Vegetarians celebrated Vegetarian Awareness Month in October to inform the public of the importance of a vegetarian diet. They are also seeing to prove to society that vegetarian diets have health benefits, can save animals’ lives, and can help in preserving the earth. Matthew Leung, a sophomore in exercise sports science from Hong Kong, said he wasn’t fully aware of the meaning of the word “vegetarian,” but after a brief explanation, he said, “I think it’s interesting. I am not a vegetarian cause I do like meat sometimes. I think they’re just like a different culture or different lifestyle.”
According to Webster’s Dictionary the word “vegetarian” means, “A person who does not eat meat, and sometimes other animal products, esp. for moral, religious, or health religions.” However, there’s more to a vegetarian diet than simply abstaining from meat. Vegetarians can also avoid foods including animal sources such as milk, yogurt, and cheese. There are essentially five basic types of vegetarians: vegans, Ovo vegetarians, lactovegetarians, ovolactovegetarians, and semivegetarians, each type allowing for certain foods in their diets such as eggs, milk products, fish, and poultry.
“I didn’t know there were different kinds of vegetarians,” said Trent Hansen, a freshman in biology from Wyoming. “I could never be a vegetarian cause I think you need moderation of things, but I understand if you don’t want to eat meat. I feel like if something is important to someone, then that’s their choice and I think it’s good that people respect that. That’s why we have this national awareness month.”
Samanta Gonzales, a freshman in psychology from Utah, also expressed her feelings about Vegetarian Awareness Month when she said; “I think it’s good that they have the awareness month so people know about it a lot more. I’m not really for it or against it. I’m just kind of neutral. I mean whatever people want to do. There are good things about it, but there are also bad things about it.”
Concerns about vegan diets, which include not eating meat, fish, dairy products, and eggs, include nutritional deficiencies for things like vitamins B-12 and D, iron and zinc, and omega 3 fatty acids, says the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The group says about 1.4 percent of Americans are vegan. Vegetarian Times says about 2 percent of Americans are vegetarians but 6 percent follow a vegetarian-inclined diet.