Why does someone choose to become a vegetarian? Do they do it for health reasons, ethics, or taste? Johnna McGlaughlin has been a vegetarian for five years. She is a student at Drury University and an athlete on the cross-country team. She lives on campus and eats in the campus cafeteria at least twice a day. The Scoop sat down with McGlaughlin, to gain some insight into the reasons behind vegetarianism and what life is like on a college campus with the absence of meat.
When did you first decide you wanted to become a vegetarian?
“I decided to become a vegetarian my sophomore year of high school because I saw a documentary just on how our food is made and how animals are treated. I was really effected by that, so it was kind of a gradual process after that. First, I didn’t eat red meat and then I cut out more and more meat, eventually I just became a vegetarian.”
How do you get your source of protein not eating meat?
“Well, I actually do still eat organic turkey and fish. So, as long as I eat plenty of those things, (I also eat eggs and some other dairy products) I’m usually fine.”
Is it hard living on a campus and eating a vegetarian diet?
“It’s really not that hard. I thought it would honestly be harder than it has been, but the commons is pretty good. There’s always options. So yeah, it’s not really as hard as I thought it would be.”
What would you say to meat eaters to help them understand the reasons behind vegetarianism?
“Well, I would say that there are several reasons. The number one reason being ethical, not necessarily because I’m like concerned about the rights of animals, but I just think that animals are a gift that we’ve been blessed with, so we need to treat them well. That’s really my main reason and then on top of that, there are also health benefits obviously, to not eating red meat in particular. Those are the two biggest reasons I would say.”
Being an athlete, do you believe a vegetarian diet helps you perform better in your sport?
“I don’t know if I would say it helps me perform better, but I don’t think that it’s been hindering me. I do have other sources of protein like my protein shake and my fish and turkey. But, yeah, I don’t know that it’s necessarily helped or hindered me in any way.”
Do you know a lot of vegetarians?
“I know maybe three or four. Not very many.”
Do they have the same reasons for being a vegetarian as you?
“I think so. I think most of them are ethical. I know one girl is strictly for health benefits because she’s like pre-diabetic or something. But, yeah, the other three it’s a very ethical thing and they are much more on animal rights. Like, no animals should ever die kind of thing, which is not exactly the philosophy I have towards it.”
Do you think you’ll ever eat meat again?
“I don’t see why I would. Yeah, I don’t have any desire to. Occasionally, I miss chicken, but that’s pretty much the only thing; I don’t really desire it that much to break the streak I already have.”
