Posted: 05/02/07

No meat please
The different degrees of vegetarians  

Kara MacKeil | contributing writer
kmackeil@smcvt.edu

Earth Day may have come and gone, but saving the planet doesn’t require a special day. In fact, a simple diet change might do a world of good.

Researchers Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin of the University of Chicago recently announced the results of their latest study, which focused on vegetarian diets. They say that vegetarian diets are not only healthier for the people who eat them, but for the planet as a whole.

According to their published results, energy used for food production accounted for 17 percent of all fossil fuel use in the United States in 2002, and the burning of these fossil fuels emitted three-quarters of a ton of carbon dioxide per person.

“We say that however close you can be to a vegan diet and further from the mean American diet, the better you are for the planet,” Eshel writes in a University of Chicago press release. “It doesn’t have to be all the way to the extreme end of vegan. If you simply cut down from two burgers a week to one, you’ve already made a substantial difference.”

But while vegetarianism is gaining recognition for its possible ecological and health benefits, how much does the average meat-eater really know about this alternative diet?

What does vegetarian mean?

Many are familiar with the basic concept of a vegetarian diet, the idea of not eating meat. But not all are aware that there are subdivisions within vegetarianism. All vegetarians eliminate or greatly reduce meat consumption, but some allow certain animal products while some do not.

According to the Vegetarian Resource Group, vegetarian diets can be divided into specific groups. The strictest are vegans, who permit themselves no animal products whatsoever.

Vegetarians also do not eat meat, but allow themselves certain animal products, according to the group. Lacto vegetarians will consume dairy products, ovo vegetarians will eat eggs, and lacto-ovo vegetarians eat both.

St. Michael's College sophomore Dan Sandberg is a lacto-ovo vegetarian.

“I eat a lot of yogurt and cheese,” Sandberg says. “I agree with a lot of the arguments made by vegans, but I feel I’m too active to do that in a healthy way.”

Sandberg says he had considered a vegetarian diet for a while, but didn’t begin following one until his first year.

“When I started, I didn’t know if I was going to keep it up or only eat meat at certain times,” Sandberg says. “But eventually it just became a full time thing.”

Senior Scott Pelow says he became a vegetarian at age 14, and made the commitment to veganism two years later.

“I had a dog at the time, and I couldn’t see the difference between her and any other animal that lives and walks and breathes,” Pelow says.

Judy Miner of the Vermont Vegetarian Society says that each vegan and vegetarian has their own reasons for their choice.

“People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons,” Miner says. “Some are ethical, some are social, and some people just don’t like eating dead animal flesh. Whatever the reason, it’s not really complicated; you just need to watch what you’re eating.”

It it safe?

According to Candace Polzella, staff nutritionist at St. Michael’s and UVM, a properly planned vegetarian or vegan diet can be perfectly healthy, even for active people.

“I’ve had athletes come to me who want to know if they can be vegetarians, and I tell them the same thing as I would tell anybody,” Polzella says. “We focus on balance for everybody, vegetarian and non-vegetarian.”

As a long distance runner and Nordic skier, Sandberg is well acquainted with this balancing act.

“I did some research on proteins and minerals before I started,” Sandberg says. “I also talked to my Nordic club coach at home to see how realistic it was, whether I could be a vegetarian and keep skiing competitively.”

Pozella says that a vegetarian diet only becomes unhealthy if done incorrectly. To be healthy, she says, vegetarians and vegans must get their nutrition from a variety of foods and be sure to get enough vitamins, minerals, and proteins.

“You can’t just rely on peanut butter,” she says.

Miner feels that this necessary variety is easy to find without meat.

“When you actually find out what you can eat instead, you find there are loads and loads of things, and it’s not that difficult at all,” she says.

Pelow says that when he decided to stop eating meat, his parents were concerned that it wasn’t a healthy option.

“At first they thought I wouldn’t get enough vitamins and minerals,” Pelow says. “But I showed them that it was possible to do it in a healthy way.”

Sandberg’s parents had a different reaction.

“Both of my parents had been vegetarians at some point,” Sandberg says. “They aren’t now, but they were fine with it. They just told me to make sure I was getting enough protein.”

Hank Strashnick, dining services general manager at St. Michael's, says that the dining staff does its best to accommodate vegan and vegetarian needs.

“At least a couple of stations at every meal are meat-free,” he says.

In addition to the standard meat entrée offered every day, Strashnick says that students are welcome to request tofu substitutes at the Chef’s Corner, and that Gardenburgers are always available on request at the Grill.

However, Pelow says that many students are unaware of these options. Strashnick agrees that this is a problem, and says that labeling is being changed to let students know their choices.

Is it worth it?

Pelow and Sandberg say that their decisions have had some negative aspects, but not enough to change their minds.

“I feel like sometimes people take offense to me being a vegan,” Pelow says. “Most people in this country are raised eating animal products, so it does go against their upbringing.”

Both Pelow and Sandberg say that creativity is the key to enjoying vegetarian or vegan diets.

“You have to know your way around the kitchen and enjoy making your own meals,” Pelow says.

Sandberg lives in the suites, and eats most of his meals in the dining hall. He says that he looks forward to making his own meals next year, but he says he agrees that some skill in the kitchen is necessary for a meat-free diet.

“Vegetarian food can be done well, but it can be done horribly,” Sandberg says.

Both students say that they made their choices for a variety of reasons.

“There were a lot of political reasons, a lot of environmental ones,” Pelow says. “So much land and food and energy goes into meat production, and most of it on huge, factory farms that use extremely cruel methods.”

Sandberg also says he is a vegetarian in part because he objects to the meat industry’s practices.

“I have no problem with meat from free-range, small farm animals,” he says. “I think that’s a very sustainable way to live. But these huge factory farms are terrible.”

Both students are confident in their decisions, and say they have no plans to return to a meat-eating diet.

“There are so many ways to eat well without meat, that nobody really needs it anymore,” Pelow says.