An original, small meal for a vegetarian would consist of a salad. For some, it would also include cheese or yogurt. Photo by: Brandon Heims
By Brandon Heims
When it comes to breakfast, lunch and dinner, people may have sausage, a bologna sandwich or a steak, but a vegetarian would have something else in mind.
Junior Haven Winkler has been a vegetarian for seven years, “It was originally invoked by my mother forcing me to eat whatever meat product she presented me.” Winkler said. “One day I just decided not to eat it anymore. My mom asked, ‘Are you going to become a vegetarian then?’ I liked how the idea sounded so I stuck with it.” Freshman Jordan Rodgers has a different story though, when he said, “It was a test of willpower to see how long I could go without eating meat.” Rodgers has been a vegetarian for almost a year. Vegetarian for a little more than four years, junior Kelcie Downey, is different from both Winkler and Rodgers, “I don’t like the way the animals are treated. I don’t like how they are crowded into small pens or how they are fed enhancers which are not healthy for the animals.”
Most may think that vegetarians are all the same, but that is not true. There is a variation in the type of vegetarian a person is. A vegan, which is a person that will not eat or even use anything that came from an animal, including glue, gum and jackets made of fur. There is also the pesco-vegetarian, which is a typical non-meat eater, but he or she will occasionally eat seafood. Downey on the other hand is a lacto-ovo vegetarian, meaning she still eats dairy products and eggs. Most may just be a regular vegetarian though.
Vegetarians have meals like everyone else, but where the meat is the main item on a person’s plate, vegetarians would have to fill that space with something different. “Well since I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, I still have dairy products and still eat eggs.” Downey said. “I eat anything that isn’t an animal, including fish.” Downey also said that she does not know of anything that she eats that would be unusual to others though. “For school I have a Pb and J, fruit, juice, crackers and milk.” Rodgers said. He also said that something he eats that most people probably have not, would be eggplant. Winkler has also had her share of unusual foods, one being tofurkey. “One year we went over to my aunt’s house for Thanksgiving and she didn’t know what to make us vegetarians so she found something called tofurkey. It is suppose to be like turkey, but its tofu. It wasn’t that good but it was interesting trying something so… odd.”
Vegetarians, when starting out as a teenager, would need family support, especially from the person making the meals at home. “My dad is actually going through a vegetarian recipe book.” Winkler said. “Every once in a while he makes something out of that book and we rate it on how much we like it. His goal is to try every recipe.” For Downey it is different. “I am the only vegetarian in my family, so most of the time I’m stuck eating something that is completely different from what my parents are eating,” she states. This does not mean they are not supportive though, Downey also said, “They really support me being a vegetarian. To support me they go out of their way to make and buy vegetarian friendly meals.” Winkler also mentioned, “My parents were hesitant at first about me being a vegetarian, but after a while they got used to it. My mom and my sister are vegetarians now.”
People may believe that vegetarians are all the same and wonder how they could go through life without meat. Every vegetarian has his or her own story though; whether it is protesting against animal cruelty or just not liking meat.