Let’s clear common misunderstanding folks. A vegetarian diet does not mean eating meat for health, religious, or common moral reasons. A vegan diet takes it a step further. Which include cutting meat and any animal products for the same reasons. 

The type of animal products that the diet cuts out is dairy which includes milk, cheese, ice cream. As well as eggs and honey. You may be thinking, what can they eat? 

Well, Vegan cuisine can become very creative. Vegan diets include grains, fruits, vegetables, seeds, legumes (particularly beans), edible mushrooms, and tofu (bean curd) all of which respectively substitute proteins found in meat and animal products. 

Being Vegan does not mean you are missing out.

You can eat cereal with a milk substitution of soy, almond, rice, and hemp. As for cheese, it has been substituted with plant milk, nuts, and seeds amongst other ingredients to recreate the meltability. 

There are also egg alternatives for cooking: baking powder, mashed tofu, and banana mush.

Many believe that a Vegan Diet includes missing out on favorite meals and eating nothing but tofu. But the images look quite appetizing. 

Seitan pizza made with vegan cheese, marinara sauce, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Delicious. Roasted sprouts and tofu pasta topped off with pesto sauce and vegan cheese. Yes, please. Cocoa avocado brownies? You have to be pulling my chain. 

A poll was conducted in the Rio Hondo Campus where we surveyed 50 students if they had a vegan diet.

• 90 percent of the students eat meat
• 6 percent of students considered themselves semi-vegetarian 
• 2 percent of students are pescatarian (fish diet) 
• 2 percent of students are vegan

Student Juan Vergara was asked on his reasons for becoming a vegan and he stated it as “An accumulation of documentaries.” Which is why most of us decide to avoid meat. 

According to Faunalytics 2014, 70 percent of Americans who followed a vegan diet abandoned it shortly after. 

Then again, we are the country that invented the glazed donut cheeseburger-also known as the Luther burger. 

Ever been to a county fair? We fry everything. It’s almost like we’re trying to put a whole new meaning to violently American.

The print version of this article appeared Tuesday, Oct. 30th.