Vegetarianism and veganism are often misunderstood and confused with each other, yet many students follow these diets.
Both of these diets come with a benefit to the environment. By cutting down on the amount of meat being eaten, it reduces the amount of greenhouse gasses produced due to less methane emissions from cattle, which in turn slows down global warming, according to energysavingtrust.com
A vegan diet refers to not eating any animal products, including meat, milk, and eggs, according to vegansociety.com.
While this diet is restricting, it is easy to stick to, according to three-year vegan and sophomore Dean Partida. Although he has vegan family members, he chose to be vegan for personal reasons, Partida said.
“I just started thinking about it, and I don’t really think there is a purpose to kill animals for sustenance,” Partida said. “You could survive off a vegan diet and be fine.”
While veganism is a sustainable diet, it comes with its downsides, according to Partida.
“It affects my social life a lot,” Partida said. “Whenever my friends are out eating, they notice that I don’t have anything and they’re like, ‘Aren’t you hungry? Do you want me to get you something?’”
Partida has also noticed a lack of vegan options at many restaurants, he said.
“Some restaurants don’t have any vegan options,” Partida explained. “The most you can get there is just a plain salad, and that’s not really the best.”
However, a place he can rely on for good vegan options is the school cafeteria, Partida said.
“I appreciate that they (MHS) are trying to cater to the vegan and vegetarian students.”
Unlike veganism, vegetarianism allows consumption of animal products such as eggs and dairy, but meat is not permitted.
Despite eating meat until the age of four, junior Vivan Iyer has stuck to his vegetarian diet since then. Iyer first started his vegetarian diet for cultural reasons but shifted to doing so for his own personal reasons, Iyer explained.
“First it was more cultural and religious (Hinduism), but it was never strictly enforced by my parents, and I kind of got used to it,” Iyer said.
Iyer was also influenced to remain vegetarian by the “Game Changers” documentary, which highlights how meat is not needed in people’s diet, Iyer said.
Iyer also plays soccer for MHS and has always felt that he could get all the nutrients he needs to keep himself healthy and injury-free from his diet, he said.
“I always felt that I could sustain it easily,” Iyer said. “The main thing is just protein, and I eat a lot of protein bars and nuts, so I think I get a decent amount.”
Similar to Partida, Iyer has also had experiences when he was affected in social situations by his diet.
“When we have team dinners, and they get spaghetti and meatballs, they have to order individually for me so I can also eat,” Iyer said.
There have never been problems with his diet, and doctors have never asked him to change his diet, according to junior Aashman Jain, lifelong vegetarian.
“He (doctor) recommended protein alternatives,like beans and yogurt, and any high protein foods,” Jain said.
Although veganism is a restrictive diet, that does not mean that it is unsustainable, Partida said. By finding alternatives and making sure you are getting enough nutrients, veganism and vegetarianism provide benefits to not only the individual but also the planet, Partida added.