Vegetarianism is easier than you might think

SAN DIEGO—Perhaps you are interested in becoming a vegetarian. For whatever reasons, moral, religious or health-related, you might want to stop eating meat. But you’re on the fence. In my experience, the first thing people ask is this: how much does it cost? Followed quickly by, does it taste good?

To answer the first question: not very much, not in urban areas in general and especially not at San Diego State. The answer to the second question is more subjective, but I can give my personal view: it does not taste as good, but the difference is small. Meat still tastes good, but unless you are just absolutely rabid for meat, it is surprisingly easy to go without.

A vegetarian professor

Peter Atterton, the SDSU philosophy department chair and teacher of a class on environmental ethics, has been a vegetarian for more than 20 years. He was recently interviewed by the Daily Aztec about his views on ethics. For someone interested in becoming a vegetarian for moral reasons, he can answer the above questions in detail.

Atterton said he is a vegetarian because eating meat results in the mistreatment of animals. He is not a vegetarian for health reasons.

“Meat consumption requires animals to be raised in horrendous conditions,” he said. “The sheer numbers are also enormous. Some estimate 8 billion animals are eaten each year in the U.S.”

Being a vegetarian is easy, Atterton said. He can almost always find food that is non-meat. The only exception is when he is at some event.

“I might go to my kids’ school picnic for example, and there is only meat” he said. “But I don’t want to be rude, so I’m not going to make a fuss.”

Atterton said he eats at home, usually. Not because it is hard for a vegetarian to eat out, but because he just prefers eating at home with his family.

“Every restaurant I’ve been to has had a vegetarian option,” he said. “It might not taste the best, but it is always available.”

Being a vegetarian is easy

Being on a college campus makes it easier to be a vegetarian, considering colleges often help people trying to try their progressive ideas. Atterton is just one example, but professors are often more progressive and universities are more willing to attempt liberal change. There are vegetarian options at nearly every restaurant on SDSU’s campus and there is a vegetarian meal plan for students.

Olive Oil Café is an example of a restaurant at SDSU with a vegetarian focus. The vegetarian food there is also fairly tasty.

Consider this, too: we humans might be letting animals suffer and die because of something as negligible as a difference in taste. We want (and I include myself) to eat meat because it tastes slightly better than other forms of protein. So maybe the taste is not so important.