I've been a vegetarian for a bit over a decade. (Ovo-lacto, not pescatarian, so I'll eat dairy and eggs but not fish) insects are undecided, but I try to avoi

I've been a vegetarian for a bit over a decade. (Ovo-lacto, not pescatarian, so I'll eat dairy and eggs but not fish) insects are undecided, but I try to avoid foods that would force a decision (good bye, junior mints). I try to pay attention to labels, but when eating out will often go for the basics. (If they offer a veggie burger, I won't try to find out if the cheese used animal-rennet, and I'm sure there has been lots of sugar bleached with animal bones) I think I'm a decent example as I loved the taste of meats and wasn't (and still am not) into many veggies outside of basic staples. A kale and quinoa sandwich with sprouts and bell peppers with fresh tomato sounds like a wonderful thing...for some other than me to eat. My family has lots of fishermen and hunters, so meat was an unquestioned norm while growing up. For me the cause was empathy...if I couldn't kill the animal because of emotions, why is it okay to make others do it? The various other logics of sustainability didn't hurt, but that was the deciding issue. I think that will resonate with people in the future who do switch, but I dont think it will particularly convince anyone TO switch. I tried cold-turkey (awkward word choice) but found I was seeing stars constantly after a few months. (My guess is that my college go-to's of ramen and mac and cheese weren't a full nutritional load) After that I returned to meat eating, but I had lost the taste for red meat - it now just tasted oily and gross. After a few years I noticed that my tastes had slightly expanded (salad bars were still full of things I disliked, but lettuce itself was now okay). I started dropping a meat category each year (pork, turkey, chicken, seafood) to allow me time to find the right substitutes. I completed the list 10+ years ago and I've not had particular troubles, though I use a lot of meat substitutes while cooking. Eating out and shopping have become easier over time, but only gradually - finding a vegetarian meal that doesn't assume you want ALL THE VEGETABLES is hard at the average place, and people dont all define vegetarian the same way (Indians seem to share my norm, but Chinese and Japanese use oyster and fish sauces in the "vegetarian" foods all the time, Thai is a toss up on that, plus it is hard to know if their curry paste is shrimp based, and Americans often seem to think every vegetarian eats fish, particularly in some regions. Plus the US south uses pork as a seasoning - a good portion of the vegetable sides menu at, say, Cracker Barrel is non vegetarian. So while I think vegetarian will become the norm...I dont think it is on the cusp of being the norm. Plus vat-grown meat could totally change the equation, though it still has a long way to go. For now though, the gradual increase I've seen since the 80s has continued, and meat eaters vilify it less often because more of us are vegetarian WITHOUT trying to shame/blame other people for their choices/scenarios.