The original way to go green: A vegetarian diet

Published: May 8, 2008

Summer Jones
Mid-Del
Frishman

People who switch a meatless diet do so for many reasons, including health and the well-being of animals.

Sam Bible, an Edmond Memorial sophomore, was a vegetarian for a year before she became vegan six months ago.

“Everyone should look into a vegan or vegetarian diet,” she said. “It’s a better way to live.”

Bible has seen various benefits from switching to a meatless, dairy-free diet, including more energy, help with weight loss and improvements in her skin.

Vegetarians tend to have lower body mass indexes than non vegetarians, according to the American Dietetic Association.

Vegetarians also are less likely to have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer, according to the ADA.

Vegetarians must be careful to include all the necessary nutrients in their diets, but including necessities like protein, iron and calcium can be done, according to the ADA.

“Maintaining a vegan diet has been fairly easy since I’ve learned what I’m doing,” Bible said.

But health isn’t the only reason people switch to a vegetarian lifestyle.

Alissa Finley, president of VegOK.com, has been vegan for 17 years.

“I am vegan out of a desire to not contribute to suffering,” she said. “At every meal we all have the choice to either contribute to the pain of farmed animals or not.

“The lives of the 50 billion farmed animals killed every year by animal agribusiness for meat, dairy, and eggs are brutal, sad and torturous.”

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