Anna Bennett is a freshman hoping to major in English. She is a new vegetarian who cut out meat when she got to Wake Forest this fall. Anna sat down with Her Campus to give us insight on what it’s like to be a vegetarian on a college campus and why she chose to make this switch.
Her Campus: Why did you choose to become a vegetarian?
Anna Bennett: I’ve been thinking about it for a while and I finally decided to try it out. The first reason is that I know how bad processing meat is for the environment. It takes up a lot of energy and also the companies harm the animals when they kill them. It’s really sad and I’ve seen a lot of videos about this. Also, I didn’t really eat a lot of meat, and when I did, it was burgers and fried chicken which isn’t really healthy. I think that I’m becoming healthier by being a vegetarian, while helping the plant — so I thought why not?
HC: What was your transition like becoming a new vegetarian?
AB: It was a personal preference and I had been thinking about it for a while. One of my friends here at Wake, Lindsay, is also a vegetarian and she told me that it wasn’t that hard to adjust so I decided to try it out.
HC: What is it like being a vegetarian at Wake?
AB: Chick-fil-a is very tempting, that’s the restaurant that’s really hard to avoid, but I eat their fries. But I love salad and there are really good salad options here like Forest Greens as well as the Pit.
HC: Do you have a favorite vegetarian food, restaurant, or recipe?
AB: I love the vegetable roll sushi from Wild Blue in Benson. I eat it every day and am practically out of food dollars because I eat so much sushi!
HC: Have you ever considered going vegan?
AB: Probably not because I am lactose intolerant, so I don’t have a lot of options for food. I get my protein from eggs and eat them often so I think it would be really hard to cut that out.
HC: Do you miss any specific foods or restaurants now that you are a vegetarian?
AB: I think when I go home, it will be hard not to eat meat because there is this bagel place where I always get turkey and sausage. Also Shake Shack is my favorite place ever so I think not eating a burger is going to be so hard, but there’s still fries. That’s the thing — wherever you go, you might not be able to eat the meat, but there’s always other options such as fries or a shake.
HC: Do you have any other friends or people around you that are also vegetarian?
AB: A little friend of mine who is eight went through a couple months of being a vegetarian and I thought that was really cute, but other than that I don’t know that many vegetarians.
HC: Do you see yourself being a vegetarian long-term, in the future?
AB: Yes, I think so, as I find myself eating healthier and I think from eating all the salad and vegetables I have felt a lot more energetic and I don’t feel bad about myself for eating the animals.