Vegan lifestyle becomes mainstream among college students
PHOTOS BY TANIA RITKO / Mesa Legend
No bacon, no eggs, and no tall glass of milk to wash it all down. Although this would may make many people feel deprived at breakfast time, this represents the morning routine many college students. Whether it is due to the influence of celebrities, the health benefits or the pursuit of animal rights, students are choosing to not to use any products that involve the exploitation or slaughter of animals. A byproduct of the green movement, veganism is becoming more prevalent in society, so much so that even certain businesses are now trying to accommodate the growing demand for vegan products. Students like Lara Pinon, a music major at ASU, choose a vegan lifestyle in order to combat the animal rights issues in the meat and dairy industries. A vegetarian since she was 13 and a practicing vegan for more than a year now, Pinon explained that after doing research and watching documentaries on the meat industry, she was utterly shocked. “What I saw and read was horrifying. I couldn’t believe it was legal and allowed to happen” Pinon said. “I decided right then and there, that I would never eat animal meat again.”
What Pinon saw was chickens being tightly packed into cages, unable to move and covered in their own feces, cows injected with hormones and grossly overfed, and male baby chicks being ground alive because they were unable to lay eggs. Pinon then abandoned animal products and became a vegan, “I am a vegan because I love and respect all animals and want as little to do with their suffering and slaughter as possible” Pinon described some of the benefits of her vegan lifestyle. She said has lost weight, has more energy and has gained better cooking skills because she mostly prepares her own meals in order to avoid any animal products.
There are, however, certain risks involved with undertaking a vegan lifestyle. Shauna Salvesen teaches several courses on nutrition as a part of MCC’s exercise science department and explained the dangers practicing vegans might encounter. The biggest concern for those attempting a vegan diet is that of nutrient deficiencies, according to Salvesen. “With any kind of diet, people need to plan their diets to be adequate. With vegan diets, it becomes even more important that they are aware of how to get those nutrients when they are eliminating animal products,” Salvesen said. Salvesen said she finds that students often begin a vegan lifestyle due to the growing number of celebrities who are vocal about their own vegan diets. It sparks their curiosity, but they fail to do the proper research on how to replace the essential nutrients they lose when abandoning all animal products. Despite the risk of toxicity, she suggested that supplements were the best alternative to replace nutrients that are often lacking in a vegan diet such as vitamin D, calcium and D-12.
Whatever their reason to begin a vegan lifestyle students are now spending their money on animal free products. One business that provides vegan products is is Lush Cosmetics. Famous for their Bath Bombs and Bubble Bars, Lush has been against the mistreatment of animals since its inception and recently, they have now begun to provide more animal-free beauty products. “More and more students are coming in and asking about vegan products” said Brittany Oxford, an employee at Lush and current student at CGCC. She has been vegan for seven months and is excited to see Lush provide more vegan products. All the solid items at Lush, including the Bath bombs, Bubble bars and the majority of the soaps are vegan. Another employee at Lush, Jewel Blackfeather, told of certain businesses that, unlike Lush Cosmetics, are practicing what she called “green-washing.” Green-washing, according to Blackfeather, is when a business puts forth a conscious image, claiming to be vegan or cruelty free, when they really aren’t.
Research is what is essentially at the center of the vegan movement. It is about knowing where your food or cosmetics come from, how they are produced and what people are putting inor on their bodies “It’s time consuming, but it should be time consuming,” Salvesen said. “Even people that don’t follow plant-based diets should put time into their diets” For those considering a vegan diet and lifestyle, the best advice from the experts: research and to not be afraid of failure. “Do your research,” Salvesen said, “Learn the nutrients that are low with a vegan lifestyle and what you can do to get those nutrients “Everyone messes up when they first start something new” Pinon said. “You just gotta keep going! Your body, the earth and the animals will thank you!”
