What’s with all these young “fast food” vegetarians?

Mistress K: What’s with all these young “fast food” vegetarians?
I have a younger relative (she’s 17) who recently announced that she was becoming a vegetarian.

So, I go home to visit and take her and some of her “vegetarian” girlfriends out to lunch. I let them pick the restaurant because I’m a meat eater and I wanted to respect their choices, and maybe try out a new place that I wouldn’t normally have gone to.
They picked McDonalds *shudder*… I just watched three teenagers order supersize fries with a side of mayonnaise and Big Macs with no meat (so basically a bun soaked in thousand island dressing and a little bit of iceburg lettuce.) Then, on the way home, I got to listen to a lecture about how unhealthy I was from a group of teens who are all at least 20lbs. overweight and just downed a bucket of fries with mayo.

Is this a phase?! Is this something that younger vegetarians go through before they realize that they’re killing themselves and stop eating this crap? Or is this some kind of generational gap? WTF?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Kimberlee
I think its the “In” thing to be a vegetarian. I have an 11 year old niece who claims to be vegetarian, yet at Thanksgiving time simply forgot and was found to be eating turkey, among other meat products.
Unfortunately, I think if you point it out to them, and make a big deal out of it, it may stick…I just ignored it and never mentioned she was eating the stuffing with sausage in it (G)

Answer by iAm
You should tell your “vegetarian” friends that McD’s fries are sprayed with beef fat.

Answer by MJ
They are just saying they are vegetarians while not really informing themselves about what that means. It is just a cool thing to say right now. Sort of like how my 12 year old was laughing about the girls at his school who order three or four cinnamon rolls a piece and eat all but the very center coil claiming that that is where all the fat and calories are.

Answer by karaem33355
Um. I would say it is just a phase. I’m 16 and vegetarian and would never ever eat McD’s (or any fast food really, with the exception (maybe) of tim hortons beverages). Maybe you should tell them that they won’t get very far with vegetarianism eating so unhealthily. And that since you respect her choices, she should respect yours. (You do respect her choice right? i just assumed so because you took her out for lunch and let her pick the place) You could suggest healthier veggie options, too. Good luck! 🙂

Answer by gardeniagreen1119
Some 17 year olds are naturally reflective, deep thinkers who are able to weigh the facts, put them into a meaningful larger context and make decisions accordingly. A lot more 17 year olds have not yet (or may never) develop that ability.

Your niece/cousin falls into the latter category. She probably plunges healong into a lot of things without giving them much thought. Not really so odd for a teenager. I’m sure that will get better as she gets older. Whether she will still be vegetarian or not then is another question, lol.

Answer by Drum Wizard
Finally an interesting question.
It could be both a phase and a gen gap(or more a societal gap – 1/3 of americans are health concious, 2/3 are not).

Wanting to give up meat doesn’t always mean wanting a healthier diet.

And Yea, I can relate to being told I’m unhealthy BY someone whose unhealthy…as Americans, you just gotta exept that there’s dumb people everywhere. They’re young – they’ll probably learn.

Answer by neal9jsg
Generation gap? No, your 17 year old relative and her friends are dumb ignorant opinionated and full of shite not to mention up their own arses.

Don’t socialise with teenagers unless you want to understand why kids go in to shopping malls and schools to shoot loads of other teenagers.

At 17, the best are learning fast about themselves and the world. The worst think they deserve respect and adoration, and even worse – they have their mind made up on everything and believe their inexperience is more valuable than others experience. The worst have no appreciation of the value of anything – especially life itself.

“Then, on the way home, I got to listen to a lecture about how unhealthy I was from a group of teens who are all at least 20lbs. overweight and just downed a bucket of fries with mayo.”

Lecture them back, tell them they are hypocrites and tell them to stop deluding themselves.

Answer by coyote_windsprint
Like someone else mentioned, the fries at McDonalds are not, by any stretch of the imagination, Vegetarian…I think your niece needs to do a litte bit of research.

On the other hand, when I became Vegan 8 years ago, I had NO idea how to eat. I ate a lot of bean burritos from Taco bell, and a whole lot or rice. I soon figured out the right way to eat vegan…but without help, it was a bit difficult. Point your niece in the direction of vegsource.com, and maybe buy her a veggie cookbook…Vegan Planet is awesome.

Answer by maggie
I personally haven’t seen it, but I guess it might be a fad for them. For SOME people, choosing to be vegetarian gives them a ‘status’, even a smugness – and I am a vegan, so I am really not trying to be mean by saying this.

I just asked my husband and he confirms that when he grew up in California, all the snooty cheerleader girls in high school were ‘vegetarians’ like your question states.

So, I suppose it’s just another way to categorize oneself in high school, and just another trendy thing to be. It’s sort of upsetting, but then again, there’s worse subculture groups these youngsters could subscribe to.

Answer by Melora
yeah that sounds like a phase to me.

Answer by Andromedan_Ambassador
Your relative and her friends are obviously morons. I wouldn’t go to McDs even if their fries were vegetarian (which they aren’t, btw, as they have beef flavor in them). Don’t worry, not all vegetarians do it as a ‘phase’ but those girls sure give a bad name to us all.
At 23, I was a teenager not too long ago. But I have to agree with those who said that many teens are deluded hypocrites. No offense to the smarter ones – you know who you are.

Answer by mockingbird
When I first went vegetarian at 16, I ate a lot of junky (vegetarian, but junky) food. THAT part was a phase, the vegetarianism wasn’t. As I matured, I learned more about healthy eating habits; I still enjoy some vegan “junk” food from time to time, but have long since ceased going to McDonald’s. Cut her a bit of a break due to her age – we were all a little full of ourselves as adolescents and it really just looks like her immaturity is showing. You should definitely let her know that McDonald’s french fries are in no way vegetarian (nor are Doritos – all the flavors sold in the US have pork in them, disguised as “natural flavors.”) If she’s serious about vegetarianism, these facts will be a wake up call that she needs to know more about what she shovels into her mouth. If she’s not serious about it, she’s going to abandon it anyway and hopefully start eating a little healthier as she matures, vegetarian or not.

Answer by gomanyes562
Fast food and vegetarianism are too different issues. Usually, when someone decides to go vegetarian, they don’t become a health food nut at the same time. They just continue to eat whatever they ate before, minus the meat. That’s what happened to these girls.