By Carli Hutchison

Monmouth Academy

Whoppers, Big Macs, and chicken burgers probably sound appetizing to most. Not to me though. I don’t eat meat. You’re probably saying to yourself that you could never live without meat. That was me once too, an avid meat eater. Chicken was once my ultimate passion; now it’s soy- tofu, soymilk, soy burgers, anything with soy, really.

My becoming a vegetarian all started last summer when I was a camp counselor. Out of the six counselors besides me, three were vegetarians, so foods like soy dogs and fake chicken were served at every meal. I tried some, mostly from curiosity, but also because some of the vegetarians kept talking about the hormones and antibiotics that are injected in farm animals. I was surprised how good the fake meat tasted. I was convinced that being a vegetarian would be easy and healthy.

So far, it’s been three months since I’ve eaten any animals. My last meaty dinner was the Chicken Giardino at Olive Garden (which was very good at the time), but not good enough for me to sway away from being a vegetarian.

I feel good about not eating meat; I think I am doing something good not only for my body, but also for the animals I’m not consuming. Since I love vegetables, soy, and don’t really miss meat, being a vegetarian is relatively easy. But I can’t say that vegetarianism is for everybody, I know some people who are natural-born carnivores. I just think that whatever kind of diet fits your needs and beliefs is fine. All I know, is that a vegetarian diet is the one that fits me.


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