Vegetarian Journal's 2002 Essay Winners

Food For a Day
By Elijah Riggen, 6 yrs
Decatur, IL

If you are a vegetarian what would you eat? You eat lots of fruits and breads and vegetables.

For breakfast you could eat waffles with strawberries and orange juice. For lunch you could eat a salad with bread and a tofu fruit smoothie. For supper you could eat meatless lasagna, green beans, bread, and cake. That is what you are, a vegetarian when you eat lots of good foods but no meat.

Being Part of the
Veggie Buddies
By Seema Shah, 17 yrs
Bloomfield Hills, MI

I have been a vegetarian my whole life. When I first started elementary school, I had no idea that I was going to be the only vegetarian in my school. Yes . . . my whole school. I really couldn't eat much in the hot lunch, except for pizza, but how many days can an eight-year-old stand eating pizza? It was getting disgusting. My mom always had to pack me a lunch because she knew that I wouldn't be able to eat anything. In elementary school, people teased me about not eating meat. They all thought I was dumb that I wasn't eating meat. They would say, "Without eating meat, you would die!" and I would reply, "Well I'm still here, aren't I?" and they would go back to their business. Even the teachers were surprised at first about the fact that I have been a vegetarian all my life. Whenever we had field trips, they would always stop at a fast food place like McDonald's or Burger King, and I really couldn't eat anything there. When I would order a Whopper without meat, all the kids would look at me weird. They all thought I was from another planet. I knew I couldn't explain myself then, because I really didn't know much back then. All I knew was that eating meat was against my religion and that animals should not die just for food.

I thought it would all start to clear when I reached middle school. No, I thought wrong. Middle school was the worst. I felt like a total outcast, and again I was the only vegetarian in the whole school, yes the whole school. Out of 400 kids, I was the only veggie. I really couldn't eat much for lunch either. They had macaroni and cheese and the usual pizza. And so, again my mother had to make my lunches, or at times I would make my own lunch. One time, we had a field trip, and of course for lunch we would stop by a fast food restaurant. I found out that everything had meat in it and I told my teacher that I couldn't eat anything there, and she replied, "I think there is salad." Yes, I know there is salad there, and yes it is healthy, but for me the salad does not fill me up. There are so many generalizations that vegetarians only eat salad, and that is not true. There are so many varieties of vegetarian food that can fill a stomach up. There were many instances during my middle school years where I was not able to eat with everyone else. There was a time when we had a pizza party and I told my teacher that I was a vegetarian. She ordered pepperoni, assuming that I could take them off. When the pizza arrived, I had to explain to them that the meat juices are still in the pizza, and so I was not able to eat a lunch. After that experience my mom always packed me lunch just in case something like that ever happened again.

As I started to grow up, I learned a lot more about my religion, Jainism. When I entered high school, my family moved to a different city. The school was much smaller than a regular high school. I pretty much had the same expectations as elementary and middle school, that I would be the only vegetarian. I thought wrong. I found out that there were three other people who were vegetarians. I was surprised that there were people who "choose" not to eat meat. Those three girls meant so much to me, and the fact that I was not alone. I never felt alone in the first place, but now I knew that there are other people (non-Jains) who also do not eat meat. In ninth grade, we started a veggie buddy group. Each of us was a veggie buddy and we had our own handshake and always hung out. We had veggie dinners where each of us would bring a dish and we even invited people to come hang out and learn that there is more than just vegetables and fruits. Yes, we were weird, but happy weird. Throughout the school year, people asked us why we didn't eat meat, and we each had our reasons. And there were some kids who teased us, but that didn't get in the way of our leading healthy lives. I know I am living a healthy life and I don't have to prove it to anyone. I can't change someone's viewpoint, but if they ask, then I will tell them. Throughout these past four years, I have never felt like an outcast at all. I was part of the gang. There were some people who even converted into becoming a vegetarian and they love it.

Being a vegetarian helped me to become a stronger person. Yes, at first I felt like an outcast, but now I learned that those were just words, and those things cannot harm me. I had to face criticism and all I had to do was to look the other way. I am proud of being a vegetarian. During my sophomore year I had to do a speech about a controversial issue and I chose animal testing. As I talked about how those poor animals died, I saw the shocked faces on each and every one of the students in that class. Even the teacher was shocked. I said a list of famous people who are vegetarians and they were surprised. I knew that they had learned something that day that would hopefully change their lives. I feel that being a vegetarian is healthier than eating meat, and I hope many people become more aware about it and apply it to their lives.