Health-conscious select veggie fares
by Anne McDonald, Reporter

    Dr. Albert Einstein once said that the single most important movement of the human race would be the evolution to a vegetarian society.

   Twenty percent of random students polled on NE Campus agreed.

   More and more young people across the nation are adopting a vegetarian diet, and TCC is not far behind in following the trend.

   Ten percent of the students in a quick random poll said they were vegetarian.

   And another 10 percent had decided to become vegetarian and were working toward cutting meat from their diets.

   However, many teens and college-aged students are downing veggie burgers or tofu and rice, most teens are grilling up burgers, chicken, roast beef and turkey.

   America's obsession with meat is huge, and belts prove it.

   Research is showing than America is the fattest country in more ways than one.

   America is the most affluent country, and our people eat betterÑwe prove that by the size of our people.

   A recent study shows that three out of four Americans are overweight, and one of these three is obese.

   Americans are eating too much fatty meat.

   And pilling on the French fries seasoned with beef fat to go along with their cholesterol shakes is the norm for most folks.

   Meat-eating is strictly cultural.

   In the 1950s, the American government campaigned for meat consumption to boost the economy after WWII.

   Since then, meat eating has become a way of life.

   Every restaurant menu is dominated by meat: meat as the main course, meat as the appetizer.

   The trendy thing today, apparently, is restaurant menus featuring different types of game.

   In the Fort Worth area, at least six restaurants, four extremely expensive, offer buffalo, quail, field chicken and other exotic choices.

   Even desserts contain animal products in the form of gelatin, a substance derived from an animal's bones.

   Though most every food establishment is dominated by meat, nearly every restaurant has a vegetarian selection.

   Einstein Bagels, Subway and Burger King all have meals specifically geared to cater to vegetarians.

   Chili's and Denny's have tasty veggie burgers.

   Other restaurants and fast-food diners are finding out that many people are making life changes.

   The food industry is responding to the demand for vegetarian foods.

   When a group of children are out trying to decide where to eat, and one vegetarian is in the group, they'll decide on a place with some vegetarian selection, so everyone can eat.

   Companies who realize this trend are profiting.

   Most civilized people would not sit down to a tasty meal of dog, cat, roach or cricket.

   However, they do sit down to a meal of cow.

   In many nations, people will eat things Americans find repulsive. But in America is it not unethical to eat a cow, pig, fish or chicken.

   Young people choose to be vegetarians for many reasons, stemming from moral and religious views.

   Most vegetarians have the fundamental moral belief that killing animals for consumption is wrong.

   Many eastern religions advocate a vegetarian lifestyle.

   Some religions claim cows sacred.

   In the past, Christian missionaries introduced the diet to America, with their belief that not killing applies to all living creatures.

   Today, many Christians practice a meat free diet, but no Christian religion claims the diet as doctrine.

   Almost everyone knows a vegetarian. And almost everyone has his own view on the movement.

   Some meat-eaters admire a vegetarian lifestyle.

   Some think it trendy and hip.

   Some make fun, playfully or not so playfully.

   Some call veggies "tree-hugging hippie liberals." However, many just flat don't like the idea of leading a vegetarian lifestyle.

   Most physicians agree that a vegetarian lifestyle is the healthiest of all diets.

   However, those physicians understand that Americans are meat eaters for the most part, and few will agree to change their habits.

   But vegetarians don't hurt anyone. Not people, not animals, except maybe the CEOs of major meat distributing companies.