Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE Â
The Ovo-Vegetarian Lifestyle Jacob Read The University of Kentucky
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Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE Â
Abstract In this paper I am going to discuss different types of vegetarians and why people choose to become one. I am going to mainly focus on the ovo-vegetarian. I will conduct an interview and also prove points about vegetarianism using multiple sources including an academic journal. I will also discuss my experience of becoming an ovo-vegetarian for a week and how this changed my preconceived notions of being one. Here is my experience of being a part of the vegetarian community.
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Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
Albert Einstein, Andy Dick, Bill Clinton, Carry Underwood, Christian Bail, Vanilla Ice, Plato, Nelly, Pamela Anderson, Jackie Chan, Ashley Judd, and Jesus Christ are just a few of the tons and tons of vegetarians that have existed throughout history (Happycow.net, 2010). Most people assume that vegetarians are animal-loving hippies but really there is more to it. There are many different types of vegetarians and there are many different reasons why people choose to become one. Ovo-vegetarians do not eat meat or dairy products but, there is more to it than just what someone does not eat. Exploring this ovo-vegetarian community my pre-conceived notions definitely changed as I came to realize what being an ovo-vegetarian is all about. Before I came to the realization of what an ovo-vegetarian actually is, I had to step out of my comfort zone and explore the Vegetarian community. There are many types of Vegetarians with many different styles and beliefs that make them special. According to VeggieVisitors, “vegetarians can be divided into the main categories of: vegan, fruitarians, lacto-vegetarians, ovo-vegetarians, lacto-ovo vegetarians, pescevegetarians, pollo-vegetarians, and flexitarians”. Vegans are people who stay away from animal goods, including things made from animals such as fur. Fruitarians eat only fruits, nuts, seeds, and other things made from plants (VeggieVisitors, 2007). Dairy products are eaten by lactovegetarians, as lacto-ovo vegetarians eat only dairy and egg products. Pesce-vegetarians eat fish, pollo-vegetarians avoid red meat, and flexitarians are on and off vegetarians (VeggieVisitors,
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Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
2007). Ovo-vegetarians are the type that only eats egg products, but also fruits, vegetables, and grains. This was the type of community I decided to explore more in depth. Before I became fully engaged in the ovo-vegetarian community I needed to find out why people became vegetarians. I had many stereotypical expectations before I embarked in on the vegetarian community. I thought the only reason someone became a vegetarian was their thinking that they could stop the killing of animals. I thought this was absurd and I did not believe that one person could ever save the animals in this carnivorous country. Driving down the street, I see a McDonalds, Arbys, and a Burger King and I think of how impossible it is for someone to make that big of a difference by becoming a vegetarian. There are many more reasons why people choose to become vegetarians. Most people around the world cannot afford meat and it is seen as a “special occasional dish” as rice and beans are more affordable (Teens Health from Nemours, 19952011). There are ethical reasons where someone learns how bad the livestock is treated in the food process; while there are religious reasons where vegetarianism is included in the faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism (vegetarian.lovetoknow.com, 2006-2011). Other reasons are the health concerns that people get from eating meat which include the cholesterol and the diseases that could come from eating meat. According to Why Do People Become Vegetarians, a final reason people become vegetarians is to help protect the environment (vegetarian.lovetoknow.com, 2006-2011). I realized that there were more reasons why people became vegetarians than just the hippe animal-lovers. After my interview with my roommate’s mother (who is an ovo-vegetarian) I realized that there were even more reasons to become one.
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Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
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I went into the interview thinking that my roommate’s mom was an animal lover but I was very mistaken. Mrs. Schwartz explained to me what an ovo-vegetarian is and how she only eats eggs, grains, and tofu, but no dairy. The reason Catherine Schwartz became an ovovegetarian was after her daughter’s birth in 2005. She could not eat meat anymore because it would inflame her stomach. According to Mrs. Schwartz, “I now eat healthier foods, my arthritis has gone away, and I have dropped thirty points off of my cholesterol” (Schwartz, Personal Interview). She shops at healthier grocery stores with all sorts of different health food options. Whole Foods Market and Good Foods Corp were two of the few places I visited to learn more about Mrs. Schwartz’s lifestyle. Walking into “Whole Foods Market” in Lexington, I had the preconceived notion that all the food would just be nuts, tofu, and bad fruit. What really struck me was how colorful the grocery store was.
They had all kinds of
fruit and vegetables.
Whole Foods also had
tons of different eggs,
milks, and cheeses.
These workers were
incredibly nice and they
were all different types
of vegetarians
themselves. We talked
to a worker at Whole
Foods who just and he said that he was
Figure 1 -‐ Photo Taken b y Jake Read: Various fruits and vegetables.
became a vegetarian struggling not to eat
meat. A very different thing that set this store apart from all the other grocery stores was how the workers would let you sample anything in the store! Will, Brandon, and I took great advantage of this. We indulged in all sorts of different foods anywhere from dried mango to Carmel popcorn. Surprisingly, the food was amazing and I actually ended up buying popcorn and lots of fruit.
Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
These foods were all made organically and they are healthier for you because they are made without saturated fat and with fewer ingredients. I really noticed a big difference as I went to the check out and a bag of popcorn and a pound of apples came out to almost twenty dollars! At any other regular grocery store that purchase would have easily been fewer than ten dollars. I realized that shopping for an ovo-vegetarian is an expensive one. I saw a different side of the vegetarian shopping experience at Good Foods Corporation,
Figure 2-‐Photo taken by Brandon Rozanski: Look of disgust after eating honey cheese.
which is a grocery store and a café located in Lexington. There were a lot of foods that were not that good at all. I tried some honey cheese, goat milk, and some carrot and sweet potato chips that were not very good at all. The cheese smelled rotten, the goat milk was thick, and the chips were chewy and fruity. Good Foods also had a café with all sorts of vegetarian foods. It was at this point that I decided to become an ovo-vegetarian for a week.
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Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
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This seven day experiment really pushed my boundaries because I love meat; I basically eat it every meal of the day and I always have. Back in my early football days, my first Coach always taught me to eat a lot of meat for protein so I could get bigger for football. Every Coach told me that the protein in meat helps rebuild your muscles after a long day in the weight room or on the field. I still lift to this day so finding different sources of protein was going to be a problem right off the back. Being an Ovo-vegetarian was going to be even more difficult because
Figure 3-‐Photo by Jake Read: Different types of tofu.
they do not eat dairy products. Milk is something that I love and I drink it every day so a week without it was going to be a challenge. I started the week by having dinner at the Good Foods café and I ordered a tofu burger. Tofu is made out of soybeans, water and a coagulant or a curdling agent (About.com/Vegetarian foods, 2011). I thought tofu was one of the most disgusting things in the world and I was not looking forward to trying it. I spent six dollars on a burger and when it finally showed up I did not want to even look at it. Thanks to some peer pressure from my friends, I eventually started eating it. Thinking that I was about to taste something awful; I tasted nothing. It was very shocking that I did not taste anything but the lettuce, pickles, and onions. I still did not finish the burger and I realized that this was going to be a long week.
Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
I started my morning with water instead of milk, and I had granola bars instead of sausage or bacon. Eggs were a great thing that I discovered as I cooked eggs every morning and I still do they
to this day. Eggs are a great source of protein; Figure 4-‐Photo taken by Jake Read: A vegetarian sub from Subway.
are very healthy and they are a main staple of
an
ovo-vegetarian diet. Every day for lunch, I
would
usually have “Chick fil a” or “Panda Express”. This week I got a vegetarian sub
from
“Subway” every day and I did not like it at
all. The
sandwich would not fill me up as I had to
snack
multiple times throughout the day on whatever I could find that was not meat (this
did not include all of the beef jerky that I usually eat). Nuts were something that helped me get through the day and they also gave me energy when I needed it most. I also started eating a lot of multiple kinds of different fruits including: apples, grapes, bananas, mangos, peaches, and oranges. A lot of these fruits I have never tried before and I really liked it. When dinner time would come around I would either get salad, buttered pasta, or vegetable soup at one of UK’s dining halls. I explored trying to find some more vegetarian options for a student at the University of Kentucky and I found that one of our dining halls does have a tofu option on the Chinese themed day of the week. Being an ovo-vegetarian meant not having milk and that was one of the greatest struggles for me. I needed to find a different source of calcium and after reading a journal on different foods; I found that spinach or any other dark green vegetables are a great source of calcium (Vegetarian Resource Group, 1996-2011).
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Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE
At the end of the week, I was glad it was over. I personally love meat and I like to eat it all the time at every meal. I do realize now that most people around the world are not as blessed as I am to be able to have meat on the table. Now, I see that there is more to being a vegetarian besides saving the animals. You can decide what type of vegetarian life style works best for you whether you are a Vegan or an ovo-vegetarian. In my interview with Mrs. Schwartz, she said that, “being an ovo-vegetarian has not only made her a healthier person but also an overall better person today” (Schwartz, Personal Interview). Health could be the main reason why someone becomes a vegetarian, and I never really thought about this until this project. As I went a week without eating meat, I was hungry but I did feel lighter and not as sluggish as I would after a big carnivorous meal. After this exploration of the vegetarian community I will now start to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet because a vegetarian lifestyle is also a healthier lifestyle. Even though I will not continue to be a part of the vegetarian community, I will take out from it the healthier lifestyle and apply that to my life today.
References About Vegetarian Foods. (2011). Vegetarian Foods. General format. www.about/Vegetarian.com. Happy Cow. (1999-2011). Healthy Cow’s Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant Guide. General format. www.healthycow.net. Love To Know Corp..(2006-2011). Why Do People Become Vegetarians. General format. www.vegetarianlovetoknow.com.
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Running Head: THE OVO-VEGETARIAN LIFESTYLE Â
Schwartz, C L. (15 November 2011). Personal interview. Being an ovo-vegetarian. Teen Health from Nemours.(1999-2011). The Teen Health Guide. General format. www.teenhealthfronemours.com The Vegetarian Resource Group. (1996-2011). Frequently asked questions: Where do you get calcium from? The Vegetarian Resource Group. Veggie Visitors.(2007-2008). Reasons Why People Become Vegetarian. General format. www.veggievisitors,com.
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