"The Vegetarian Kid"
Picture a grade-school child or teenager who's dying to impress a group of friends. One day, the group decides to go to White Castle or McDonald's for belly-bombing burgers. Our young friend becomes torn in two -- he or she's a vegetarian, but really likes the other kids. This is just one of the painful situations a youthful vegetarian will likely face.
Some children are raised vegetarian. Donna K-Brooks, a mother from Brattleboro, Vt., says of her 9-year-old son Leif, "We don't tell him what to eat and what not to eat. But we explain why we're vegans [vegetarians who don't eat milk or eggs], and we've told him that if he wants to eat meat, he should watch a video of a cow being killed. We also told him that if you eat eggs, you're stealing from the mother hen." Not only has Leif accepted his parents' philosophy, but he chides them when they occasionally eat cheese.
Of those who make the choice themselves, many factors can come into play. For Annette Sowranu, 16, of Queens, N.Y., it was religion: "I'm a Hindu, and you're not supposed to have milk or eggs before or after you pray. I became a vegan because it's so much easier." Her parents complain that she's not getting enough calcium, but she does take supplements.
No matter how they became vegetarians, these children and teens are a minority. A 1995 Roper poll on the eating habits of youths found that only 1.9 percent of the 8-12 year-olds polled don't eat red meat, poultry or fish, a number that drops to 1.4 percent for 13-17 year-olds. Some 8 percent of 8-12 year-olds won't eat red meat only, a percentage staying the same for the 13-17 year-olds.
Interestingly, the study finds that middle-class and lower-income youths are more likely to go veggie than upper-class kids, and that the Midwest has more youthful veggies than the two Coasts. About a third to a half of vegetarian children and teens are vegans, the same proportion as for adults.
In small towns, vegetarian youths can be especially isolated. In " Life As a Vegetarian Teen" Jennifer Johnston, 16, of Canada, says the nearest vegetarian restaurant is an hour away from her. She considers herself lucky that her parents didn't offer much resistance when she decided to go veggie, but feels uncomfortable watching people eat meat. "Finding other vegetarians to talk to was and still is virtually impossible," she says.
That's where the Internet comes in. There are many sites, some sponsored by teens themselves, where vegetarian kids can communicate. One of the best message boards is affiliated with Vegsource. Messages that were on the board recently included one from "Soccergal" who protested that a restaurant she visited had a vegetarian section, but still displayed animal heads for decoration; and one from "Kelly" who criticized people who "realize that eating meat is wrong, but feel threatened by the knowledge that they should give up their precious cheesesteaks." "Melly" complained that her brother in Wisconsin took her to a barbecue restaurant that displayed a sign proclaiming that "Vegetarians Make Us Laugh."
Adults who bewail the lack of activism among youths should check these sites out. Vegetarian kids are also concerned about hunting, pollution, overpopulation, and fur trapping. Whether you agree with their vegetarianism or not, these young adults are passionate about their beliefs.
By Raanan Geberer
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