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Pomona College Magazine is published three times a year by Pomona College
550 N. College Ave, Claremont, CA 91711
Online Editor: Mark Kendall
For editorial matters:
Editor: Mark Wood
Phone: (909) 621-8158
Fax: (909) 621-8203
PCM Editorial Guidelines
Contact Alumni Records for changes of address, class notes, or notice
of births or deaths.
Phone: (909) 621-8635
Fax: (909) 621-8535
Email: alumni@pomona.edu
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A Vegetarian Life
By Ted Lai '93
I'm a vegetarian. In fact, my whole family is. (That includes my wife,
Trang ’91, and two daughters, 9-year-old Zoe and 6-year-old Genevieve …
classes of 2019 and 2022 respectively.) However, before I go into
detail, here are some questions we hear on a
regular basis:
 1. You don’t eat chicken or fish?
2. How do you get enough protein?
3. Do you really think it’s right to force your kids to be
vegetarians too?
And now, the answers:
1. No, I don’t. Chicken and fish are animals as well.
2. I get protein through legumes, tofu and a well-balanced
diet.
3. Absolutely! Parents need to make many decisions for their
kids—diet is just one of them.
I was one of those people who chose to eliminate meat in my diet because
of health considerations. When I was the “wise” age of 15, my
grandmother survived two heart attacks and my great-granduncle passed
away of a heart attack. In an effort to decrease my risk of heart
disease, which I feared might run in my family, I hastily chose to
become a vegetarian. In hindsight, this probably wasn’t the wisest
choice; my lack of nutritional knowledge and inexperience in cooking
helped me become little more than a pasta-chips-and-soda vegetarian. The
truth is that I entered the herbivore lifestyle without any grand
visions of saving
the world or any living creatures.
I fell off the wagon about four years later during a bout with
mononucleosis. I began eating chicken and fish again after the campus
doctor recommended that I add animal protein to my
diet to boost my energy level. Although I began to eat more meat, I
still felt exhausted, and I discovered something interesting; somehow,
in my years of eliminating meat, I had lost a taste for it. I struggled
for the next few years, eating some chicken and fish and wondering if my
lack of energy (now diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome) really meant
that I had too little meat in my diet.
By the time I’d finished college and was preparing to marry, my fiancé
and I had eliminated chicken from our diets, and I enrolled in a
nutrition course. I’d also begun reading Diet for a
New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the
Future of Life on Earth by John Robbins.
In our daily lives, we decided to choose vegetarianism once again, and,
unlike my decision as a naïve 15-year-old, the chips, soda and pasta
were replaced with whole grains, legumes, fresh fruits and green leafy
vegetables. On occasion, when we were out with our parents, we
grudgingly ate seafood, but those instances were becoming few and far
between. As I contemplated the fact that I really did not desire the
taste of meat, I also realized that I felt more endurance than I had in
the previous five years. Perhaps more importantly, I had also learned
about compassion for all living creatures, and I felt the need to
educate others that being a humanitarian didn’t mean sacrificing flavor
or variety of food.
Raising a vegetarian family meant a lot to my wife and me. Living a life
as cruelty-free as possible was essential to us. We’re known as lacto-ovo
vegetarians. We occasionally consume eggs, some dairy products and
honey. We avoid eating any former living creatures, as well as anything
that contains gelatin, rennet or animal fat. In terms of apparel, we’ve
reduced and almost eliminated all leather and suede. I look forward to
the day when synthetics and cotton blends improve, because that will
lead to better options for all people
interested in cruelty-free apparel.
Zoe hasn’t had any seafood since the age of two, and Genevieve has been
vegetarian since her time in the womb. In the years that we’ve been
strict vegetarians, we’ve seen our world of food choices change
dramatically. Life as vegetarians has gotten both easier and more
difficult. For sure, many more vegetarian and vegan restaurants have
opened. Additionally, restaurants are offering more options. Waiters are
more knowledgeable and seem to understand that lard, chicken broth, fish
sauce, oyster sauce and bacon bits are not
vegetarian. A huge variety of beans and lentils are available in
supermarkets. And, of course, there’s a booming industry of mock meats
made of soy, tempeh and wheat. Whole Foods,
Wild Oats and Trader Joe’s are no longer the only stops. Tofu and soy
products are readily available in warehouse superstores, big-name
supermarkets and fast-food chains.
At the same time, things have gotten more difficult because of an
increase in information and awareness. Food companies are much better
about labeling their products, and my knowledge of hidden meat products
has improved with the help of more books and magazines. Being a vigilant
vegetarian means reading all labels. Gelatin, rennet and animal
shortening are easy ingredients to spot when label reading. Learning
that some emulsifiers like lecithin and mono- and di-glycerides are
often derived from animal ingredients added a new dimension to my label
reading. It’s a time-consuming process, but one that we believe in
strongly because, for us, the consumption of animal products like
gelatin, rennet
or fish sauce, is tantamount to eating an animal’s flesh.
Ultimately though, regardless of how easy or difficult it is to be a
vegetarian family, it’s a decision we don’t regret. In the future, I
know that I can’t force my kids to be vegetarians,
but I can do my best to educate them on nutritional and humanitarian
issues that surround the choice of consuming meat. I jokingly say that
I’ll take them to a slaughterhouse before they make that decision, but
the truth is that, from a humanitarian standpoint, they need to be aware
of the impact of the meat industry.
Nutritionally, we want them to understand what constitutes a
well-balanced diet so that they can make good choices that affect their
health. I don’t want them growing up to be “chips and soda” vegetarians.
Been there, done that. It’s all about making healthy choices—for
themselves and for the world. |
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