or exclude animal based products. There are many different reasons why one becomes a

Transcription

1 Lauren Krohn Due: May 2, 2012 Term Paper NFSC 429 Cultural Foods The Truth about Vegetarianism Abstract Vegetarianism is the practice of following a plant based diet, whether that may include or exclude animal based products. There are many different reasons why one becomes a vegetarian. Some reasons include, religion, moral issues with the harm of animals, health, dislike the taste and many other reasons. With these behaviors come a lot of negative stereotypes. People often associate vegetarians with stereotypes that can or cannot be true, however those making these assumptions usually do not generalize based on facts or quality research, they regurgitate what they hear. Most people assume that if one does not eat meat, then they are not getting the adequate protein needed to avoid deficiency, but also associate themselves as a healthy individual. The purpose of this research paper is to identify and discuss the stigmas and associations with vegetarianism and the way people eat and why people believe these ideas. Using a qualitative method, research was conducted to find out information about people s diets and their opinions on following a vegetarian diet. Our goal to find out why people eat the way they do and to prove that eating a vegetarian based diet can be very beneficial to one s health. This study was conducted through personal interviews with different types of individuals based on age, gender, vegetarian vs. non-vegetarian and their upbringing within their previous homes. This study concluded that there are in-fact, a lot of stereotypes about vegetarianism and the health benefits that go along with the diet. Introduction and Literature Review

2 The topic I chose to write on was vegetarianism. In the United States, there are many different stigmas about vegetarianism. Many people believe that by following a meatless diet, one cannot obtain the adequate nutrition needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I chose this topic because being a pescatarian myself, I often got remarks. People seem to be sure because I do not eat meat that I cannot get sufficient iron and protein in my diet. I know vegetarians with the same experience and I want to prove that this stereotype is false. There are many people in the United States who do not get the adequate nutrients, like vitamins and minerals, however most individuals do not question their diets. Research indicates that vegetarians have been around for years. There have been questions and studies indicating that there have always been vegetarians, however, only in the last fifty years that as a society we have begun to think that the non-consumption of animals and animal bi-products are peculiar. In the study done about becoming vegan ( Once You Know Something, You Can t Not Know It An Empirical Look at Becoming Vegan), Barbara Mc Donald takes a closer look at why people become vegan. In her summary about comparing pets to food, her concluding quote involving all of the participants states, Most of the participants felt affection for nonhuman animals prior to becoming vegan. Their compassion excluded food animals, because they did not see the connection between the animals they kept as pets and the animals they consumed as food. If those who currently are vegan did not make this connection, then most likely this is true for most Americans as well. In my second qualitative article ( God is a vegetarian : The food, health and bio-spirituality of Hare Krishna, Buddhist and Seventh-Day Adventist Devotees) by Jemál Nath, a participant s quote summarizes an important concept I would like to stress. My understanding is that by eating non-vegetarian food then we accept the consciousness of

3 the animal at the time of death. It is manifest in terms of certain chemicals secreted by the animal. I ll give you an example: when an animal is killed, this leads to a secretion of adrenalin in the blood, that is stored in the tissues and you end up eating that, and that has an effect on your state of mind and your biochemistry. It affects you adversely, and I can say definitely that anger and lust, all these agitating emotions are caused by eating meat. Vegetarians are generally more peaceful than meat-eaters. (Male, aged 26 34). I would like to stress how accurate this participant s conclusion is. When one eats meat, not only can the fat content be negative, there can be harmful psychological effects as well. Like the male participant stated, because of this vegetarians tend to be more peaceful. This quality has altered into the form of a label or a stereotype amongst those who chose not to consume meat. Those stereotypes about personalities of vegetarians are topics I would like to include in my research. According to the Cultural Foods book, people often relate vegetarianism with hippies and pacifism. It is interesting to know where this stigma came from and how it came about. There are also a lot of stereotypes about the cost of eating a vegetarian diet. People often assume it is expensive and difficult to find alternative foods. I often hear people say they do not like to buy vegetables and fruits because of the cost and say it is too expensive to eat healthy as well as eating a vegetarian diet. There are also a lot of assumptions having to do with costs because of the assumption that meat substitutes are necessary in a vegetarian diet. Methods My method for selecting four individuals to interview was attempting to interview different types of people. I interviewed two males and two females. My goal was to focus on obtaining very different personality types along with eating habits. I gathered information on

4 what types of foods they consumed and why they consume them. I wanted to aim at participants with very basic, common knowledge about food and nutrition, so I avoided anyone within the food and nutrition major due to their extensive training and knowledge. In selecting individuals to interview, I looked at their diet types based on what I observed. I considered things like where they were raised, their cultural upbringing, and what types of families they had so that I could get a basic idea of what type of eaters they were as a family. It was interesting to learn about what types of foods they ate growing up. I got a colorful insight on the connections between the way they eat and their personality types. I selected four participants to interview for my study that had different styles of eating habits and personality types. I chose one individual who is currently a vegetarian, formerly a vegan, but grew up in a meat eating family. Her name is Chloe and she is a 21 year old Caucasian female. My second participant I chose is a 24 year old half Caucasian, half Pilipino male who eats relatively unhealthy and tends to follow a lot of the trendy diets. Growing up she ate a lot of Oriental style foods and still eats rice as her staple. My third participant is a 23 year old Caucasian female who eats meat, however, eats moderately healthy and grew up in a meat and potato type home. My fourth participant is a 41 year old Caucasian male who has 15 years of culinary experience as a chef, therefore a great candidate for this study having that background with food. Even with his extensive training and knowledge, he eats a moderate to low health type diet and is a meat consumer. Results and Discussions My first participant, Chloe, grew up in a meat eating household, was vegan and is now a vegetarian, meaning she eats animal by-products, but not meat and fish. Chloe s opinion on

5 what a vegetarian means is unique from the other participants. She states, When I think of a vegetarian, I think of someone who does not want to hurt animals or a person that wants to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Today, everyone eats what they want without thinking about portion control, however, I have also seen people who actually care about the nutritional value and usually, those individuals tend to be vegetarians. Mind you Chloe is a vegetarian herself, but she proceeded to tell me about her reasoning of deciding to be vegan in the first place. She told me after doing some research, she learned about the serious health risks in eating animal products. She knows that a lot of dairy products and some meats can be a healthier option, however, she believes by eliminating it completely she was able to have a more disciplined mindset. To her, this was a health change for her mental being as well. It gives me something to focus on for the greater good. My second participant, Elijah, is a 24 year old half Caucasian, half Pilipino male who eats meat. When I asked what stereotypes came to mind when thinking of the word vegetarian, he used words/phrases like, stupid, naïve, complicated, just a fad, hippie grass eaters, and a person who thinks animals need rights and vegetarians don t like that fact. Growing up, Elijah ate a lot of oriental style foods and rice was usually their staple with every meal. Each meal meat was generally included along with a starch and a vegetable. Now, Elijah keeps ingredients such as eggs, lunch meats, rice, top ramen, ketchup and white bread stocked at all times and spends roughly around $ total on food every month. He explained, generally, he does his shopping based around convenience foods. I asked if he thinks vegetarians can get their required nutrients every day, he said, Some vegetarians know a lot about what they need and are aware of how much protein to get in, but I think some vegetarians don t know the correct way. Some vegetarians are vegetarians to lose weight and to be cool, but others know how to eat the tofu, nuts and eggs. Buying ingredients such as fruit, veggies and whole grains in

6 order to have a home cooked meal is costly. Vegetables can be cheap, but some fruits are expensive. I don t know if a vegetarian lifestyle is necessarily more expensive, but all that vegan, organic stuff is way more expensive than meats. I asked him if he has ever tried comparing home cooked meal costs to buying out. He said it is more expensive to eat in, however, admits that it would probably be easier if he knew what foods to put together and it was convenient. He told me he was lazy and would rather just eat something like Top Ramen or Spaghetti-o s. My third participant is Shannon, a 23 year old Caucasian female who eats meat. Growing up with her family, she ate foods such as burgers with fries, spaghetti with meatballs, meat loaf, chicken and Rice-a-Roni. She says, Now, generally I always have cheese, bread, pasta, chips, goldfish, and other snacky stuff. She also told me half of the time she eats in and the other half she will buy meals out. She spends about $100 per month in and $100 per month out. I asked her what she thinks of when she hears the word vegetarian and if they are able to get adequate nutrients. She said, Vegetarians don t like humans killing animals for food because it is wrong and yes, they get nutrients when they eat eggs, eggplant, nuts, and peanut butter. The consumption of eggplant is a stereotype I often hear associated with vegetarianism, although it does not really have a lot of protein in it at all. Also, another interesting comment which is a rather common stereotype/misunderstanding is when she mentions that a vegetarian is someone who cannot eat meat. I asked her if it was costly to buy ingredients to make a meal at home and she said no. She replied, You can buy one salad out, however, if you bought the ingredients and made it at home, for the same price you could make three salads. I asked Shannon why she eats out so much if she thinks it is less money to eat in and she told me she would most likely eat in more if she knew how to cook nice meals or if she knew which meals were affordable and easy to make and that she does not want to clean up the kitchen afterward. Shannon states that her previous belief that being a vegetarian is more expensive because of all the substitutes. However, now, she claims she does not believe that and thinks they are the same. Well, a healthy vegetarian would use their $5 to

7 get an alternative meat product, whereas, the non-vegetarian would use their $5 and get foods like chips. I don t know how much that kind of stuff is, so I do not know if it is more or less. But, this is why it is hard for me to say if it is more expensive or not. My fourth participant is Jeremiah, a 41 year old chef that eats meat. I asked Jeremiah his views and opinions about vegetarianism and his adjectives were, Anger, selfish and pretentious. He added, Most vegetarians aren t vegetarians for the right reason. I understand if you are a vegetarian because of your care for animals, but now I feel like it s just a fad. If you don t like meat, that s fine. But why would you want a Boca burger if you don t like the taste of meat? Jeremiah is my only participant who had a blunt and sincerely, honest view about the subject. Growing up, Jeremiah would eat meals with his family described as spaghetti, baked chicken with lumpy mashed potatoes, salad, overcooked asparagus, and a lot of BBQ foods like burgers and ribs that weren t properly cooked. We had a lot of shitty casseroles that my mom would make I mean, really, we were basically that dumbass middle class family that had generic meals. When I asked him if he thought vegetarians could get the proper nutrients in, he responded, They can if they get the proper protein in. I don t know exactly the nutrients you get from meat, so I am not quite sure if I am educated enough to answer that specific question. I asked Jeremiah if he believes it is costly to buy fruits, vegetables and grains in order to create a home cooked meal. Because he is a chef, I expected him to say no! Instead he told me, Well, it depends. It is a broad question because if you are an idiot that goes to S&S Produce than it is going to be very expensive. But, if you go to a normal store, like Winco or Safeway, then yes, of course it will be cheaper. I asked him if he thinks it is more expensive to eat a vegetarian diet than a normal diet, he said, Part of me wants to say yes and part of me wants to say no. It can be a lot of money if you are a vegetarian that exploits all the vegetarian brands, like Amy s or Morning Star, but if you prepare your own stuff from fresh ingredients and food in cans, then, yes it will be cheaper.

8 Participant A Participant B Participant C Participant D Stereotypes Expensive x x Complicated x x x x Healthy x x Cool thing to do x x Because of animal rights x x x x Fad x x x x Eating Styles Meat Eaters x x x Vegetarian x Chefs x Source of Information Generally Public x x Friends x x Family x Research of Internet/books x x My research shows all of the different stereotypes brought on by society and family influence. The conclusion of this study shows that Americans today should be better educated about nutrition and healthy consumption of food. Conclusions and Recommendations In short, my participants accurately proved my point about the different stereotypes and associations related to vegetarianism. Half of the participant s opinions are researched based while the other assumptions were mere speculations based on what other people say. My interviews prove that the opinions of vegetarianism to the average American are primarily based on word-of-mouth research. Culture and family upbringing has a tremendous influence on these connotations. According to research, the non-consumption of meat can have beneficial outcomes in regards to health. Those who are vegetarians just need to be educated on how. Although buying meat substitutes can be costly, living

9 a vegetarian lifestyle is not necessarily more expensive. Most Americans admit they would rather cook and eat something convenient and easy, therefore associating the vegetarian option with expensive because most convenient vegetarian meals are costly. However, after analyzing my qualitative data, I have concluded that if one had the access to proper education on budgeting and nutritional advice, then this would not be an issue of concern. My further recommendations to continue this study would be to include how to make this education possible. If I could do this study differently I would have made this my focus. I would have done interviews based on what people are willing to pay for and if they would actually participate in educational programs. On the other hand, I would have not known about this issue of concern if it was not for my current study. So, instead of changing my study, I would chose to further my research on vegetarianism and how it relates to health, stereotypes and cost.