First I am an eggitarian. Second, I am not a parent. Yet, as I always say, I have been a child. I grew up with parents who encouraged me to try everything at least once. I always got to hear arguments why people ate or did not eat meat -not tasty, religious belief, medical, animal rights, whatever … Any time I pleased, I could eat what I want. except that no non-vegetarian food was cooked at home. And then I made my choices. I have grown up being vegetarian with an inordinate liking for eggs. The thing is I made my choice – no one forced it on me. If questions are asked, I have always answered them myself. I have asked my questions and got my answers from my peers.There is nothing to worry about if you let your children make informed choices. The worst that can happen is they make mistakes. They will learn. And be better people at the end of it.

I dread the day when he asks a friend “How can you kill and eat an animal?”

What if, he eats meat, and some day, someone asks him ,”How can you kill and eat an animal?” . Don’t you think it’s a similar situation? I think the best bet is to make him understand and maybe he’ll find his way himself.

I am not against non-vegetarians , but this reason for eating non-veg food does not seem justified enough.

Also, as a side note, people should once read http://www.vegan.org/about_veganism/animals.html

It makes for a good read, and might make you think if what you are doing is right or not.

When the debate between vegetarian and non-vegetarian comes up, first question that hits me is – “Who is a non-vegetarian?”

How can you say that only animals have life? What about the plants from where you get rice? What about the trees from where you pluck fruits? Do not they have life as well? The only difference is they can not make sounds like animals. So even if some eats only “vegetarian” food, I consider them to be non-vegetarian.

So shall someone stop eating anything? I am sure no one will say “Yes”.

Even in extreme cases (I have seen extreme cases in my childhood when a couple of Jain monks in our village have covered their mouths and noses so that they do not inhale or take up insects – they belonged to Shwetambar sects). But they also took food. So their argument of not killing insects or minuscule lively particles is fundamentally flawed.

I think it is best to leave that to the individuals. All parents can do is to show the lexical differences between a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian.

The bit about “Hindus not eating meat” was an error.