Interviewed.

I was recently contacted by a graduate student completing a course in ethnographic research who, in doing some exploration on the motivations for choosing vegetarianism, stumbled upon my blog.

Specifically, she read this post about how I actually became an ex-vegetarian. She sent me an email asking if I would be interested in participating in her study, and completing an interview about my motivations for becoming a vegetarian and later, my motivations for going back to eating meat.

Today, she contacted me and we conducted the interview via gmail chat. Because I thought it was interesting that because of this blog (and really, my entire reason for starting this blog in the first place), I was able to help a student complete their research, I'm posting the interview here!

sdmccray: Okay, first, what is your age, gender, and length of time that you were a vegetarian?

me: 23, female, vegetarian for 9 years

sdmccray: Tell me about a situation that motivated you to become a vegetarian.

me: i was in life management class my freshman year of high school and my teacher put on a video about slaughterhouses. the video was very graphic. sitting at the dinner table that night, after my parents served up the pork chops, i found myself entirely unable to eat my meat

i just kept looking at it and thinking of the video. that was the beginning.

sdmccray: On a scale of one to five, would you say that seeing the video had an extremely high impact (5); high impact (4); somewhat of an impact (3); very little impact (2) or no impact (1).
me: definitely 5, very high impact.

sdmccray: Tell me about a subject that made you think about becoming a vegetarian.
me: a subject?

sdmccray: Right, was there any subject that also influenced your motivation in addition to seeing the video?
me: i'm sorry, but like, what do you mean by subject? like a school subject? or a person?
sdmccray: A subject like health, the environment, religion, and so forth.
me: gotcha. definitely health, for sure. that was another major motivating factor. the environment was a minor influence. religion not so much

sdmccray: Okay, tell me if there was a situation where you encountered disapproval or animosity from family or friends because you were motivated to become a vegetarian.
me: well my family wasn't very supportive at first, being a very meat and potatoes - type of of family. my friends all thought it was pretty cool though.

sdmccray: Using the earlier scale, would you say the feelings of your family and friends had extremely high impact (5), high impact (4), somewhat of an impact (3), very little impact (2) or no impact (1).

me: eh, i'd say probably either 2 or 1, little to no impact.

sdmccray: Okay. Tell me how long it took for you to become a vegetarian, from the moment tht you started thinking about it, until the time that you actually became one, until the time that you no longer wanted to be one.

me: um, it was actually pretty much immediate. once i decided to be a vegetarian, i completely stopped eating meat. so probably a matter of seconds, really.
sdmccray: Did you ever reconsider becoming a vegetarian before you became one?

me: no, not really. my parents put up a bit of a fight but i wouldn't budge on the matter. i'm the kind of person that once i set my mind to something, i pretty much go with it, no holds barred

sdmccray: Can you elaborate a bit about why they put up a fight?

me: because they were worried about me getting enough protein and staying healthy and everything, plus it would be quite inconvenient for them, since they ate meat
sdmccray: Using the rating scale above, how much impact did it have on your motivation to become a vegetarian?
me: their disapproval?
sdmccray: Right
me: if anything it motivate me further, but really, ultimately, their approval or disapproval had no real effect on my decision. so again, probably a 1 or 2
sdmccray: Would you say closer to a 1 or a 2?
me: umm probably a 2
sdmccray: Tell me about any other issues that motivated you to remain a vegetarian before you decided to leave vegetarianism?
me: after i'd been a vegetarian for awhile i was concerned about what might happen if i tried eating meat again. i had heard horror stories about people trying a bite of meat and getting violently ill afterward, so that was a bit of a deterrent

sdmccray: How much did the thought of trying to eat meat again keep you motivated to remain a vegetarian? Kept me Extremely Motivated (5); Kept me Very Motivated (4), Kept me Somewhat Motivated (3), Kept me Less Motivated (2), Did not keep me motivated (1)

sdmccray: Are you there?
me: yes sorry, having to multitask a bit. umm i'd say the thought of eating meat again was a pretty big motivator, so a 4
sdmccray: Tell me about your experiences with other vegetarians, while you were a vegetarian (either online or face-to-face, doesn't matter).
me: i had a few friends who were also vegetarians, and my (now husband, then boyfriend) was also a vegetarian
sdmccray: Tell me about situations where you were welcomed by other vegetarians whose motivations for becoming a vegetarian were the same as yours.
me: nothing specific, just close friends of mine who went veggie for similar reasons. nothing outrageous, just them thinking it was cool that i went veggie too
sdmccray: Did having friends who supported your decision keep you extremely motivated (5); Very Motivated (4); Somewhat Motivated (3), Less Motivated (2), or Not Motivated (1)
me: it kept me somewhat motivated, so a 3 i guess

sdmccray: Great (almost done, BTW . Tell me about a situation where you encountered animosity or disapproval from vegetarians whose motivations were different than yours

me: ummm, i don't think i ever really encountered any animosity from other vegetarians. i've met some vegetarians or vegans that are pretty hardcore about it, but usually i'm able to figure them out ahead of time and avoid any confrontation. like i knew a guy in film school who had been a vegetarian his whole life, and i knew a couple who were hardcore vegans. i just never brought up anything that would cause a tiff among them. and actually, any vegetarians/vegans i have met are generally pretty respectful of one another, regardless of reasons for going veggie. i've never had a problem with it, really
sdmccray: Tell me what tips you off that they are hardcore. And how would you define 'hardcore'?

me: umm well by hardcore i mean they were like, really super into being vegan and would avoid ANYTHING made from animals. not just food. like, they'd buy vegan clothes, shoes, etc too/ usually i wasn't tipped off to them so much as just finding out in casual conversation
sdmccray: What would they say that would give you the impression that they were hardcore? (was it something they said or their attitude about it)?
me: ummm usually it was just their attitude about being vegans or vegeatarians. like, how whenever it would come up or be challenged, they could get pretty defensive

sdmccray: In terms of your motivation to remain vegetarian at the time, how much did meeting hardcore vegans and vegetarians affect you? Were you extremely affected (5); very affected (4); somewhat affected (3); less affected (2); or not affected (1)
me: ummm i'd say i was somewhat affected, 3
sdmccray: Tell me about a situation where you doubted your motivation to remain a vegetarian after you became one.
me: ummmmmmmmm, every now and then i would have my doubts when i'd be at a restaurant or over at a friends' or family members' house and would have to inconvenience other people due to my special dietary needs. i always felt bad when people would have to make special dishes for just me or when we wouldn't be able to go to certain places to eat because of a lack of vegetarian options

sdmccray: How much did these doubts affect your motivation to remain vegetarian? Were you extremely affected (5), very affected (4), somewhat affected (3), less affected (2), or not affected (1)
me: as in, positively or negatively affected my motivation?
sdmccray: Right
me: i'd say only somewhat affected it, 3
sdmccray: Tell me when you stopped being a vegetarian. Did you ever go back before you stopped completely?
me: ummmmm no, once again, once i make a decision i pretty much don't go back on it. once i decided to eat meat, i didn't suddenly decide to go back to being a vegetarian. at that point, i really couldn't. i mean, i could have, but i'd taken a lot of time and effort to consider the decision before actually going ahead and doing it. so no, i didn't go back to being a vegetarian once i decided to stop.
sdmccray: Tell me what you thought about when making your decision.
me: i thought about a lot of factors. i thought about my overall health, and how i'd been getting sick a lot for the last few years. i thought about how i want to start a family soon, and i'll need to be at my healthiest for that and how i don't want to raise my children vegetarians, which would make my staying one very difficult. i thought about how it's difficult to get healthy vegetarian options when eating out. lots of factors, really
sdmccray: Was your husband still a vegetarian at the time you made your decision?
me: no, he hadn't been a vegetarian for awhile.

sdmccray: How much did his decision influence yours? Extremely High Influence (5); High influence (4); somewhat of an influence (3); very little influence (2); no influence (1)
me: his decision really had very little influence on me, so 2

sdmccray: Okay, last question: I want you to think about before you became a vegetarian, and after you stopped being a vegetarian. How much did health, morality, religion, economy, aesthetics (how meat looked), and environment influence your motivation, either positively or negatively. Please grade each area using the following scale: Made me Extremely Motivated (5); Made me Motivated (4); Made Me Somewhat Motivated (3); Made Me a Little Motivated (2); Did not Motivate me at all (1)

Grade Before then After.
me: hmm alright..
sdmccray: Let me know if it sounds confusing, and I'll try to be clearer!
me: it is a bit. ok
sdmccray: Lets do before, first
me: so you mean how those factors first influenced my becoming a vegetarian? and then later influenced me going back to meat?
sdmccray: Right, you got it!
me: alright...

me: so, i think this is close, anyway... before: health 5, morality 5, religion 1, economy 1, aesthetics 3, environment 4. after: health 5, morality 3, religion 3, economy 2, aesthetics 1, environment 3

sdmccray: Perfect! Thank you SO SO much for taking the time to complete the interview! Do you have any questions for me?
me: not a problem!! nope, don't think so!
sdmccray: Okay, well thanks again, and enjoy the rest of your day!
me: you too! thanks

That's it! Sorry it was so long. I don't think I realized quite how long it was until posting it here. In any case, it was fun and interesting, and it was nice to have been able to help someone else out due to this little blog's existence.

Funny - this is the second time my blog has been stumbled upon by someone looking into ex-vegetarianism. The first time, a few months ago, a woman contacted me because she had been a vegetarian for like, 20 years of her life or something, and was considering going back to eating meat. She had read all of my blog entries about becoming an ex-vegetarian, so she emailed me and I was able to talk to her and give her my perspective on things, and ultimately really help her out. She's been able to ease her way back into a meat-eating lifestyle, and it's just really cool that I could help with that.

Maybe this whole blogging thing isn't so pointless after all... :)