Being a vegetarian is a lot like being alive — you either are or you aren't.
I know, I know, there are different types of vegetarianism and probably enough versions to practice a different type of meat-free eating every day of the week.
But, as a former follower of an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet (which allows eggs and dairy products), I can appreciate the true dedication of those who choose a totally plant-based diet — for health and/or moral reasons.
|
Of course, abiding by a no-meat diet is perhaps a little easier today than it was 10 or 15 years ago. The vegetarian frozen foods section at my local Wegmans Food Markets store has more than a month's worth of meal choices.
So deciding on this week's cover story was really a no-brainer: Pam Cowan offered to show fellow reporter Tim Karan the joys of eating vegetarian food.
This would be no small task: Tim is the staff's resident junk-food king (he practically lives on Laffy Taffy from the staff candy dish) and a confirmed carnivore.
But being a good sport, Tim played along — and lived to write about it.
You can read Pam and Tim's takes on what happened — “Tim, you're turning green” — starting on Page 12.
We also ran a poll on our Web site asking visitors to decide whether a vegetarian diet was: “a healthy diet,” “the right thing to do,” “a bit weird” or “for nut cases.”
Surprisingly (to me at least) the “for nut cases” option only drew 23.4 percent of the vote, while “It's a healthy diet” led the poll with 40.6 percent.
All of this just goes to show that what you think can surprise us here at insider . So, starting next week we will be giving you a chance to tell us what you'd like to see more (or less of) in insider.
We will be publishing a coupon (and making it available online) that'll allow you, the reader, to tell us how to make insider better.
We look forward to hearing from you — whether you're a vegetarian or think vegetarians are nut cases.
Johansson is editor of insider . You can reach him at 258-2722 or:
mikej@Rochesterinsider.com
