in horror as my friend’s father put a live lobster into a huge pot of boiling water,” wrote Linda.

I think it’s natural for children to go veg. Kids are smart.

(Crossposted at ElaineVigneault.com)

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