My 13 year old daughter is a vegetarian, while the rest of the family is not. Makes for interesting dinners. Often have pasta dishes with the meat on the side, so 3 of us that are carnivores can eat as we choose. Half & half pizzas are also convenient, and the rest of the time she will load up on carbs and veggies whilst we have our cutlets or burgers or whatever. There is a lot of ethnic/religious/cultural diversity in our area, so school lunches provide a fairly balanced diet for those that forgo meat.

She came to the decision mainly out of concern over animal cruelty. She's an animal lover and didn't really think it fair to raise an animal just to kill and eat it. So far there hasn't been any reaction to leather products, but that day will probably come.

We thought that this would be a phase, but she's been with it for about 18 months. Her doctor is aware of her diet and is keeping an eye on things, but so far nothing of any concern at all. We make sure she takes vitamin supplements and gets protein via peanut butter and other alternatives. I'm proud of her for taking it seriously, but on the other hand....I'm not fond of the cutback in red meat dinners.