Thanks again. I guess the thing would be to keep it simple then, and stick to the basic explanations and let the parent do the rest

rafwife: I do know that there are different kinds of farms etc., but I don't agree with the killing at the base of it, so I would not go with more ethical meat, milk, etc. But I truly appreciate the people who eat meat but make the effort to know that it's produced in the best possible conditions. Or even better, go for wild game, when possible!

You could always say something like, "I just don't like the way it tastes" if you want to avoid saying anything you think might offend the parents. It can be a touchy subject!

i dont think you should be telling other children really why you are vegan etc. your own child fine, tbh i dont think you'll come across another persons child questioning whats on your plate. i've never had a child say to me why are you eating cheese and tomato and not chicken sandwich. if they do question you then fine just say i eat this because i like this just the same as you like what you eat. dont get in too deep.

i'm a no fuss mum what i say goes end of... we can discuss things but i have the last say. i dont to amsey pansy around the dinner table we eat together and we enjoy our food its not there to be picked at i'm talking about toddlers here i dont let a 3 yr old tell me what they are or arent eating. fine if they really dont like it but i dont allow messing about at the table.
rosie at age 12 decided to be veggie i said fine to her shock lol it lasted two days, i only eat chicken and slices of beef. but i cook all kinds of food if i dont like it i just have everything else on my plate but that. i cook one meal in this house not 4.

Thats what happened to me 13 years I'm still going strong, and my Mum thought it was a phase

i was veggie from around 6ish i had to have it on my plate and my mum told me if i didnt eat meat then i had to eat every veg that was put in front of me think it pee'd them off as they are both good chefs lol.
i got dare'd at school to eat a turkey drummer lol made me heave

i only ate meat at 18 when preggers with rosie and i didnt want to offend my mil, i thought she'd gave me pork and it was chicken. since then i eat chicken and roast beef i might have the odd steak and ham sandwich but if there's a veggies alternative i'd rather have this.
children do what they want and at a certain age around 12ish imo they can make their own choise before that i'd have to chat about it first
x

I would want you to tell her. I wouldn't want you to go into like gory details about it or anything but I'd prefer if you were to say you just don't eat meat, and if she asked why, just say that some people don't treat animals very nicely and you don't agree with it. If she wanted to be veggie/vegan I wouldn't care. If you were the person to educate her on it, so be it.

I wouldn't want you to tell my LO the truth about why you don't eat meat.
Firstly I don't think a small child needs to hear about those sorts of things
Secondly, even though I don't really eat much meat, I would like her to at least try it out and give it a fair go, when she's older and can research it, or when she's older and I think she's mature enough to understand, I can tell her about things myself and explain to her and she can form her own reasonable opinion..

I agree with raf also, buying locally rather than buying from big companies makes a difference also in the way animals are treated.. and don't forget it supports local farmers 2 positives!

I want my children to grow up learning about different people's opinions and that we respect their choices even if they're not the same as ours. So I'd be fine with you telling my child your personal opinion - why you've chosen not to eat meat or animal products - if my kids are as curious as I was as a child, no doubt they'd then come to me to find out more.

I don't necessarily agree with not eating animal products - I stick to local produce when I can, so I know where it's come from - but I'd like my kids to learn that other people make different choices and it's good to learn that. If they decided to become a vegetarian or vegan, then I'd have no problem providing a diet to suit that - they'd either grow out of it eventually, or it'd be something they really believed in and wanted to do.

Thanks once more, everyone, it's been really interesting reading what you all think.

(Helen1234, I've actually have kids already ask me this twice! It has come up in situations where we have been eating at someone's place and I've had some different food than the meat eaters, or have said 'no' to meat or dairy being offered.)

I would say when you are a grown up you get to decide what you want to eat and I decided not to eat meat and dairy. I would leave it at that as its not a lie. I would not want you explaining to my kids as I feel its a matter of opinion and choice and I think to really understand all thats behind that choice you need to be an older child.