Krista Gustafson

I'm fifty percent Italian; therefore, my family is predominantly loud and laced with thick accents. My grandfather and his sisters owned a butcher shop in south Florida, and from that day on meat became a huge part of our lives. I was raised to eat steaks that were more pink than they were brown. My father spends 14 hours a day smoking pork in order for the juice to absorb into the meat perfectly.

While this might seem redundant and well to-be-frank pointless to talk about, it just so happens that I am a vegetarian. I wish I could say I've been a vegetarian for years, but sadly that is not the case. This past summer (2015) I decided to give up meat. Many people turn up their noses to the idea of living without meat, but my time as a vegetarian has been particularly painless. I, of course, miss certain aspects, but not enough to ever go back. After watching several food documentaries and reading The China Study,I decided it was time to change. It was an overnight decision. To this day I am meat free, with the exception of fish. I decided to keep fish in my diet due to a cultural influence from my family. It also insures I receive all the protein I need throughout the day.

As for the debate about "are you really a vegetarian if you eat fish?" I see it pretty simply. The proper term is a pescatarian, but most people do not know what that is. (Spell check doesn't even recognize the word) I find it easier to just explain to people that I am a vegetarian. Some of my friends joke and say it's like Lent year round for me.

Being a vegetarian helps me feel more connected to food industry. I watch how poultry and beef are processed. There have been many outbreaks in the media due to diseases in the meat Americans eat. While I do not personally choose to eat meat, I do not think less of the people who do. Everyone makes choices that best fit their lifestyle, and this is what I have chosen for mine. I'm happy being a vegetarian Italian. Sure it makes eating lasagna, stromboli, calzones, and ossobuco difficult, but it's absolutely worth it to me.