[881] in Vegetarian_Support_Group
teen starts email club
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (elsiedee@MIT.EDU)
Wed Apr 3 11:56:16 1996
From: elsiedee@MIT.EDU
To: vsg@MIT.EDU
Date: Wed, 03 Apr 1996 11:54:52 EST
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From: Avi Hein <ahein@ids2.idsonline.com>
To: veg-teen@Empire.net
Subject: Vegetarianism
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http://www.jayi.com/sbi/Fishnet/Edge/July_Aug/veggie.html
NOTE: The PRODIGY Club & the E-mail address is wrong, and so is the VYN
address.
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The Young and the Fleshless
by Linda Wasmer Smith
Think of her as the Dear Abby of a leaner, greener generation. The pleas for
advice arrive with the instantaneity of e-mail, as opposed to snail mail,
and references to cheating husbands/girlfriends/periodontists are
conspicuously absent. Instead, the problems run the gamut from where to find
a meatless burger to how to handle the "what *do* you eat?" question. Tovah
Walters-Gidseg's answer to the latter is emphatic: anything and everything,
so long as it never walked, flew, or swam under its own power.
As president of an on-line vegetarian club for teenage girls, 14-year-old
Tovah is riding the crest of a wave big enough to budge Burger King, which
recently test- marketed a veggie burger. There are several other signs that
vegetarianism is booming among American teens: In one recent marketing
survey, for example, 48 percent of the 16- to 17-year-old girls polled said
vegetarianism is "in," along with half of those 18 to 19 years old. Over a
fifth of guys the same age agreed. And at the office of How On Earth!, a
youth-oriented magazine covering vegetarianism and related topics, volunteer
staffers are struggling to keep pace with circulation figures that have
climbed to 12,000. Then there is the trend that might be called "Meatless in
Seattle": A number of alternative rockers, such as Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder,
have also embraced the herbivorous lifestyle.
You'd think it would be every parent's dream come true: carrot sticks as
hip. Not so, says Tovah, whose own parents worried that she might not get
all the nutrients she needs. "A few months after I went vegetarian last
year, my mother asked the doctor to test my blood for iron," she says.
Tovah's blood iron level turned out to be in the high normal range, but she
understands her parents' concern. "Keeping healthy on a vegetarian diet
while growing up in a society whose diet is based on meat isn't always
easy," Tovah says. "But I've used this as an opportunity to educate myself."
Now drop a word like "protein" in casual conversation, and quicker than you
can say Big Mac, she'll start rattling off the nonmeat sources: legumes,
nuts, seeds, milk, cheeses, whole grains, soy foods...
Actually, the guidelines for eating a healthy meatfree diet are basically
the same as those for eating a healthy diet, period, says Suzanne Havala,
M.S., R.D., lead author of the American Dietetic Association's position
paper on vegetarian nutrition: "One, get enough calories to meet your energy
needs. Two, limit your intake of sweets and fatty, greasy junk foods. Three,
eat a variety of fruits, leafy greens, other vegetables, whole grains, and
legumes." Tovah should have that last point covered, with tastes that
encompass the ethnic (falafel--Middle Eastern meatballs sans meat), the
exotic (tahini--sesame seed paste), and the odd ("tofu--it's one of my
favorite foods!").
Protein is number one on many parents' "Top 10 Worries About Not Eating
Meat" list. "Teenagers do have high protein needs, because adolescence is a
period of such rapid growth," says Virginia Messina, M.P.H., R.D., a
dietitian from Port Townsend, Wash., who writes a nutrition column for How
On Earth! "But as long as you're eating a balanced diet and maintaining
normal weight and growth, chances are good you're getting adequate protein."
Ditto for iron, which is found in such foods as dried beans, dark green
leafy vegetables, dried fruits, and fortified breads and cereals. (To
increase the amount of iron absorbed from these sources, eat them along with
vitamin C-rich foods, such as citrus fruits or juices, tomato, broccoli, and
green or red pepper.) Messina says health problems *can* arise if you fail
to consume enough calories and a variety of wholesome foods. Just remember:
Teen does not survive by salad alone. Unless your first name is Bugs, you
need to eat more than bunny food.
The goal is still to make good selections from all the basic food groups,
says William Evers, Ph.D., R.D., an associate professor of foods and
nutrition at Purdue University. "You just pick dry beans, for example,
instead of red meat, poultry, or fish." Even nonveggies often eat this way:
A 1994 survey by the National Restaurant Association found that nearly 15
percent of all college students choose a vegetarian option at their dining
halls on a given day. The potential benefits of this kind of diet are many,
whether you're a true vegetarian or a near-veggie who still craves the
occasional chicken nugget. According to the American Dietetic Association,
they include a reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure,
diabetes, and some types of cancer.
At Tovah's house, her dad is on a low-fat diet, so the two often wind up
eating the same dishes. At the nontraditional private school Tovah attends
in New Paltz, N.Y., there are only 17 students--but five of them are
vegetarians. "I have a lot of support," she concedes--yet still she feels
the need to reach out to other teens who share her interest. Recently,
spin-offs of the on-line club have been sprouting like...well, sprouts. This
spring, Tovah founded the Vegetarian Youth Network, a still- small group she
hopes will grow into "a coming-together place where teenagers who are
vegetarians can really support each other. We're coordinating a recipe
newsletter, and we're thinking of putting together a membership directory."
In addition, she says, "I'm trying to acquire as much vegetarian literature
as possible, so people can write me with any questions they have, and I'll
either be able to answer them or refer them to someone who can."
Just sign me Veggie and *Edge*y in Albuquerque.
Sidebar 1:
For More Information
The on-line vegetarian club is available only to girls ages 12 to 19. To
access it on Prodigy, Jump: Jane's Brain BB. Once on this bulletin board,
pick the topic "Club Jane L-Z" and look for subjects starting with the
letters "VF."
For more information on the Vegetarian Youth Network, send a stamped,
self-addressed, business-size envelope to VYN at: 68 DuBois Road, New Paltz,
NY 12561. You can e- mail VYN at: TJRE18B@prodigy.com.
Subscriptions are $18 a year for How On Earth!, which is produced by and for
young people ages 13 to 24. For more information, write the magazine at:
P.O. Box 339, Oxford, PA 19363-0339, e-mail: HowOnEarth@aol.com.
In your bookstore or library, look for A Teen's Guide to Going Vegetarian
(Puffin, 1994; $6.99), by Judy Krizmanic. Among the topics it covers: how to
handle anxious parents and skeptical friends.
Sidebar 2:
What's a Vegan?
The large majority of vegetarians include animal foods other than meat--such
as milk, dairy products, eggs, and honey--in their diet. However, a small
group of vegetarians, called vegans, abstain from all these foods for
philosophical reasons. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,
meeting your nutritional requirements is tougher for a vegan. "You need to
make sure you've got a reliable source of vitamin B-12 in your diet, since
that vitamin is found in animal foods," Messina says. "One way to do that is
by eating a B-12- fortified cereal." And since dairy foods are the major
source of calcium for most Americans, Messina says vegans should be careful
about getting enough of this bone-building nutrient, too. Calcium-rich foods
include dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli, beans, tofu made with
calcium, and calcium-fortified orange juice and soy milk.
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