By MOLLY WALLACE
Questions about diets will sometimes arise. Who is healthier? Who is eating more protein? But for some, a diet is not just one change in an eating pattern. For vegans, vegetarians and organic eaters, it is a commitment made to a lifestyle of either meat-free or completely natural foods. To explain and give insight on select eating habits, here are three plates, piled high with appetizing information.
Saving Nature
Veganism is built upon the idea of saving animals and the environment, and prohibits consuming meat or any animal bi-products, like dairy.
Junior Chantelle Cade says she would not go back to eating meat and dairy as one is more familiar with.
“I don’t dislike anything about being vegan,” Cade said. “I do miss doughnuts, but not enough to go back.”
According to the New York Times, protein levels are a major concern for vegans, but Cade disagrees.
“Most people get twice as much protein as they need in a day anyway,” Cade said. “I get my protein from beans and tofu.”
Cade claims that people have made fun of her for being a vegan, but not enough to make her go back to consuming any animal bi-products.
“I like eating vegan,” Cade said. “[People] are just defensive about food.”
Going Organic
Organic food is brought to consumers with no hormones, pesticides, fertilizers or any bioengineering. It is known as the “all natural diet”.
“You feel like you’re eating cleaner and healthier,” junior Vivian Motta said.
A plus for organic eating, in comparison to veganism and vegetarianism, is that there is no concern with low iron or protein levels because one can still consume meat and dairy. In this aspect, shopping is done by searching for foods with the organic label on them, like the GreenWise brand at Publix.
One thing to consider is the cost of buying organic food, but Motta stresses the positives, and that there is a specific taste to all organic food, making it better.
“I have lost a lot of weight [eating organic], my whole family has,” Motta said.
Animal Lover
Vegetarians stress refraining from the consumption of meat products. It also focuses on the lives of animals and how they are treated.
“I gave up meat and became a vegetarian for moral reasons,” senior David Ballentine said.
Ballentine says cravings do arise, but abides by the facts claiming vegetarians live longer than meat-eaters. Myth or not, Ballentine is focused on his diet choice.
“I want to go at least five years [as vegetarian], then when I’m 25, I’ll try out veganism,” Ballentine said.
For a year and a half, Ballentine has been a vegetarian, and is seen proudly wearing a green bracelet with the words ‘omnivore’ in white on it.
“I miss meat a lot. You get cravings, but you save the lives of animals, so I think it’s worth it,” Ballentine said.
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