You know how animals suffer on factory farms, how waste from slaughterhouses contaminates waterways, and how eating hot dogs and ice cream, full of fat and cholesterol, gives people heart attacks.

You thought your friends and family would support you. You’re blown away and bummed that others in your life are dissing your decision to go veg. Don’t fret. Remember—for every biting comment that they make about your caring ways, there’s a snappy comeback to give them facts to chew on.

I’m not shelling out money for extra vegetarian food or spending more time in the kitchen to make you special meals.

You won’t have to if you and I prepare vegetarian meals for the whole family! Spaghetti with tomato sauce, bean burritos, veggie chili, veggie burgers, and stuffed baked potatoes are cheap and easy crowd pleasers, plus they’re better for everyone than chemical-filled hot dogs, greasy burgers, and high-fat fried chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese.

You’ll never get enough protein if you don’t eat meat. You’ll get sick!

Funny, I thought eating meat made people sick, judging from the number of people dying of heart attacks and strokes, which are linked to artery-clogging animal fat. You’ve seen lots of people with heart disease, but when’s the last time you saw someone with a protein deficiency? That’s because there’s protein in just about everything we eat: beans, rice, nuts, spaghetti, and even bread. It’s almost impossible not to get enough protein if you eat enough calories to survive.

Animals are here to be eaten. What will we do with all of them if we don’t eat them?

The only reason why billions of cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys exist is because they are bred to be used and killed for meat, milk, and eggs. As more and more people go vegetarian, fewer animals will be born just to be killed.