A Closer Look into a Vegetarian’s Life
In a high school of 500 students, only 3 of them are vegetarian. I got the chance to interview one of them. Lucía Salvo is a sophomore at St Augustine School who has been a vegetarian for 2 years.
Everything started when Lucía first got into researching environmental topics. She found out about the problems that consuming meat causes on our planet. That’s why she decided to take her first step to make a change. The first reaction of the people around her was that they thought she was crazy and they didn't believe she was actually going to do it.
At the beginning of Lucía’s conversion, there was a change in her body internally; she felt sleepy and weak due to the fact that her body wasn't used to not consuming meat. Later on, she found out where to get her nutrients, and that’s when she started to feel better. Lucía’s hardest part of changing her lifestyle was eating out, like going to her friends’ houses, restaurants, etc. After some time she found out there were more options for vegetarian foods.
According to Lucía, some health benefits she has witnessed is eating healthier. She has tried finding healthier alternatives, she doesn’t eat fast foods, and it's rare to find her drinking sodas.
You can eat desserts even if you are vegetarian! Photo was taken by: Lucia Gonzalez
A common question you may wonder is, how do vegetarians manage to eat proteins that are necessary for your health? Well, in Lucía’s case, she researched a lot about what teenagers her age need to eat to grow healthy and she tries to get enough proteins and healthy fats through the foods she eats. I was curious to ask Lucía how she manages to continue being vegetarian when there isn’t that much variety of vegetarian foods in Nicaragua like in the U.S; to my surprise, she replied saying, “There actually is. It might look like there isn’t much but there is. There is natural agriculture in Nicaragua and there are many restaurants that provide vegetarian and even vegan options.”
Lucía’s plan for the future is to become vegan. In the meantime, some advice she would give to anyone before deciding to become vegetarian is, “to know what you are in for and educate yourself to see the positive and negative outcomes.” Additionally, some advice she would give to someone who is considering becoming a vegetarian is, “look for advice from other people who are vegetarian and look for recipes that you know you will like, so you don't miss the food you are used to eating as much.”
Would you believe this cake doesn't contain sugar? Photo taken by: Lucia Gonzalez
I also got the chance to interview Lucía’s mom to see her insight into Lucía’s change of lifestyle. She states the most complicated thing about Lucía becoming vegetarian is worrying that she isn’t getting enough nutrients. Also, she has to prepare different meals for her family. A few tips Lucía’s mom would give to moms whose kids want to become vegetarian is that their child should study well the advantages and disadvantages of being vegetarian.