The Risk of Going Meatless

Mariana Jimenez, Staff Writer

Being vegetarian is something that many of us have tried doing and have failed. Turning vegan or vegetarian is not as easy as it may seem especially when you live in a home where meat is something that’s usually on your dinner plate.

I have always been against animal cruelty and I never felt like meat was something we need in our system to survive. In the 9th grade, I decided to cut off meat from all my meals, not only because I am against animal cruelty but also to improve my health

I did not realize how difficult it can be to turn vegetarian if you come from a Hispanic family. Meat is something you eat on a daily basis. From eating meat almost every day to completely cutting it out the next day obviously wasn’t easy to adjust to.

Speaking from personal experience, becoming vegetarian was extremely difficult for me. I had some health issues that caused me not to stay vegetarian for long because the doctor said I needed the proteins that meats have.

The first few weeks and months after becoming vegetarian it was very easy to become dedicated to it but as the days went by I noticed that I would constantly get sick. I never really thought that not eating meat would worsen my health. After consulting my doctor, I was told that meat is something I needed in my system. Like I mentioned before living in a Hispanic family can make it much more difficult for someone to become vegetarian. My family wasn’t fully supportive of my decision; therefore, I was responsible for making my own food. Not only that but meat was something that everyone including myself would eat almost every day, so the urge to eat meat was definitely not easy to deal with at first.

Becoming vegan or vegetarian is something that everyone should try doing but of course after consulting your doctor because sometimes you end up realizing that your body isn’t healthy enough to go through that dramatic change.

It will, of course, be hard to say no to burgers, wings, chicken, etc. but you will surely like the feeling of having a ‘no eating meat diet’. It will make you feel much healthier and better about yourself.