You’ll Never Meat Someone So Misinformed

I’m at a high school club meeting. I’m casually talking to [Friend] and a freshman, and the topic of dietary restrictions comes up. Both [Friend] and I are vegetarian.

Freshman: “Oh, that’s bad. You’ll die if you don’t eat meat for more than ten years, you know.”

Me: “I’ve been a vegetarian since I was three.”

Freshman: “How old are you?”

Me: “I’m seventeen.”

Freshman: “You’ll die if you don’t eat meat for longer than fourteen years, then.”

[Friend] is Indian.

Friend: “My dad has been a vegetarian for his entire life. You do realize that there are entire cultures that are vegetarian, right?”

Freshman: “No, that’s not true. My dad said that humans are meant to eat meat, and you’ll die if you don’t.”

Sounds like someone’s parents are either very ill-informed or really don’t want vegetarian kids.