Posted on Thu, Jan. 23, 2003
story:PUB_DESC

Going vegetarian is increasingly cool with teens

BY SHARI RUDAVSKY
srudavsky~msn.com

HAPPY WITH CHOICE: Kate Rosenberg, left, and Julia Howe are both students who have chosen to go vegetarian. 'I never liked the idea of eating meat,' Julia says. 'Now I would never forsake my decision.' (RICHARD PATTERSON, For The Herald)

HAPPY WITH CHOICE: Kate Rosenberg, left, and Julia Howe are both students who have chosen to go vegetarian. 'I never liked the idea of eating meat,' Julia says. 'Now I would never forsake my decision.' (RICHARD PATTERSON, For The Herald)

Remember the Simpsons episode when Lisa decides to go vegetarian after petting a baby lamb at the children's zoo? Sara Schwartzman does. That half-our of television sent the Weston 16-year-old down the road toward vegetarianism five years ago.

''See, television can positively affect children,'' jokes Sara, a junior at Cypress Bay High School who eats no meat, fish nor fowl, nor candy and gum that contains gelatin.

Whether it's television, peer pressure, concern for animal rights or a way to distance themselves from their family, a growing number of teens and college students are following Lisa Simpson's lead and giving up meat.

Teenagers are the fastest-growing demographic of vegetarians, says the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. One out of every four teens thinks vegetarianism is ''cool,'' reports Teenage Research Unlimited , a market research firm in Northbrook, Ill.

Two percent of adolescents age 13 to 17 -- more than 400,000 -- consumed no meat, fish nor fowl in 2000, up from 1.4 percent in 1995, the Vegetarian Resource Group, a Baltimore-based nonprofit, reports. Moreover, 11 percent of teen girls eschew beef.

The trend is greater on college campuses, where about 15 percent to 20 percent of the students maintain vegetarian diets.

Restaurants and food services have started catering to this group. Burger King recently inaugurated a veggie burger. Many colleges offer vegetarian or even vegan meals -- with no animal products, including dairy or eggs -- for their students.

While experts say health concerns usually are only a minor factor in a teen's decision to stop eating meat, the result can be a more nutritious diet than the standard teen fare of hamburgers, fries and pizza.

''They don't do it for the same reason that a 45-year-old who's been told that he or she has high blood pressure or cholesterol would,'' says Reed Mangels, nutrition advisor with the Vegetarian Resource Group. ``That's not something your average 19-year-old is worried about.''

ANIMAL RIGHTS

''Kids are becoming more conscious of animal rights as a whole,'' said Patricia Trostle, an education coordinator with the Norfolk, Va.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. ``This is something that's going to develop into a lifelong pattern.''

That could well be the case for Julia Howe, a South Miami teen who gave up meat, originally thinking she'd try it for one week. She liked the test drive so much that five years later Julia still will eat no meat nor food that has touched meat.

''I never liked the idea of eating meat. I never enjoyed the fact that it came from an animal and that something had to die,'' says the senior, who attends Miami's Design and Architecture Senior High School (DASH). ``Now I would never forsake my decision.''

Because Julia's family has always been health-conscious, she finds it pretty easy to stick with her family's dinner and just forgo the meat dish. Sometimes, she winds up having to cook for herself or even the whole family.

While it has been supportive, her family hasn't adopted her lifestyle. In fact, her father's on the Atkins Diet, and he eats predominantly those foods Julia won't touch.

Julia is so serious about her vegetarianism she's toying with the idea of opening a vegetarian restaurant one day. For spring break, she hopes to travel to Manchester, England, to attend Cordon Vert, a vegetarian cooking school.

Parents whose teens announce they're vegetarian can often find a way to work out menus that cater to all tastes, but it may take extra juggling, nutritionists warn. Still, experts agree that a child's decision to give up meat can be cause for celebration rather than concern. While a vegetarian meal can be a Coke and fries -- especially at a place that uses vegetable oils to supply the grease for the potatoes -- many teens who go veggie wind up eating healthier diets.

''It really changes the way you're eating and it's a healthier way,'' says Sara, the Broward teen. She studies nutrition labels to make sure she gets a full complement of vitamins.

''I'm very supportive of teenagers taking an interest in what they eat,'' said Sheah Rarback, director of nutrition at the Mailman Center for Child Development. "What I tell parents is this is a great opportunity to talk to your child about healthier choices.''

When teens come to her espousing vegetarianism, Rarback asks them to write down what they eat and she makes sure their choices are nutritionally sound. The teen years represent the second biggest growth period in life, right after infancy, so nutritionists recommend that adolescents who stop eating meat make sure they receive a full complement of vitamins and minerals from other parts of their diet.

GOOD SUBSTITUTES

Peanut butter, soy products and cheese or eggs, if the teen is not a vegan, all can substitute for meat. Because it's a time of peak bone growth, Mangels says it's critical for adolescents to make sure they receive enough calcium and vitamin D. Those who give up milk and eggs should also ensure they have an alternative source for B12, while girls who give up meat will need to fulfill their iron requirements.

Some experts express concern that some young girls may say they're going vegetarian as a way to mask an eating disorder. A 1997 study found that four times as many teenagers who ate no meat reported self-induced vomiting as those who ate meat.

If peculiar eating behaviors accompany a switch to vegetarianism, UM's Rarback tells parents to make sure their nonmeat-eating child takes in enough calories.

But vegetarianism is not a surefire way to lose weight, Rarback warns.

''You can lose weight eating animal products or not, and you can gain weight eating animal products or not,'' she says.

Some teens opt to give up meat gradually rather than going, well, cold turkey. Kate Rosenberg of Miami Beach, a senior at DASH, stopped eating meat after her biology class dissected a frog, prompting her to explore her own feelings about animal rights.

''I just thought meat was a frivolous thing we don't need to eat,'' the 17-year-old says.

Recently, however, she started eating chicken and fish at home again for convenience sake after 1 ½ years of cooking her own tofu and beans. But she has every intention of giving up animal products altogether once she leaves the house for college.

At college, she will likely find a smorgasbord of veggie options in the dining hall. School districts are also responding to the trend.

In 1999, 69 percent of those surveyed told the American Food Services Association they had options for those on special diets, including vegetarians and those with lactose intolerance or food allergies. This year, for the first time, the Association will ask specifically about vegetarian meals.

Broward County recently earned a B, the highest grade given for its healthy lunches to any school district from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Miami-Dade received a C. An ever-present salad bar, as well as occasional offerings of collard greens and plantains and other vegetables, helped Broward garner the praise, while the lack of vegan offerings prevented it from earning an A.

''I take this as meaning that we are trying to please a very diversified school district where we have everything under the sun,'' says Jane Wynn, director of food and nutrition services for Broward schools.

While the district has not received a flood of requests for meat-less meals, menu designers try to think beyond the salad bar for nonmeat-eaters.

'CONCERTED EFFORT'

''When I look at the menus, I say if I don't eat meat, can I still get a balanced nutritious meal?'' Wynn says. ``We've tried to make a concerted effort but it's not always easy.''

Cheese pizzas, macaroni and cheese, egg salad, grilled cheese and the potato bar allow a child to eat a meat-free lunch in Broward schools. Other meals like chicken with black beans and rice and plantains offer students a chance to say, ``Hold the meat.''

Still, vegetarians like Sara are not completely sold on some public school lunch offerings. She and her friends hope they can persuade administrators to include healthier vegetarian options in Cypress Bay's new cafeteria.

Sara's no stranger to leading the way with lunch foods. When she went vegetarian, she'd often eat hummus for lunch, an unfamiliar food to many of her classmates. She'd offer a taste to anyone who asked. A few weeks later, everyone started bringing their own hummus.

Although Sara eased meat out of her diet when she began exploring vegetarianism, she's now wedded to the decision.

''It wasn't a snap. It took a little while,'' she says. ``But once I realized the animal cruelty and health issues involved, that made it much easier.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5002243.htm

I love how statistics get turned upside down in articles like this one. "One out of every four teens thinks vegetarianism is ''cool,'' reports Teenage Research Unlimited , a market research firm in Northbrook, Ill." In other words, the majority of teens - a full 75% - <b>don't</b> think it's cool.

--
Kristine
Recovering vegetarian

I also found myself wondering what their point with all of this is. There are a lot of teens out there that also think that anorexia and bulemia are cool or that doing drugs and smoking are cool..does that mean that the rest of us should too?

I was a vegetarian for 14 years from the time I was 14 until I was 28. Some of that time was vegan. I did it for ethical reasons (factory farming bothers me). I ate a very healthy diet at that time.

But I do like tasty animals. I just try to buy only free range meats and cheeses and others. There are many times where my meals are vegetarian still just because I like it.

There's no reason to bash vegetarians. Stay a step above the self-righteousness I didn't bash carnivores nor hunters. I just didn't want to participate at the time.

Teens are impressionable and have to figure out who and what they are. No religion is right for all, no political party is right for all, and certainly no diet is right for all.



ps - you can do Atkins or other lo-carb as an ovo-lacto.

I agree that it's wrong to attack Vegan/Vegetarianism purely on the basis of belief. While most Vs simply choose to eat their own way without bother to others, there is a large minority who feel the need to convince the rest of society to choose this lifestyle. PCRM takes this to the level of zealotry by using scare tactics and attacking other dietary lifestyles. This article presents a new twist by marketing the V dietary lifestyle to 14 year-olds by making it seem cool.

Just as there many reasons to choose Low Carb (overweight, prediabetic, high tryglycerides, etc.), there are many reasons to choose Veg (animal rights beliefs, allergies, etc.). But I am appaled that anyone would wish a 14 year-old follow a Low Carb or V diet simply because it was cool.

I don't think anyone here is trying to bash vegetarians as a group. I respect every person's right to eat in any manner they choose and for whatever reason they chose it, whether it be low carb, low fat, vegetarian or just the good 'ol American junk food diet and it is possible, BTW, to follow a low carb lifestyle as a vegetarian.
I do, however, have a major problem with PCRM's tactics and fanaticism. Chosing to eat animal flesh does not make me morally inferior to the person who chooses not to as much as PCRM would like to suggest otherwise.

I couldn't agree more!

I too was a vegetarian for approximately 17 years. I have no problem with people becoming vegetarian, however, the issue rests with vegetarians who are not devoted to ensuring that they obtain proper nutrition from their food. To be a proper vegetarian requires a lot of knowledge about nutrition. For the most part, teenagers just are not that interested. One girl in the article talks about eating chicken now because it was too hard to cook her own meals. I have 5 neices who all became vegetarian. Every one of them has started to eat meat because they lacked energy from the lack of protein in their diets. Neither were they dedicated to remaining vegetarian when push came to shove.



What about amino acids?



Who is this writer? A teenager? Now, seriously, I can't even believe this was put to print. Heated, rancid, free radical-forming, DNA-mutating vegetable oils are healthier than meat?

It took me years to come to grips that mankind requires adequate protein. I was a failure to thrive vegetarian who had to change my eating habits. Like many other ex-vegetarians, I choose to only purchase free range, organic, humanely treated meat. There's no compromise. I will always be an animal lover, I just have to look at things in more shades of gray than black/white.

Everybody has a right to choose the way they want to eat. I was never a militant vegetarian and I'm not militant about the way I eat now (nor do I appreciate militants who post on this site about the error of our ways). I just don't want teenagers becoming vegetarians because it's cool. Do it because it means something and you are committed to ensure that you don't become malnourished in the process.