History Main / VegetarianForADay

* Catholics, Anglicans, and Methodists are expected to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent as a commemoration of Jesus' crucifixion on that day.

* [[https://www.thecut.com/2014/12/84-percent-of-vegetarians-go-back-to-eating-meat.html Studies]] show that this is TruthInTelevision more often than not. Approximately 84% of vegans and vegetarians eventually return to eating meat, at least on a semi-regular basis.

* Catholics, Anglicans, and Methodists are to abstain meat on Fridays as a commemoration of Jesus' crucifixion on that day.

* [[https://www.thecut.com/2014/12/84-percent-of-vegetarians-go-back-to-eating-meat.html Studies]] show that this is TruthInTelevision more often than not. Approximately 84% of vegans and vegetarians will eventually return to eating meat, at least on a semi-regular basis.

There are several common reasons that lead to a character deciding to do so. The characters might have learned how meat is produced and became so [[{{squick}} disgusted]] that they decided to abstain from meat for good. It might have been done for health reasons, in which case this might overlap with a DietEpisode.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}''. In the fifth episode, "The Meat of the Matter," Sharon decides to become a vegetarian after seeing the unsavory conditions of her new job at a meatpacking-plant. Sharon ultimately stays a vegetarian for the rest of the series, but almost gave it up in the second-to-last episode, "Vegging Out," after she develops an iron-deficiency anemia and a couple of her friends suggest that Sharon should start eating meat again to boost her iron levels. However, vegetarianism is too important to Sharon for her to give it up, so she decides to stay a vegetarian while looking for ways to put more iron in her diet.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode, "Sue Ellen Vegges Out", Sue Ellen becomes a vegetarian (and has remained that way ever since). When she announces her decision to her friends, Sue Ellen explains that she has actually thought about going vegetarian for a while, so it's wasn’t a sudden decision of hers--in the episode's intro, it's shown that what ultimately pushed Sue Ellen into finally going full vegetarian was befriending a female pig named Sally. In the same episode, Muffy and Francine get into a competition about who can last longer as a vegetarian: Muffy tries going vegetarian because a celebrity she likes becomes a vegetarian, then she goes back to eating meat when the celebrity adopts a bologna-diet. Francine then decides to become a vegetarian just to show up Muffy, but Muffy does her best to sabotage Francine. Sue Ellen soon gets fed up with her friends' behavior and explains that the main reason she decided to become a vegetarian was that she considers animals her friends, so she just naturally lost her taste for eating them. In the end, Francine and Muffy decide that vegetarianism just isn't for them and apologize to Sue Ellen for how they acted, and they both promise to be supportive of her decision to be a vegetarian; they even help make more vegetarian options and “Meatless Mondays” in their school's cafeteria.

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* This occurs in the ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' episode "I Brake for Dick", when hitting a chipmunk with his car inspires Dick to engage in various AnimalWrongsGroup antics, including forcing the whole family to follow a vegan lifestyle. In the end, the chipmunk, after being nursed back to health, is released into the wild, only to immediately become prey for a peregrine falcon. Realizing that NatureIsNotNice, Dick gives up the vegan lifestyle.

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* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode, "Sue Ellen Vegges Out", Sue Ellen becomes a vegetarian (and has remained that way ever since). When she announces her decision to her friends, Sue Ellen explains that she has actually thought about going vegetarian for a while, so it's wasn’t a sudden decision of hers--in the episode's intro, it's shown that what ultimately pushed Sue Ellen into finally going full vegetarian was befriending a female pig named Sally. In the same episode, Muffy and Francine get into a competition about who can last longer as a vegetarian: Muffy tries going vegetarian because a celebrity she likes becomes a vegetarian, then she goes back to eating meat when the celebrity adopts a bologna-diet. Francine then decides to become a vegetarian just to show up Muffy, but Muffy does her best to sabotage Francine. Sue Ellen soon gets fed up with her friends' behavior and explains that the main reason she decided to become a vegetarian was because she considers animals her friends, so she just naturally lost her taste for eating them. In the end, Francine and Muffy decide that vegetarianism just isn't for them and apologize to Sue Ellen for how they acted and they both promise to be supportive of her decision to be a vegetarian; they even help make more vegetarian options and “Meatless Mondays” in their school's cafeteria.

** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E18AStarIsTorn A Star Is Torn]]", when the Simpsons weren't able to go dinner shopping at the Kwik-E-Mart, Lisa sees the Spucklers' produce stand next door, she suggests that the family has an organic vegetarian meal for dinner. The family enjoys the meal at first, with Homer declaring that he doesn't miss meat at all. However, since the family (minus Lisa) is so used to eating processed foods, everyone (except for Lisa) comes down with [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident a really bad case of food poisoning.]] The morning after, the family's feeling better and are through with vegetables. Notably, Lisa doesn't mind their decision, being relieved that they're at least recovering.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. At one point Sokka gets stuck in a hole chasing a baby [[MixAndMatchCritters moose-lion cub]]. He pleads with the universe, promising to never eat meat or be sarcastic ever again, if it will just let him out. Of course, once his friends rescue him, he immediately decides to do no such thing.

* "Meatless Monday" is a variation in which a usually omnivorous person goes without meat on every Monday (though it doesn't have to be specifically on a Monday) to cut down on their meat consumption.
* [[https://www.thecut.com/2014/12/84-percent-of-vegetarians-go-back-to-eating-meat.html Studies]] show that this is TruthInTelevision more often than not. Approximately 84% of vegans and vegetarians will eventually return to eating meat, at least on a semi-regular basis.

* Bobby from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' once temporarily became vegetarian in order to impress a girl. He later runs into her at a steakhouse after they broke up and participated in a steak-eating contest (and won) just to spite her.

* Studies show that this is TruthInTelevision more often than not; around 85% of vegans and vegetarians will eventually return to eating meat, at least on a semi-regular basis.

* "Meatless Monday" is a variation in which a usually omnivorous person goes without meat on every Monday (though it doesn't have to be specifically on a Monday) to cut down on their meat consumption.

* Bobby from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' once temporarily became vegetarian in order to impress a girl.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}''. In the fifth episode, "The Meat of the Matter," Sharon decides to become a vegetarian after seeing the unsavory conditions of her new job at a meatpacking-plant. Sharon ultimately stays a vegetarian for the rest of the series, but almost gave it up in the second-to-last episode, "Vegging Out," after she develops an iron-deficiency anemia and a couple of suggest that Sharon should start eating meat again. However, vegetarianism is too important to Sharon for her to give it up, so she decides to stay a vegetarian while looking for ways to put more iron in her diet.

* Bobby from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' once temporarily became vegetarian in order to impress a girl.

** Subverted in the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E5LisaTheVegetarian Lisa the Vegetarian]]'" episode. Despite her young age and her parents trying to stop her, Lisa ''stays'' vegetarian and has consistently been depicted as such since. The reason why Lisa remains a vegetarian after that episode is because Music/PaulMcCartney makes a special guest appearance in that episode, and the only way to get him to do so was to keep Lisa a vegetarian.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode, "Sue Ellen Vegges Out", Sue Ellen becomes a vegetarian (and has remained that way ever since). Sue Ellen explains to her friends that she had actually thought about going vegetarian for a while, so it's not like it was sudden decision of hers--in the episode's intro, it's shown that what ultimately pushed Sue Ellen into finally going full vegetarian was befriending a female pig named Sally. In the episode, Muffy and Francine get into a competition about who can last longer as a vegetarian: Muffy tries going vegetarian because a celebrity she likes becomes a vegetarian (though she goes back to eating meat when the celebrity adopts a bologna-diet) while Francine decides to become a vegetarian to beat Muffy at her own game, but Muffy does her best to sabotage Francine. Sue Ellen soon gets fed up with her friends' behavior and explains that the main reason she decided to become a vegetarian was because she considers animals her friends, so she just lost her taste for eating them. In the end, Francine and Muffy decide that vegetarianism just isn't for them and apologize to Sue Ellen for how they acted--they both promise to be supportive of her decision to be a vegetarian, even helping to make more vegetarian options in their school's cafeteria and even implement "Meatless Mondays" each week.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}''. In the fifth episode, "The Meat of the Matter," Sharon decides to become a vegetarian after seeing the unsavory conditions of her new job at a meatpacking-plant. Sharon does stay vegetarian for the rest of the series, but in the series' second-to-last episode, "Vegging Out," Sharon develops an iron-deficiency anemia and a couple of people suggest that she should start eating meat again (ultimately giving up her vegetarian diet). However, vegetarianism is too important to Sharon for her to give it up, so she decides to stay a vegetarian while looking for ways to put more iron in her diet.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode, "Sue Ellen Vegges Out", Sue Ellen becomes a vegetarian (and has remained that way ever since). Sue Ellen explains to her friends that she had actually thought about going vegetarian for a while, so it's not like it was sudden decision of hers--in the episode's intro, it's shown that what ultimately pushed Sue Ellen into finally going full vegetarian was befriending a female pig named Sally. In the episode, Muffy and Francine get into a competition about who can last longer as a vegetarian: Muffy tries going vegetarian because a celebrity she likes becomes a vegetarian (though she goes back to eating meat when the celebrity adopts a bologna-diet) while Francine decides to become a vegetarian to beat Muffy at her own game, but Muffy does her best to sabotage Francine. Sue Ellen soon gets fed up with her friends' behavior and explains that the main reason she decided to become a vegetarian was because she considers animals her friends, so she just lost her taste for eating them. In the end, Francine and Muffy decide that vegetarianism just isn't for them and apologize to Sue Ellen for how they acted--they both promise to be supportive of her decision to be a vegetarian, even helping to make more vegetarian options in their school school cafeteria and even implement "Meatless Mondays" each week.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}''. In the fifth episode, "The Meat of the Matter," Sharon decides to become a vegetarian after seeing the unsavory conditions of her new job at a meatpacking-plant. Sharon stays a vegetarian until the second-to-last episode, "Vegging Out," where Sharon develops anemia (specifically iron-deficiency anemia) and is informed that the best way for her to overcome it is to stop her vegetarian and learn to start eating meat again.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}''. In an early episode Sharon goes vegetarian, after learning about the conditions in her job at a meat plant, and stays that way. In the second-to-last episode she learns she developed anemia due to her diet and is told to stop it.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode, "Sue Ellen Vegges Out", while Sue Ellen becomes a vegetarian out of respect for a pig she befriended, Muffy becomes a vegetarian because a famous celebrity does, though she has a hard time not eating meat. When the famous celebrity switches to a different diet, she decides to eat meat again. Francine becomes a vegetarian to try to beat Muffy at her own game, but Muffy tries to sabotage her every attempt with meat byproducts. After Sue Ellen explains the reason why she became a vegetarian, Francine and Muffy decide it's best they continue eating meat just so they don't argue with each other.

There are several common reasons that lead to a character deciding to do so. The characters might have learned how meat is produced and became so [[{{squick}} disgusted]] that they decided to abstain from meat for good. It might have been done for health reasons, in which case this might overlap with a DietEpisode. However, rarely does this change

A plot where a character is inspired to go vegetarian for an episode.

The most common reasons are either it being a challenge or bet, the characters learning how meat is produced and becoming so [[{{squick}} disgusted]] that they decide to abstain from meat for good, or health reasons (the latter which often overlaps with a DietEpisode). However, rarely does this change [[StatusQuoIsGod last over an episode]].

If a character is forced by another they will often [[ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere be tempted]] to quit multiple times.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode, "Sue Ellen Vegges Out", while Sue Ellen becomes a vegetarian out of respect for a pig she befriended, Muffy becomes a vegetarian because a famous celebrity does, though she has a hard time not eating meat. When the famous celebrity switches to a different diet, she decides to eat meat again. Francine becomes a vegeterian to try to beat Muffy at her own game, but Muffy tries to sabotage her every attempt with meat byproducts. After Sue Ellen explains the reason why she became a vegetarian, Francine and Muffy decide it's best they continue eating meat just so they don't argue with each other.

** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E18AStarIsTorn A Star Is Torn]]", when the Simpsons weren't able to go dinner shopping at the Kwik-E-Mart, Lisa sees the Spucklers' farm stand next door and recommends that her family have a vegetarian meal for dinner. The family at first enjoys it, with Homer declaring he does not miss meat at all. However, since most of them were used to eating processed meals, everyone except Lisa gets sick from the vegetables. The following morning, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Maggie are through with vegetables. Notably, Lisa doesn't mind their decision, being relieved that they're at least recovering.

* One episode of ''Series/{{Friends}}'' had the vegetarian Phoebe craving meat during her pregancy. Joey helped her deal with it by offering to go vegetarian himself but begins having meat cravings as well.

** Subverted in the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E5LisaTheVegetarian Lisa the Vegetarian]]'" episode. Despite her young age and her parents trying to stop her, Lisa ''stays'' vegetarian and has consistently been depicted as such since. The reason why Lisa remains a vegetarian after that episode is because Creator/PaulMcCartney makes a special guest appearance in that episode, and the only way to get him to do so was to keep Lisa a vegetarian.

The most common reasons are either it being a challenge or bet, the characters learning how meat is produced and becoming so [[{{squick}} disgusted]] that they decide to abstain from meat for good, or health reasons. However, rarely does this change [[StatusQuoIsGod last over an episode]].

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}''. In an early episode Sharon goes vegetarian ,after learning about the conditions in her job at a meat plant, and stays that way. In the second-to-last episode she learns she developed anemia due to her diet and is told to stop it.