As more brands come out with modified products that appeal to vegan diets, there has been a steady incline of vegans and vegetarians over the last decade. 

With the rise of vegans and vegetarians, students have partaken in these healthy diets. 

Many celebrities and social media influencers advocate and preach the benefits of a meatless or dairy-free diet. 

When asked about the benefits of being vegan or vegetarian, many students reflected on how their diets impacted their lives. 

“Being vegan impacted my life positively by allowing me to discover something that I hadn’t known myself prior to doing so because being vegan is what I thought would be almost impossible,” says vegan Sophomore, Yara Shobout. 

Vegetarian Sophomore, Anna Kolm says that being vegetarian has given her more energy. 

 “Being vegetarian has positively impacted my life because it gave me the opportunity to branch out and try different foods that I probably would have never known about,” says Grace O’Neill, a vegetarian Junior.

Having diet restrictions can also have negative impacts. 

“Sometimes I have to make my own meals when my family eats dinner,” says Yara Shobut. “I find myself disconnecting during dinner time with my family.”

There are many reasons why people decide to go animal-free. Perhaps it’s for religious purposes, animal cruelty reasons, or some people are just raised with certain diets. 

Kolm and Shobout said they have gone meatless because of animal cruelty and environmental factors. 

O’Neill says she was raised vegetarian until around her early teen years, she decided to eat meat again until meat started to “freak her out.”

“I know this sounds cliche but I really did see it as an animal, not food,” says O’Neill. “For the past couple years I have been vegetarian on my own terms but every once in a while I do have chicken or salmon for the nutritional value. I am trying to gain weight and being vegetarian doesn’t help with that as sometimes I don’t get enough protein.”

Choosing to not eat certain foods gets very hard and frustrating.

The hardest thing about being a vegetarian is when she craves meat but knows she shouldn’t eat it, Kolm says. 

Shobut finds it hard when she doesn’t feel like taking the extra step to prepare herself a vegan meal. 

O’Neill finds it challenging when there are no vegetarian options at a restaurant or when she is “at a friend’s house and they don’t have many options because I feel bad making them go ‘out of their way.’”

Being vegetarian or vegan is definitely a rewarding feeling and many restaurants are expanding their menus with more options for people with meatless or animal-free diets.

When you have a certain diet, you often find yourself expanding your palate and trying new foods.

Shobut’s favorite vegan food she has discovered is the Oatly Icecream, a dairy-free ice cream made from oat milk. O’Neill enjoys apples and peanut butter or bell peppers and hummus. Kolm has found herself enjoying vegetable sandwiches with mozzarella cheese from a diner or restaurant.

“Everyone should try being vegetarian at least once in their lives. It’s really easy and beneficial when you do it right, and there are so many brands that produce vegetarian ‘meats’ that taste real!” O’Neill advises.