After reading the title of this piece, it may be hard to believe that I adore greasy burgers and fried chicken. I am a proud foodie with an Instagram account dedicated to pictures of the food I eat, including meat.
But while saying no to my favorite burger at Pastis while on spring break in New York last week was heart-wrenching, I am excited to announce I have officially been a vegetarian for two and a half months — and it’s permanently altered my outlook on nutrition and the American diet.
I know that two and a half months might not seem like enough time for that, but hear me out.
I have eaten meat my entire life and, up until this year, I could not envision my foodie lifestyle without it.
The Netflix documentary “You Are What You Eat” is what convinced me to pursue a vegetarian lifestyle. The documentary displays the impacts of an omnivore diet versus a vegan diet through a study on identical twins. It also exposes the history of the standard American diet and meat consumption’s impact on the environment.
I’ll be honest, I do not have the willpower to become a vegan (thanks to cheese and ice cream), but cutting out meat felt like a reasonable way to challenge the standard American diet and provide some environmental reprieve.
To my surprise, the vegetarian diet has wildly exceeded my expectations.
The vegetarian diet offers nutrition, delicious options and environmental benefits. In a meat-centric society like the United States, my discovery of a nourishing meatless diet has also motivated me to redefine what constitutes a substantive meal.
The amount of times I have been told I will not get enough protein and nutrients without meat, though, is not only unbelievable, but unsupported.
The belief that the vegetarian diet is nutrient-void stems from the rigid standard of the American diet, which values high caloric intake and meat consumption. Unsurprisingly, the United States has the highest per capita meat consumption in the world with projections of an average of 219 pounds of land animal per American consumed in 2018.
Because of meat’s omnipresence in American cuisine, Americans struggle to fathom a well-rounded meal without it.
Meat is not the holy grail of nutrients and protein that American diets purport it to be. Plant-based protein sources, such as tofu, lentils, beans, quinoa and protein-rich fruits and vegetables, contradict the perception that meat is Americans’ most robust source of protein.
Many cultures outside of the United States prove that meat is not needed to constitute a well-rounded meal. One example is traditional Indian cuisine. Many Hindus abstain from meat consumption entirely. Instead, they incorporate paneer (a type of cheese), lentils, chickpeas and various vegetables to build their hearty delicacies.
Although the United States consumes the largest amount of meat, most of the meat that’s processed will never be consumed. Estimates suggest that 21.5 percent of American meat goes uneaten by humans. As long as meat continues to be bought, the whereabouts of meat are unimportant to the meat industry.
Consequently, billions of animals are being slaughtered only to become food waste. Animal slaughter for consumption is unsettling, but animal slaughter for food waste — combined with the greedy motives of the meat industry — is overwhelmingly destructive.
The detrimental impact of meat on the environment moves beyond just food waste, though.
Meat consumption is fueling the livestock sector’s extreme production of greenhouse gases and the deforestation in the Amazon. With the demand for more space for cattle, cattle ranchers are eager to cut down and burn the Amazon trees to make room.
The environmental impact of meat consumption and the availability of tasty vegetarian options make switching diets a relatively easy choice.
Still, just because the vegetarian diet works for me does not mean it’s compatible with everybody’s lifestyles and dietary needs. I am not trying to force people to renounce meat but rather show that the vegetarian lifestyle can be just as satisfying as the omnivore lifestyle.
Before judging someone’s choice in diet, think about why you choose your own diet. Our diets tend to align with our values and what makes us feel best. For me, that’s tofu.
Tess McHugh PO ’25 is from Denver, Colorado. She loves Ariana Grande, New York bagels and the TV drama “Severance.”
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