Flexitarian, pescetarian, vegetarian, vegan… We’ve all heard these dietary alternative terms before, but what do they actually mean?
DePaul student Ben Austin aims to further inform students on the facts about cutting meat out of their diets. He’s spearheading the idea for a new on-campus group that focuses on creating a stronger vegan community within the university. Through inviting both vegans and non-vegans to events such as free vegan potlucks, DePaul Vegan Demons wants to show the university that “vegan food doesn’t suck!”
It’s safe to venture that four out of five DePaul students have been handed one of those pamphlets filled with pictures of overcrowded animals and slaughterhouses, and at least half of them have probably thrown them in the trash can without even opening the first page.
Those of you who have taken the time to look over one of them end up learning a thing or two about the meat industry, right? Maybe it makes you think about trying your luck at going vegan, but then you cancel out the idea because you don’t know how to go about it. Austin’s group aims to foster discussion about how to become vegan and how to remain healthy and satisfied as such.
“The major goals of the organization are to create a stronger community for vegans at DePaul, and to help non-vegans adapt to a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle (or at least a “flexitarian” lifestyle) comfortably and healthily,” says Austin. “Making the transition can be a little tricky, but it’s totally possible to get all the vitamins and nutrients you need from a vegan diet; and with this community, hopefully it will make it easier and more likely for students to do.”
It’s important to note that this group won’t only be informing students about veganism, but all dietary alternatives that involve lessening the amount of meat that they consume. Austin explained that flexitarian is a term used to describe people who are mostly vegetarian, but sometimes eat meat; pescetarians eat fish, but not red meat or poultry; vegetarians do not eat fish, poultry or red meat; and vegans do not eat any animal products, “so no fish, poultry, red meat, eggs, dairy… not even honey!”
“I would say that any effort people are taking to lessen their meat consumption is great!” says Austin. “But the more you can do–the better. I mean, it’s good that pescetarians are taking other types of meat out of their diet, but fishing can be pretty devastating, too.”
One of Austin’s favorite books about veganism is “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer, which he quoted when explaining the harmful effect that fishing can have on sea life. “For instance, when harvesting shrimp (most often done by “trawling”- using a huge net), 80-90 percent of the catch is actually not shrimp; it’s other sea creatures, which are killed in the process just like the shrimp, but are typically discarded and thrown overboard,” says Austin.
He points out that being vegetarian is a great alternative to being a straight-up carnivore, but he also notes that the meat industry and the dairy industry are extremely interconnected. “Dairy cows are usually slaughtered for meat at the end of their lives. In fact, they are the source of most of the hamburger in the U.S., and dairy cows are impregnated several times throughout their lives in order to keep making milk, a lot of their babies are sent to veal farms,” says Austin. “Consuming dairy products is, in effect, supporting the meat industry, too. So again, anything that’s slowing the process is great, but I think that being vegan is the most realistic response to what’s happening.”
Austin recommends checking out peta.org to learn more, “they get a bad rap, but man, it’s hard to watch their documentaries and not be affected by them.” Their “Meet your Meat” documentary is one that specifically influenced Austin’s decision to go vegan.
“Non-vegan readers, I know that I just spat out a lot of not-so-fun facts, but our meetings aren’t going to be like that!” says Austin. “The main point of potlucks, after all, is getting free food, so everyone, myself included, will be temporarily happy and not worried about ‘what cage-free really means’ or how much a factory farm pollutes, or anything. It’ll be fun and you are all invited, seriously!”
The DePaul Vegan Demons will begin their vegan invasion in the fall quarter of next year, kicking off with a vegan potluck on campus. For students interested in learning more about veganism or any of the other dietary practices mentioned, check out some of Austin’s favorites include vegweb.com, “The Post-Punk Kitchen” and Vegan Dad.