Make no bones about it: Americans are unhealthily overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. Couple this with the U.S.’s contribution to the detriment of the environment, which gained publicity recently largely because of former Vice President Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth,” and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
Although these are daunting issues, there is a minority of people who believe the resolution to some of the country’s most difficult problems may be found in a lifestyle change that goes beyond reduced calories, exercise, hybrid cars or recycling: becoming a vegan.
While vegetarians gave up greasy hamburgers years ago, vegans take things to a new level, refusing to purchase or consume any animal products or by-products. For vegans, leather shoes, wool sweaters, eggs and dairy products are just as off-limits as a juicy steak.
In fact, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Vice President Gore on Tuesday urging him to go vegan, claiming that the meat industry is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
While he may still be pondering this decision, plenty of people have already made the jump.
“Veganism is getting more popular as people become aware of the effects that the meat and dairy industries have not only on our health but on the environment as well,” said Kendra Sheetz, a third-year English student and vegan. “It’s definitely entering into the mainstream.”
Tanya Petrovna, chef executive officer of the popular Westwood organic vegetarian/vegan restaurant Native Foods, has also noticed an increase in people going vegan.
“Veganism is everyone’s buzzword now,” Petrovna said. “It’s an idea that’s catching on so much that Native Foods is scheduled to open 12 more locations in the next 5 years, and the Westwood store is expanding.”
Native Foods’ success is in part thanks to its celebrity clientele. According to Petrovna, the restaurant has fed everyone from Andre 3000 of Outkast to Jason Schwartzman and Barry Manilow.
Happycow.net reports that Joaquin Phoenix, Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Woody Harrelson are also advocates of the vegan lifestyle.
With so much celebrity light being shed on veganism, one might wonder whether it’s just the latest trend.
Prominent vegan Alicia Silverstone, best known for her role in the 1995 film “Clueless” and currently acting in the Geffen Theater’s “Speed-the-Plow,” believes the impact of Hollywood is not the only reason people have fallen in love with veganism.
“Whether they got turned on by a trend or not, they’re going to stick with it, because it’s such an amazing lifestyle change,” Silverstone said. “What’s really exciting is once you go vegan, you start to really taste food. Things that you thought didn’t taste exciting now all of a sudden are very exciting and delicious because your palate becomes more refined and more sophisticated.”
Marci Frumkin, marketing director for the Southern Pacific region of Whole Foods Market, has noticed that many UCLA students have discovered the tastefulness of vegan foods.
“As a company, we stock things (in our stores) to make sense to the clientele that is shopping there,” she said. “We definitely have more (vegan) selections in the Westwood store than you might find in another store where the customers aren’t as young and aren’t into doing things that are more cutting-edge.”
Some students are choosing veganism for more ethical reasons, however, as they are concerned with the treatment of the animals that wind up on their plates.
Kristy Anderson, a fourth-year geography and environmental studies student and president of the UCLA student group Bruins for Animals!, is an avid Whole Foods shopper. She says students have the power to make a difference simply through the foods they choose to purchase and to consume.
“Cutting down the animal products that you eat makes a huge difference in your health, in the environment and in the lives of animals,” she said.
According to VeganOutreach.org, the lives of animals being raised for food are utterly miserable. The Web site explains that animals in factory farms “spend their entire lives confined indoors, enduring overcrowded and filthy conditions.”
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site reveals that Animal Feeding Operations, or AFOs, which are farms where animals are confined for at least 45 days every 12 months, have “contributed to negative environmental and human health impacts.”
Pollution that results from AFOs worsens the quality of water and can contaminate drinking-water sources and harm air quality, the EPA said.
“Once I found out about the cruelty that was involved in raising meat and dairy, and how bad it is for the environment, it really wasn’t hard to give those things up,” Sheetz said.
The American Meat Institute, which represents 70 percent of the U.S. meat and poultry industry, states on its Web site that the industry is committed to the health and comfort of its animals.
According to the American Meat Institute Web site, “The health and welfare of animals is a key concern of the meat and poultry industry. Healthy animals whose welfare is carefully respected result in safe, wholesome, high-quality meat and poultry products. Federal laws govern animal health and humane treatment of animals.”
Despite veganism’s burgeoning popularity, many students find it difficult to imagine their lives without the foods they are used to.
“It seems like being vegan would be really hard,” said Justin Leveck, a fourth-year philosophy student. “I don’t get off of work at the end of a long day and think, “˜I just want to tear into a big salad.'”
Although salad is certainly on the menu for many vegans, Frumkin wants people to realize the vegan lifestyle is actually a lot more diverse and enjoyable than one might think.
“I’m almost 100 percent sure that there’s a delicious alternative out there for anything that people eat that they love and feel like is a special treat,” she said.
Perusing the menu at Native Foods or walking through the aisles of the organic and natural food supermarket Whole Foods, one can see that vegans have a plethora of options.
While non-vegans may enjoy hamburgers, there are dozens of variations of veggie burgers on the market. Other vegan alternatives include tofu, soy milk and seitan, also known as “wheat meat.”
“Meat and dairy products taste good, but there are so many alternatives that taste even more delicious and don’t come with the pain of the animal or the pain to my own body that I would be inflicting on myself,” Silverstone said.
Since the vegan diet eliminates a lot of the cholesterol and saturated fat that come with meat and dairy, many people believe that veganism is in fact healthier.
“The key is fresh fruits and vegetables and nuts and grains,” Petrovna said. “These foods can blow anything out of the water health-wise. There are plenty of absolutely amazing vegan food choices that will make you look and feel healthier than ever, and I’ve actually written a menu to prove that.”
Dr. Mina Echols, a pediatrician based in San Jose who occasionally works with obese children, confirms that vegans can be healthy as long as they make sure their diets are rich in foods that provide all the nutrients their bodies need.
“It’s important for vegans to make sure that they get the nutrients they would have gotten through meat and dairy, like calcium, iron and vitamin B12, through other sources,” said Echols. “As long as the body is getting everything it needs, veganism is a sufficient choice.”
Silverstone, a firm believer in the healthfulness of eating vegan, urges people to open their minds up to the idea of a vegan lifestyle.
“I challenge everyone to try being vegan for two or three months, as long as it’s done responsibly,” she said. “If they try it for a few months, I would be hard-pressed to find many people who would turn back.”