Erica Waterhaler
From La Costa (Sales Rep)
I don’t eat meat, but I do eat fish. That’s the only meat I eat, I should say. I don’t eat meat because it’s not okay with me if I couldn’t kill the animal right then and there. I go fishing. I can kill the fish and eat it. If I did that and couldn’t eat it, then I would stop eating fish as well.
Ziva Gottesman
From Talmadge (Singer and Photographer)
I’m a vegetarian, but I don’t like vegetables. But I love animals. So, I actually eat a lot of the fake meats that they have. They’re making better and better fake things that apparently taste like real things. I think if people gave it a try, or think about what they’re eating, maybe they’ll be more likely to give it a try. If I liked vegetables more, I would be vegan and not eat eggs and dairy. I try not to, but I’m not that strict yet. I’ve been trying. I feel bad. I won’t crack an egg open, but I will eat something with it in there, and I’m not happy about that.
Zoë Lawson
From Solana Beach (Student)
Different reasons. My theory is that people eating cows —well, it’s not quite my theory, but it’s a theory — people eating cows is causing global warming. And chickens are the most tortured animals on Earth. So, I won’t eat like that. I do eat eggs and dairy.
Richard McPheters
From City Heights (Canvasser)
I think it’s because of peer pressure. A lot of my friends are vegetarian and vegan, so I just kind of went down that path. My last roommate was super healthy, so meat was never around. And meat’s super expensive. I grew up in the Midwest, where meat’s always around. It was, like, steak steak steak steak steak. And now I’m just kind of, like…I’m gonna stop eating meat because I get really tired when I eat meat. I try really hard, but if there’s a slice of pepperoni pizza, I’ve got to go for it. If I told my friends who are strict vegetarians, they’d slap me, but what can you do?
Alex Christopher
From Del Mar (Adminstrative Assistant)
Health reasons, mainly. It’s hard for our bodies to digest it. I started college a couple years ago and saw a movie called Food, Inc. I tried to do the “no meat” thing, but it wasn’t very healthy for me, so I changed to “no red meat.” I miss burgers. Every now and then I’ll accidentally have some, and I’ll feel kind of sick. It’s not like a really concrete belief with animal rights or anything; it’s more just for health.
Shirley Camey
From Applegate, Oregon (Retired)
I became a vegetarian because I was trying to find a way to lower my cholesterol and avoid the prescription medications that the doctor had recommended because they didn’t agree with me. I had tremendous headaches. So I thought, Well, I’m going to have to find another way to be more healthy. A book was brought to my attention by another doctor, Eat to Live, that gave a vegetarian way of living. Mainly vegetables, no meat, a lot of legumes and beans, all the fruit you can eat. And it’s wonderful! I’m never hungry, and I’m completely off the medication.