Curiosity Killed the Caroline

An exclusive picture of me eating a vegan burrito from Chipotle. You can see the light is gone from my soul. Photography Credit: Grace Goulding

I eat a cheeseburger a week, my favorite food is ice cream, and I don’t like eating salads because it makes me feel like a rabbit. 

That being said, I am going vegan for the next academic semester.

The reason I am doing this is not just because I hate myself, but as because I have a crippling curiousity. It fascinates me that a person’s entire livelihood can be changed after excluding animal products from their diet. Although I’m not looking forward to it, I will be going cold turkey: no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no animal products.

But Caroline, if you like meat so much, then why are you doing this to yourself, and why should I care? Good question, ominous voice.

As a journalism major, I am drawn to research and to cause and effect. I want to document my experience as a meat-loving vegan in the today’s “freshman fifteen” college environment. I will be writing about my personal mental and physical health throughout the semester, as well as the economics involved in maintaining this diet. It is a challenge, and you should read this because you might learn something! Also, I have volunteered to be a guinea pig to any college student, young adult, or straight-up adult who has ever considered switching their diet to a vegetarian or vegan one. While I am dreading not eating steak for several months, I am looking forward to making a change to my lifestyle by giving more attention to what I put in my body and how I treat it. As an animal-lover, I am also looking forward to making a small but important contribution that veganism has on the environment. The number of crops and the amount of water that is required to feed animals, as well as the large trucks and processes that transport from farm to fork, is detrimental to our ecosystems. The vast amount of grain feed required for meat production is a significant contributor to deforestation, habitat loss and species extinction. In Brazil alone, the equivalent of 5.6 million acres of land is used to grow soya beans for animals in Europe (Vegan Society)

Earlier today I met with my physician to discuss the transition. While I have been eating vegan whenever I can to ease myself into the lifestyle, I will mostly be throwing myself into this. As long as I pay attention to my protein sources and other vitamins, I should be good to go. It is required that I take a multi-vitamin including vitamin C, in addition to a daily supplement of vitamin B12, which is only found in animal products. XOXO, Dr. Sirianni.

This project will include personal updates from me, reviews on horrible looking meat substitutes, easy college recipes, research, and important interviews with peers and physicians.

Does being a vegan make you better than everybody else? Probably not. Is veganism objectively healthier, and is it practical in today’s college environment? We’ll see -NEXT EPISODE ON-