Written by Maaike Moulijn.
How it started
My mother became a vegetarian when she was 19. During an internship at a veal farm, she saw calves kept in crates. She saw how these animals were treated before they ended up at the butcher's. This made such an impression on her that she decided to stop eating meat from animals treated that way.
Some years later I was born. Of course I was raised as a vegetarian, although my father does eat meat (in this case: long live traditional role patterns).
Birthday parties
Until I was four or five, I wasn't aware of any difference in views or eating habits between me and my peers. I started noticing at birthday parties, where I was introduced to sausages and hot dogs. My mother then explained to us, in a way we could understand, why she didn't eat meat. She let me, my brothers and my sisters choose whether we wanted to follow her example.
As a result, I refused meat at birthday parties, while my sisters feasted on it. My classmates found it very strange. I was the only vegetarian they knew. But they never teased me about it. On the contrary, I made a lot of children think about their own eating habits.
A visit to a pig farm
When I was seven or eight, my mother took me to a pig farm. It sounds harsh, but it was very educational. I could see with my own eyes why she had stopped eating meat long ago.
That made such an impression on me that I could voice my own opinion better. I could explain from my own experience why I didn't want to eat meat. My classmates were interested in my stories, because they had never looked at their food in that light. Many of their parents were farmers, or came from farming families. Some children were absolutely against vegetarianism, whether influenced by their parents or not. But as long as my arguments were reasonable, they accepted my attitude toward meat. Some children followed my example, some more successfully than others.
Eating at friends' houses
When I ate at a friend's house or went on a school trip, I couldn't expect any sort of gourmet cooking. A boiled or fried egg with some cheese was all most parents could think of. Since soy burgers became available, it has become much easier for a meat-eating family to offer a vegetarian child an alternative.
School and university
When I was eleven or twelve, I gave a class presentation on vegetarianism. That is another way to make it a subject for discussion in the classroom. It also lets the child explain why they want to be a vegetarian.
In high school, vegetarianism was much better known and more normal. I had to explain less about what it means, or why I had chosen not to eat meat.
At university there are more discussions about vegetarianism. People are very open to arguments, but these arguments need to be clearer and better than in elementary school. There are also more vegetarians around me. That is partly because of all the disasters around BSE. It is also because people are more open to other views of life. And they can decide on their own eating habits, which you cannot say of children.
Cooking for others
Together with some other vegetarians, I started a cooking club (vegafoodgroup). About once a year we cook a huge vegetarian meal, which we call Holle Bolle Gijs, for twenty to thirty people. Most of them are not vegetarians. Everybody enjoys the meeting and the food. This way they all accept that the food is vegetarian!
You cannot force a child
My conclusion is that I have always had to explain my vegetarianism clearly, with good reasons. Later on, I also had to cook tasty meals. But my view was always accepted.
In my opinion, a child can only defend their own view when they are really convinced. That's why you have to make children understand why you have chosen a vegetarian lifestyle. Maybe give other reasons as well. Then leave it to the child whether they want to follow that choice. You cannot force a child to copy your lifestyle.
But when a child makes a conscious choice, which is the big difference with having red hair or being chubby, I can hardly imagine that other children won't accept that choice from a classmate or friend.
See also: Children and their perception of animals; Questions on animal rights answered for kids.
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