Two Sides of a Plant Based Diet: Students share their dietary lifestyles

Two Sides of a Plant Based Diet

TWO STUDENTS, TWO VARYING EXPERIENCES LIVING CRUELTY-FREE

By Violet Zinck

NEW VEGETARIAN

Some families try things like meatless Mondays, putting in some effort to eat a diet kinder to animals, but how many people take the next step and become a full time vegetarian? Is it really as difficult as we think to live “cruelty-free”? “I didn’t go fully vegetarian at first,” sophomore Cheyanne Hughes said. “I originally started looking into it because of the cruelty in the industry. If you’re going to eat an animal, it doesn’t make sense for the animal to be abused first.” For the first month, and still occasionally, Hughes said that sometimes she almost forgot she wasn’t eating meat, but taking time for your body and mind to transition is very important. “I started cutting down on meat around August, and then stopped eating it around October, so I’m relatively new.” Hughes also commented on how her family dealt with the change. “I found that I don’t really miss it very much, but family and others find it hard to understand,” Hughes said. “My dad has gotten better, but I live with him. But other family members will put meat on my plate.” Beginning the journey to a sustainable diet is a tough one with many challenges, but if it means eating cruelty free, Hughes is ready to take the leap.

OLD VEGETARIAN

People who are reluctant to try a plant-based diet may feel that it isn’t sustainable. It sounds nice, but it doesn’t seem achievable in the long run. Sometimes the cost of alternative proteins or the list of things you can no longer eat can be daunting. But like so many others, sophomore Lucy Rouse has managed to follow this lifestyle. “It’s actually better. I’ve been more mindful of what I do,” Rouse said. “And I also never really liked myself. [Being vegetarian] was a big change.” Another concern for minors, or for people not in charge of all their own meals, is that it would be an inconvenience to the people around them. So, Rouse communicated with family and those around her to make the food accessible to her. “Well, my mom just stopped adding meat to things,” Rouse said, “and she put [the meat] on the side of whatever it was we were eating.” With accommodating family, and the will to make the change, Rouse has been able to eat plant-based for almost three years.

Illustration by Tori Thorp

1.2% OF WAHS STUDENTS CATEGORIZE THEMSELVES AS GLUTEN-FREE. 8.5% OF WAHS STUDENTS CATEGORIZE THEMSELVES AS FOLLOWING A NON-”NORMAL” DIET.

12% OF WAHS STUDENTS CATEGORIZE

THEMSELVES AS DAIRY-FREE.