Author: Claire Larson
After years of being happily vegetarian, I made the tough decision to go completely vegan at the beginning of this semester. I was not alone. I know various people who made the same choice around the time that I did, or who have since toyed with the concept. It was not until recently, after an authority figure in my life tried to discourage my vegan lifestyle, that I wondered about the trend among my peers to jump on the vegan bandwagon. Did this aforementioned authority figure notice the emerging cultural pattern as well? Is there, in fact, a misconception that veganism is the newest fad diet?
Fad diets come in various packaging, but they tend to share similar definitive properties. As defined by EveryDiet.org, a fad diet typically ascends the cultural popularity ladder quickly and loses favor equally fast. These diets are recognizable by their promising quick solutions, usually to weight-loss; their too-good-to-be-true claims; and their tendencies to categorize foods as “good” and “bad,” often eliminating an entire food group altogether.
We are all familiar with the more popular fad diets, such as Atkins and other low-carb, high-protein programs like South Beach and the Zone. There’s also the Neanderthin, or “Cave Man” diet, which outlines a diet similar to one a Stone Age human consumed: raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish and not much else. Then there are more radical fad diets: the Hollywood diet, which is essentially a juice fast; the tapeworm diet (ingest a tapeworm to consume your food so you don’t have to!); the grapefruit diet (100 percent grapefruit); the f-plan (high fiber only); the beer and ice cream diet (shouldn’t cold foods burn more energy during digestion?); and the cigarette diet (reduces food cravings and provides a solution for oral fixation), to name a few. What these and other diets have in common (besides plain idiocy specifically attributed to the cigarette diet) tend to be their promotion of an often effortless magic solution, like a miracle pill or the elimination of some food group, to aid weight-loss.
It is undoubtedly easy for someone who knows little about veganism to see it as a fad diet, citing its rejection of all foods that come from animal sources. But let me point out a difference between eliminating animal products and eliminating an entire food group, which makes veganism far from a fad diet. Atkins, for example, cuts out carbs completely – meaning complex carbs like breads, bagels and pasta are off-limits. An Atkins diet is comprised of protein and fat, so there is a limitation associated with what foods are acceptable, and the carbs omitted from the diet are not being replaced by anything with similar nutrient content.
Conversely, veganism does not eliminate animal products without finding ways to substitute or replace the nutrients found in meat and dairy. Atkins is innately nutrient-deficient, which is why, according to EveryDiet.org, its adherents can suffer muscular atrophy, or muscle-loss, in their body’s efforts to produce energy without proper nutrients. Veganism will not limit the food choices for those well-informed who adopt it. In fact, it will probably broaden the sources they depend upon for nutrients. Since going vegan, I have increased the variety of foods I eat in order to get the same levels of protein, calcium and iron that a vegetarian or carnivorous diet provides. Rather than fall back on milk or chicken every day as a staple for protein, I have become familiar with foods ranging from legumes to vegetables that provide both protein and variation to the diet.
I don’t intend to pressure anyone into going vegan or shame them for consuming meat. I understand that eating vegan is not for everyone. Someone I know was determined to go vegan upon hearing that Oreos are vegan, assuming he could live a purely Oreo-based life as a vegan. Veganism is definitely not for him. On the other hand, a friend of mine recently discovered she has sensitivities to gluten, lactose and soy, therefore making meat consumption vital to her very limited dietary requirements, so a carnivorous diet works for her.
Veganism is not a fad diet. Credible research continues to pop up that defines veganism as a healthier lifestyle, and I’m sure this is the motivation behind most people who decide to try it. There is no “easy weight-loss solution” through veganism, and in fact none of the vegans I know are in it for this purpose. There is no special pill that promises gratifying fat-burning results. No “bad” food groups. No pre-packaged food delivery programs designed to cut caloric intake. No “smart carb” labels. Veganism isn’t to be utilized for these simplistic purposes. It requires thought, effort and healthy consideration to adopt such a holistically alternative lifestyle.
Claire Larson is an undeclared sophomore. She can be reached at clarson@oxy.edu.
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