Vegetarianism

Recently, I decided to become a vegetarian. I'd toyed with the idea before, when I was in middle school and a hard-core animal rights activist. I think middle school and early high school are some of the times when a person becomes really passionate about things (whether or not one's parents feel those things have any redeeming value). I became passionate about the Ramones and vegetarianism. There was only one problem: I didn't much care for the meat replacements. I still don't, in fact. My mom used to feed us "veggie crumble" during that time period, which was fake ground beef. It wasn't too bad, but I still couldn't help refering to it as "the fake meat". Please pass the fake meat. It doesn't make for a tasty meal. After a while, due both to my repugnance to replacement meat and a boy in my class constantly ragging on me (he used to call me "Veggie Girl," and would ask me if I "wanted a cheeseburger"), but I never really forgot about how much I had wanted to try it.

Well, here I am, four years later, trying it again. It helps that now I like more vegetables! I wanted to do this both because I feel most meat was treated cruelly when it was an animal and because I felt it would be a healthier lifestyle than my current one. For the first week or so it wasn't, since I didn't really know what my options were as a newly christened vegetarian, so I basically ate grilled cheese sandwiches and curly fries. Not exactly the healthy option I was looking for! Now, I'm a little more saavy, and I have a little more self-control. It's hard sometimes, though. I love the taste of meat. Name a meat, and I'm pretty sure I like it. It's a challenge, but I've always been one to like a challenge, which is exactly why I stayed in Chemistry I Honors, despite the fact that I suck at chemistry and ended up with a B. I'm proud of myself for my choice and feel I'm in a good place with my eating habits, but sometimes I come up against opposition from others.

Sometimes I feel like I have to explain myself, like "Oh, but I still eat chicken when I go out for Indian food," or "This isn't set in stone or anything." And the typical reaction I have gotten from men is negative. Most guys, when I tell them I'm a vegetarian, either go, "Why??" or "Oh," like it's a disappointment. Maybe they like a girl who likes her BBQ and corn on the cob a la George Bush. Most of the girls I talk to, on the other hand, either think it's cool or wish they could do it too. It's interesting that those who wish they could do it either can't give up their meat or don't like enough vegetables. I know a few people who don't like meat enough to justify eating it on a regular basis, but they like so few vegetables that vegetarianism would be suicidal to their health. Reese pieces for breakfast and french fries for lunch, anyone?

So, while I'm proud of myself, sometimes others kind of get me down, by subtlely (or not so subtlely) letting me know that they think I'm making the wrong choice in their book. Today, I decided to look up some other famous vegetarians, to see if I could find a couple of pop culture heroes to boost me up. Fortunately, I already have a wonderful person in my life who is also a vegetarian, so I can look to her for help and support in my endeavor. I just felt like seeing if there were kindred souls out there who have a little more influence. Maybe if someone knocked me for being a veggie girl, I could trot out a couple of well-placed names and send them packing to the produce section of the grocery store. What I found really surprised me. Not only are there tons of famous vegetarians (and vegans), but so many of them were on my importance list. Aside from major Indian spiritual and political leaders (Buddha, Mahavira, and Gandhi, to name a few), all four Beatles were listed as vegetarians (and here I thought it was just Paul and George), and such big Hollywood names as Brad Pitt and Demi Moore. Even more importantly to me, my other guitar hero is a vegetarian. Mick Jones, ex-guitarist for the Clash and current lead guitarist for Carbon/Silicon and winner of this year's NME Inspiration Award, decided to become a vegetarian much for the same reasons as I did. He doesn't like cruelty toward animals and wanted to challenge himself. I also found out that he's Jewish, and one of the most famous Jewish punks. He's just a mover and shaker all around!

It turns out I'm not alone and I'm actually in the company of some really cool people. I'm not as crazy as some people think, and when I'm feeling alone or doubting myself, I have role models to look to on my journey. I still have some issues to work out with this lifestyle (how do I get enough protein when I can't get eggs every day and don't particularly care for soy? how do I incorporate my diet in with my parents' when I move back home for the summer? etc.), but I am more confident than ever that I can do whatever I want to. In this day and age, so many people think you can't tell kids they can do anything, because then they'll think it's true when it's not. I honestly believe than anyone can do anything they want, if only they work hard enough. And I for one plan to work hard enough at this.