Do you ever get the feeling that everyone around you is more eco-friendly? A little more green? Enviro-chic even? And you’re the heavy, earth-hating, meat eater that sticks out like a sore thumb? It’s no secret that we are in the middle of a green revolution and that Ithaca is among those locales at the forefront of the movement. It seems as if everyone knows a handful of vegetarians and vegans. In this town, they are certainly not the minority. One freshman student even mentioned feeling ostracized by her vocal vegetarian roommate: “When we eat together she says ‘A hamburger? Again?’”
Sure, people’s comments shouldn’t sway you or your lifestyle. But they can definitely tweak your way of thinking. On a campus where every dining hall labels its food with dietary restrictions, and has plentiful meat-free options, being vegetarian has never been so convenient or delicious. So should you listen to your friends who tell you being vegan is better?
Veganism is the most restricted diet. Vegans exclude any animal byproducts, including eggs, milk and honey. Then there are ovo-lacto vegetarians (dairy and eggs but no meat), pesco-vegetarians (fish but no red meat or poultry), and semi-vegetarians or flexitarians (if you can’t tell from the name, they mostly stick to a vegetarian diet but occasionally supplement it with meat). So if there are so many variations and deviations from the strict idea of veganism, then why do people even bother with any restrictions at all?
Of course there’s the standby reason- saving the animals of the world. But in reality, there are more and more reasons every day for giving up meat. It takes a lot of energy to produce meat, which results in very high carbon emissions. By giving up meat (or reducing your consumption of it), you lower your personal carbon footprint, helping to decrease global carbon emissions. Some feel that the meat industry is mishandled and devious. And as one new vegan maintains, “I just want to eat healthier.”
But just because something is vegan doesn’t automatically make it good for you. A diet of peanut butter, sugary snacks, and bread, though vegan, is not a healthful lifestyle. Furthermore, meat supplies large amounts of iron and Vitamin B-12, which are necessary for maintaining a healthy body. If you decide to go vegetarian or vegan, make sure that you’re taking a multivitamin supplement with iron, and make sure that you’re getting enough protein in your diet (beans, tofu and eggs are all excellent sources of protein).
So the key here is that you should never be pushed to do something because everyone around you is- there’s that whole jumping off a bridge adage. But then again, maybe you should take into consideration a vegetarian’s school of thought before indulging on your fourth breaded chicken patty of the week.