WHY SOME KIDS EAT ONLY MEATLESS MEALS

MIRIAM PORTER

THERE is a good chance that you have at least one vegan or vegetarian friend. It’s the kid who refuses to eat hot dogs at birthday parties because they are typically made from a cow or pig.

But you might wonder what a vegan is and how they are different from a vegetarian. A vegetarian doesn’t eat meat, including beef or seafood. A vegan doesn’t eat meat or any food that comes from animals, such as eggs, cheese and milk. Both may also not wear animal skins, such as fur, leather or wool.

It’s becoming more common for kids to become vegetarian or vegan even when the rest of their family is not.

When Annie Kay from Ontario, Canada, learned that meat comes from animals, she watched several animal rights documentaries. She felt guilty each time she ate meat, so she stopped. “I just knew it was wrong to eat animals. Their life is just as important as ours; it’s not fair that we eat them,” the 13-year-old said.

A vegetarian for more than a year, she has inspired several friends to try to stop eating meat. But Annie is the lone “veggie” in her family.

Many doctors say that it’s healthy to follow a plant-based diet and that by not eating animals or animal products, you help protect yourself from illness.

Not eating meat or dairy also helps the planet’s health.

A vegan diet helps fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gases (such as methane from cow burps). It also helps keep pesticides (used to grow animal feed) and animal waste out of the water, and reduces the need to cut down trees for animal grazing. – The Washington Post

TRY IT

1. Meatless Mondays is a global movement encouraging people around the world to not eat meat one day a week for their health and the planet. It’s a fun way to start your veggie journey. Try these vegan proteins instead: beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts, quinoa and tofu.

2. Try dairy milk alternatives: oat, rice, soy, coconut or almond.

3. Not all vegan foods, such as Oreos and soda, are healthy. Doctors recommend eating plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole-grain foods, plant-based-protein food and drinking plenty of water.

4. Watch kid activist and Youth Climate Save spokesperson Genesis Butler’s TED Talk on her experience as a vegan.

| The Washington Post