Emma Hutchins
Features Editor
Recently, Hollywood has been swept by a flood of pro-animal support, as big industry names like Carrie Underwood and Brad Pitt join the ranks of vegetarians and vegans. Whether or not kids view these individuals as dietary role models is debatable. However, an increasing number of teens now consider themselves vegetarians.
Students are joining in on the trend, many for ethical reasons. “I would say [my diet]started when I went to Spain for a summer to study abroad, and they had the limbs of cows and pigs hanging from most restaurant ceilings as a form of marination,” senior Carson Smith, a pescatarian since the summer, said. “Meat processing seems to be a little cruel and dirty for not only the animals being bred, but the people that work there.”
Junior Austin Ready, who has been a pescetarian for five and a half years, shares similar sentiments towards the consumption of meat. “I decided to become one when I was eating a hamburger the summer of fifth grade and realized what it really was. Then I decided I didn’t want to kill animals so I decided to not eat them anymore,” she said.
Moral objections aside, many students opt for a vegetarian diet to make healthier eating choices. “I chose to become a vegetarian because I wanted to have healthy eating choices and I wanted to see how long I could do it,” junior Elijah Westbrook, a vegetarian for one and a half years, said.
But once they make the decision to skip meat, students face the opinions of parents and friends. “My parents had no objections about me becoming a vegetarian or vegan, but my friends made fun of me,” said junior Izzy Meckler, who has been both a vegetarian and a vegan in the past.
Other parents are concerned about the nutritional costs that a vegetarian diet can invite. “My mom gave me the choice whether to eat chicken or fish and I chose fish just because I saw the cruelty…towards the chickens,” Austin said.
In fact, one of the greatest challenges vegetarians face is not consuming enough nutrients without meat. “The disadvantages are that you have to make sure your getting all the protein and iron you would normally get from meat from other sources like soy or nuts,” Carson said.
A Palo Alto Medical report on teen vegetarianism said, “A vegetarian diet could be low in certain nutrients that are found in meat, poultry and fish. These include calcium, iron, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. You also have to be sure to eat enough protein.”
Another issue vegetarian students encounter is finding meals when they aren’t at home or in complete control of their food options. “It is hard to find things to eat at some restaurants as there aren’t as many choices,” junior Jasmine Allen, a vegan of six years, said.
The high school has recently made it easier for teens to find vegetarian and vegan options with a new salad bar and an overall helpful attitude towards students’ eating restrictions. “We did install a salad bar, but if there were any other special dietary needs, I’d be happy to work with them,” Assistant Food Service Director, Marie Wilson, said.
However, not all circumstances cater to vegetarians like the high school does. Eating at friends’ houses for instance, can create uncomfortable situations. “It could be kind of embarrassing at times if you’re at someone else’s house and they feel obligated to give you different food options,” Elijah said.
Despite the apparent drawbacks of vegetarianism, many students see advantages in the choice they made to eliminate meat from their diet. “I think I’ve been eating a lot healthier. Before, I doubt I had the recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables daily. Now I get more than enough,” Carson said.
Along with Carson, Elijah found advantages to becoming a vegetarian. “One of the main advantages was that it was like a mental test to see how long I could last, and I even encouraged both of my parents to become vegetarians,” he said.
These benefits are enough to keep many students motivated to maintain their food choices in the future. “I do plan on maintaining it in college, which is easy because many colleges accommodate vegetarian and vegan diets since it is a growing trend,” Carson said.
