A sign of the times

Young reporter's insight into meatlessness

Paige Dzenis writes a regular "teen" feature for her community newspaper, Forest Hill Town Crier. In May, she reported that 20% of her class have become vegetarian. Like many young Canadians, Paige's main reason for becoming vegetarian is animal rights. When she explains the health benefits of the diet, she speaks about people being "addicted" to meat. She complains about meat being pervasive in our society and how easy it is for new vegetarians to relinquish their commitment.

Interestingly, she solicits support from her family and infers that it may not be parents who are the greatest detractors, but siblings! "Many of my at-home meals include my sister either complaining to my parents about the "gross veggie food," or sticking a chunk of meat in my face." So, to cope with this type of abuse during your transition period, Dzenis recommends having a friend along for the ride.

We at Lifelines concur. In fact, that is why TVA actively supports its Youth Group (for details call TVA and leave a message) and visits as many schools as our volunteers can manage each month. TVA recently published its own Getting Started booklet for people in transition. Says Paige, "Just think about how the world would be if we were all vegetarians. Probably different, and probably better."

May/June 1997 Lifelines

Life as a teenage vegetarian

by Kristie Hertz

I am fifteen years old and a vegetarian. The two don't go together in most people's mind. Teenagers are associated with Big Macs, pepperoni pizza, and fried chicken. When people first find out that I am a vegetarian, they usually put up their noses and ask why. Well, I initially went on a vegetarian diet to lose weight and get in better shape. I had heard all the reports about the high fat content in meat and I wasn't a big chicken fan.

Another thing people say to me is that they could never give up their meat. Those comments, in some strange way, make me feel more powerful than them, because I can control what I do and do not put into my body. A lot of people feel that they need to eat certain things when they go out to dinner, because they want to be social. So many times, I've seen my parents order a full course meal when they went out to dinner with friends just to be polite.

I have gained greater control over myself and my body.

As for myself, I feel better than I ever have in the past. I rarely feel run down because I get all the necessary vitamins and fiber that my body needs. My skin is smoother, and my hair has more shine. I think that in the past, although I did not know it, I ate too much meat and hardly any vegetables. A typical day would start off with pancakes and butter at breakfast. For lunch, I would have a turkey or ham sandwich with milk and a butter roll. And dinner would consist of a fatty meat, fried chicken with skin, pot roast, hamburgers, etc., and usually corn. Green vegetables in my house were virtually unheard of except at Christmas time.

Now, a typical day starts off with a couple of bagels, no butter. Lunch is usually bananas and whatever other fruits are in season. For dinner, I have a couple of vegetables with veggie burgers, pizza or bean soups.

A lot of people are under the misconception that a vegetarian is someone who eats salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and that there is no variety in what they eat. Since I became a vegetarian a year ago, I have discovered a lot of new and exciting foods to eat. I enjoy going to the grocery store and looking at the fresh produce to see what type of foods I can create. It also seems that every time I go to the store, they have a new vegetarian product on the shelves. There are now about thirty new products that weren't there a year ago.

In the end, I feel that being a vegetarian has given me greater control over myself and my body. I don't fit in with the rest of the crowd, and I don't want to. I feel that the people around me look at me differently because I have control, especially at a time in my life when so many people are just trying to fit in.

Kristie Hertz lives in Delaware. She was in 10th grade when she wrote this winning essay in Vegetarian Resource Group's annual essay contest for kids and youth.

Vegetarian Journal – Jan/Feb 1995