Monday, April 1, 1996
Students explain reasons for changing dietary practices By Toni Dimayuga
Daily Bruin Contributor
Second-year psychology student Megan Vallerie's recent Sunset Village cafeteria dinner was greener than that of the average student.
On one plate sat a salad of lettuce, broccoli and green peppers. Red cabbage and cauliflower added a splash of color to the sea of green. On the other plate, rested a gardenburger and rice.
Vallerie is one of many vegetarian students who dine on meatless dishes instead of chowing down on steak. Experts agreed that with concerns of animal cruelty and chemical additives, the practice of vegetarianism has increased over the past 10 years.
"If it moves, I don't eat it ... I believe I could get by without killing animals," said Alex Mandl, a fourth-year history student.
Some may refuse to eat beef, chicken or seafood due to hormones and pesticides found in the meat, said Laima Wesson, a nutritionist for Student Health Services. She also speculated that some might not eat meat because it is too expensive.
Some, such as Seventh-Day Adventists, are vegetarians for religious reasons. June Silva, director of the Adventist health department for the Southern California Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, explained that their vegetarian practices stem from their belief that God created the animal kingdom, and it is the humans' responsibility to take care of, not hurt, animals.
"When you kill an animal to eat them, it goes against the grain," Silva explained.
However, religious spokespeople were also quick to point out that there are some exceptions to the rule. Carrie Rogers, an official at Soka Gakkai International USA, a Buddhist church, said that not all forms of Buddhism practice vegetarianism.
Silva said that although pure vegetarianism is encouraged, people may still eat any kind of meat except pork, which the Bible deems unclean.
Environmental issues may also dissuade some people from eating meat, said Bebe Bercovic, a registered dietician and nutrition consultant at Century City Hospital. She explained that cattle produce a high amount of methane and they use a lot of grain, water and land.
But for some students, it was a particular experience which convinced them to stop eating meat. For Vallerie, it was an incident that involved her father and a bag of scrap meat.
"My dad had these end cuts from the deli for my dog, and when he was cutting some up he tasted some and gave me some too ... he made me think it was tongue. I freaked out; I showered, brushed my teeth. I was already considering becoming a vegetarian before that, but that put me over the edge," Vallerie said, munching on a cucumber flavored with oil and vinegar.
Alana White, a second-year undeclared student, said that she never had a problem eating meat, but a scene from the movie Dances with Wolves changed her mind.
"I saw the scene where there were buffalo hearts all over the field, and I was so disgusted that it made me not want to eat meat. I pictured the animals looking like that, when they skinned them," White recalled, grimacing.
Some students said that they tried vegetarianism just to get on the health bandwagon. Eva Miranda, a second-year sociology student, admitted that she became a vegetarian in the eighth grade because she believed that it was a trendy "health kick."
Experts said that there are four main vegetarian groups vegans, lacto-ovo vegetarians (who also eat eggs and dairy products), pesco-vegetarians (who eat fish) and fruitarians. Vegans are the strictest group, experts explained.
Eating healthy is one of the prominent reasons people choose to reject meat. However, there are also negative health effects to becoming a vegetarian.
Bercovic added that some, especially vegans, tend to lose weight and have a vitamin B-12 deficiency. To compensate for the lack of nutrients, vegans often have to take B-12 supplements. Lacto-ovo vegetarians do not have to worry as much because they get their other calories and nutrients from eggs and dairy products.
Vegan women tend to be the most affected because women need a lot of calcium and iron.
Most restaurants offer dishes to please their vegetarian customers, students said. In the case of specialized restaurants such as Red Lobster and Black Angus, some students, such as Susan Ward, a second-year graduate student in the School of Public Health, said that they just order a salad.
Some friction may occur when vegetarians dine with meat eaters. Mandl said that he gets annoyed when people assume that he finds it offensive when they eat meat in front of him. He explained that he does not care about other people's eating habits, nor should others care about his.
"I don't shove it down their throat, but I encourage people (to be vegetarians)," Mandl said.
He added that on certain instances people have also teased him about his eating habits, but he said that it does not bother him.
For some students, being a vegetarian was not meant to be. White said that her life as a true vegan lasted for a month and a half. She slowly started eating chicken and fish again, but not red meat.
Miranda said that she gave up vegetarianism after a month because it was too hard to keep up. She added that fast food "kicked in after eighth grade."
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