1. Vegetarian from
DDAAYY 11
“What?! You mean you’ve never tasted meat in your life?”
I just love the look of shock on people’s faces, when they hear my
vegetarian story – simply, my life. Well, you can’t quite blame them.
Born and raised in Cyprus (which is well-known as the land of souvla,
after all!), my whole sixteen years of existence have been meat-free,
something even my parents didn’t expect. Ovo-lacto-vegetarian since
birth, (meaning I eat both eggs and dairy), my mother thought that
once my sister and I hit our preteen years, we’d end up leaning on the
McDonald’s counter ordering that Big Mac. Quite the contrary!
The idea of being vegetarian – let alone from birth – is an
extraordinary thought for many Cypriots. The “If you don’t eat meat,
chicken or fish, what do you eat?!” reaction seemed frustrating at age
6, but is now a matter of routine. The thought of a pork chop touching
my taste buds is displeasing, and I haven’t ever been tempted to taste
meat.
BUT… why?
As a child, I was encouraged to be vegetarian but as I grew
older, and had absolute freedom to make my own choice, I wouldn’t
have it otherwise. I feel being vegetarian is only natural for me, and my
great love for animals makes it impossible for me to imagine a once
living creature on my plate. As George Bernard Shaw once said,
“Animals are my friends – and I don’t eat my friends.”
What’s more, caring for the environment is a priority for me, and
eating no meat contributes significantly to the conservation of nature.
An average meat-eater ‘produces’ 1.5 tonnes more CO2 than a
vegetarian, taking into account the energy required to produce feed,
fertilisers, methane-emissions etc. ¹
My whole perspective on food is very different to most teenagers
around me. I think it’s safe to say I lead a healthy lifestyle, in terms of
diet, regular exercise and environmental awareness. My label-
checking for non-veggie ingredients, not to mention unhealthy
additives, is somewhat a crazy habit, but I like to know what goes into
my body! And it pays off – as blood tests prove.
Being a young vegetarian is no joke. If you decide to switch to a
vegetarian diet, you must make sure the transition is gradual and
you’re eating the right things. Growing up on a meat-free diet is a
serious matter. Only pasta and pastries don’t exactly constitute
vegetarianism; that vegetarian diet is certainly not a healthy one!
To benefit from its positive affects and eliminate protein & iron-
deficiency, careful - not difficult – attention is necessary. There are so
many substitutes for meat and fish (legumes, nuts, dairy etc), that

2. there’s hardly a problem. There are truly so many options - and for
‘beginners’, meat substitutes like Quorn taste and look like the meat –
or so I’ve been told!
After 16 years of well-being and feeling great, I owe it to my
vegetarian diet, and my healthy conscience that goes hand in hand. I
have never felt I was missing out on anything and really can’t imagine
living otherwise! Food for thought…?
Sources:
¹ - www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.meat