Every family is different. Some are vegan, some eat meat, some are vegetarian, and some have a mix of people who are vegan and people who aren’t. If your family isn’t vegan but you would like to be, you should have a conversation with your loved ones about where to start. We’ve put together a short guide that can help you talk to adults about eating more vegan meals in your home!

Explain Why

If your family members aren’t already vegan, odds are that they might not know about the cruelty involved in using animals for food.

You can tell them that you want to go vegan because you don’t want to support the industries that cause a lifetime of suffering for animals who are then killed just so that humans can eat them.

Here are a few articles that you can read together that will help you explain why you don’t want to eat animals:

• Why I Don’t Want to Eat Eggs
• How Eating Dairy Products Hurts Cows
• Why Pigs Are Too Cool to Eat

Eating Vegan Is Delicious

Tell your family that anything that you already eat can easily be veganized. With just a few simple substitutions, you won’t have to give up any of your favorite meals. Plus, a lot of the foods that you all already love are naturally vegan, including fruits, veggies, rice, and most pasta.

It’s Nutritious

The way a lot of families eat nowadays makes them really unhealthy. Being overweight during childhood is a huge issue that can cause lots of health problems. But ditching meat, eggs, and dairy products and eating vegan foods instead can make you healthier! Vegan meals provide you with all the protein that you need as well as vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to help you grow up big and strong. You’ll also avoid all the unhealthy fat and cholesterol that are in animal-based foods when you go vegan.

It’s Easy

Tell your parents that you’d like to go to the store with them and pick out some foods that you want to make, either for the whole family or just for yourself.

Learning to read food labels to make sure that products are vegan is easy. Just don’t buy anything that contains milk, eggs, meat, or gelatin. You and your parents will be able to pick out vegan foods in no time.

It’s a Way to Show Responsibility

Tell your family that you’re willing to help out with preparing meals. This will make it easier for your loved ones at mealtimes, and they’ll know that you’re serious about your vegan choices. Especially if you’re going to be eating something different than the rest of the family, helping prepare your own meals shows responsibility and maturity.

It’s OK to Start Slow

If you think going vegan all at once might be difficult for your family, it’s OK to make the transition slowly. Sometimes, it can be easier to cut things out one at a time. You could start by ditching meat and eating beans or vegan meat instead. Next, you could stop eating eggs—and then finally remove dairy products. For example, you could substitute tofu scramble for eggs one week and then buy almond milk instead of cow’s milk the next.

Going vegan can be a big change for your family, but the more delicious vegan food you make to share, the more everyone will get on board. When just one person goes vegan, he or she can spare the lives of more than 100 animals a year. Imagine how much of a difference you’ll make if your entire family goes vegan! The more your loved ones learn from you, the more likely they are to understand that you’re standing up for something you believe in—and to support your decision. 🙂

If you have any questions about talking to your family or need advice, you can e-mail us at [email protected], and we’ll be glad to help you out!