I’ve been a vegetarian, or at least a version of it, for as long as I can remember. Although I only went fully meat free when I was 12, I was always a little turned off my meat. When I was younger I only really ate it if it was offered to me (I never went out of my way to get my meat fix), and even so I’d eat it minimally. There’s just something inherently odd to me about eating slabs of animal muscle.
Now I’m not writing to go activisty on you, precious readers, and tell you to go vegetarian or vegan and never touch bacon or burgers again. I’m just here to tell you a little about the vegetarian lifestyle and share some of my experiences. Bon appetit!
How I became a vegetarian
A question I get at almost every party I go to or whenever I meet someone new is what made me go vegetarian. Unfortunately, it isn’t one of those exciting stories such as I met a cow, fell in love with it, and decided to save her and all her cow besties by not eating them.
Instead, I took the plunge when I saw my mum’s Chatelaine magazine was open to a page about vegetarianism. I can’t remember all the details of it, but it was an opinion piece that stated a lot of statistics about how vegetarianism is good for the environment, good for your wallet and obviously good for the animals. From there I googled a little about being vegetarian and how it’s relatively easy to cut out meat slowly but surely from your diet.
From that point on, I was determined to go vegetarian. I marched into the kitchen and sternly told my mother “Mum, I’m becoming a vegetarian and there is nothing you can do about it”. I remember distinctly what my mother said afterwards. She said “Claire, I think that’s a great idea, but we’re about to go on cruise and you father and I didn’t fork out this money so you can eat carrots”. So I went on the cruise, still eating a little meat, but as soon as I got off I was determined to be meat free.
My mum and I started off cutting out red meat and fish but still eating poultry. Eventually my dad and brother hoped on the veggie bandwagon and cut red meat out as well. After 3 months of that, I was determined to go full vegetarian, and eventually my whole family followed my lead. And the rest is history!
Why I am a vegetarian
To be honest, there are so many reasons why I’m vegetarian. If you google the benefits of being a vegetarian like I did years ago, there are countless articles, both scientific and not, that give many perks and reasons to cut out meat.
Here are some of my personal reasons:
- Good for the animals
I’ve always been an animal lover, and I like living in a fantasy world where by me not eating meat, every animal that I save is now running in the wind and doing a little dance because they’re alive. Obviously that (probably) isn’t the case. But I believe that by not supporting the meat industry, a cow, chicken, fish etc is smiling because a vegetarian in a very small way, prolonged their life.
- Good for the environment
I’ve also been an environmentalist from the first time I found out what recycling is. From a few of the vegetarian festivals I attended back in Toronto, a lot of the pamphlets wrote that it takes a fraction of the amount of water and other resources to make a pound of beans compared to the same amount of beef. With the environment in such shambles already, I like to think that by going veg I’m helping the environment in a little way.
- Good for your wallet
Just from personal experience, I’ve noticed that my family’s and my own grocery bills are a lot less now that we are vegetarians. Although faux chicken and beef and vegan options can be pricey, student friendly proteins such as tofu, soy, beans and peas are pretty inexpensive and usually have long expiry dates. Also, since a lot of restaurants and fast food joints don’t have veg options, I’m never very tempted to splurge on food.
Classification of Vegetarians
There are numerous categories of vegetarians, and there are so many subcategories that it’s hard to keep up (heaven forbid you accidentally call a lacto vegetarian a lacto-ovo vegetarian!). But here are the main types of vegetarians that you’ll probably encounter on the regular.
Vegan: Someone who does not consume meat, dairy or egg products. They also don’t purchase animal based clothing such as fur and leather.
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: (me!) Someone who does not eat red or white meat or fish, but does eat milk and eggs. I believe this is the most common form of vegetarianism found in university students, at least from my experience.
Pescatarian: Someone who does not eat fish or red meat, but still eats white meat. This is the type of vegetarianism I partook in before going lacto-ovo.
Pollo-tarian: Someone who does not eat white or red meat, but still eats seafood.
Overall, I love being a vegetarian. I can’t understand why people wouldn’t want to simply try it or at least try to cut down on their meat intake. There are so many new fruits and vegetables that I’ve come to try by being a vegetarian and I can eat my weight in grain proteins such as quinoa and couscous. There is a vegetarian alternative for every type of meat out there, and they (usually) are super tasty! It seems like forever ago that I had a hot dog or a kebab but I can honestly say that I don’t miss it! I’m really lucky to have a vegetarian family who makes it easy for me to eat meat free, as well as friends who are supportive and are down to try all the cool vegetarian places in Ottawa ($5 Govinda’s Buffet, anyone?).
I’d like to close this article with some advice for prospective vegetarians.
1. Read ingredient labels
You’d be surprised at the things that have traces of meat in them. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so make sure to double check that your groceries or takeout’s are vegetarian.
2. Start off slow: At first I was dying to go full vegetarian, but I’m glad that I took my time and cut types of foods out one at a time. Your body needs time to adjust to your new diet, but before long you’ll be feeling great and eating even better!
3. Get your protein! Although it’s a cliche that vegetarians don’t get enough protein, it’s a serious problem for some. Make sure to not binge eat pasta and nachos (guilty!) and try to cook healthier alternatives such as a salad with nuts in it.
I hope this article was informative and will incite some to take the plunge to go vegetarian!
Eat well, vegetarian and meat eaters alike!
Picture Credits
Cover Picture, 1, 2