college essay about veganism

Essays About Veganism: Top 5 Examples and 10 Prompts

Veganism is on the rise. See below for our great examples of essays about veganism and helpful writing prompts to get started. 

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from animal-based foods and products. The movement originated from the philosophies against using animals as commodities and for capitalist gains. Now a booming industry, veganism promises better health benefits, a more humane world for animals, and an effective solution to global warming. 

Here is our round-up of essays examples about veganism:

1. A Brief History of Veganism by Claire Suddath

2. animal testing on plant-based ingredients divides vegan community by jill ettinger, 3. as vegan activism grows, politicians aim to protect agri-business, restaurateurs by alexia renard, 4. bezos, gates back fake meat and dairy made from fungus as next big alt-protein by bob woods, 5. going vegan: can switching to a plant-based diet really save the planet by sarah marsh, 1. health pros and cons of veganism, 2. veganism vs. vegetarianism, 3. the vegan society, 4. making a vegan diet plan, 5. profitability of vegan restaurants, 6. public personalities who are vegan, 7. the rise of different vegan products, 8. is vegan better for athletes, 9. vegans in your community, 10. most popular vegan activists.

“Veganism is an extreme form of vegetarianism, and though the term was coined in 1944, the concept of flesh-avoidance can be traced back to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies.”

Suddath maps out the historical roots of veganism and the global routes of its influences. She also laid down its evolution in various countries where vegan food choices became more flexible in considering animal-derived products critical to health. 

“Along with eschewing animal products at mealtime, vegans don’t support other practices that harm animals, including animal testing. But it’s a process rampant in both the food and drug industries.”

Ettinger follows the case of two vegan-founded startups that ironically conducts animal testing to evaluate the safety of their vegan ingredients for human consumption. The essay brings to light the conflicts between the need to launch more vegan products and ensuring the safety of consumers through FDA-required animal tests. 

“Indeed, at a time when the supply of vegan products is increasing, activists sometimes fear the reduction of veganism to a depoliticized way of life that has been taken over by the food industry.”

The author reflects on a series of recent vegan and animal rights activist movements and implies disappointment over the government’s response to protect public safety rather than support the protests’ cause. The essay differentiates the many ways one promotes and fights for veganism and animal rights but emphasizes the effectiveness of collective action in shaping better societies. 

“Beyond fungus, Nature’s Fynd also is representative of the food sustainability movement, whose mission is to reduce the carbon footprint of global food systems, which generate 34% of greenhouse emissions linked to climate change.”

The essay features a company that produces alternative meat products and has the backing of Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Al Gore. The essay divulges the company’s investments and plans to expand in the vegan market while providing a picture of the burgeoning alternative foods sector. 

“Experts say changing the way we eat is necessary for the future of the planet but that government policy is needed alongside this. If politicians are serious about wanting dietary changes, they also need to incentivise it, scientists and writers add.”

The article conveys the insights and recommendations of environmental and agriculture experts on how to turn more individuals into vegans. The experts emphasize the need for a whole-of-society approach in shifting more diets to vegan instead of putting the onus for change on an individual. 

10 Writing Prompts on Essays About Veganism

Here is our round-up of the best prompts to create interesting essays about veganism: 

While veganism has been a top choice for those desiring to lose weight and have a healthier lifestyle, some studies have also shown its detrimental effects on health due to deficiencies in specific vitamins. First, find out what existing research and experts say about this. Then, lay down the advantages and disadvantages of going vegan, explain each, and wrap up your essay with your insights.

Differentiate veganism from vegetarianism. Tackle the foods vegans and vegetarians consume and do not consume and cite the different effects they have on your health and the environment. You may also expand this prompt to discuss the other dietary choices that spawned from veganism. 

The Vegan Society is a UK-based non-profit organization aimed at educating the public on the ways of veganism and promoting this as a way of life to as many people. Expound on its history, key organizational pillars, and recent and future campaigns. You may also broaden this prompt by listing down vegan organizations around the world. Then discuss each one’s objectives and campaigns. 

Write down the healthiest foods you recommend your readers to include in a vegan diet plan. Contrary to myths, vegan foods can be very flavorful depending on how they are cooked and prepared. You may expand this prompt to add recommendations for the most flavorful spices and sauces to take any vegan recipe a notch higher. 

Vegan restaurants were originally a niche market. But with the rise of vegan food products and several multinational firms’ foray into the market, the momentum for vegan restaurants was launched into an upward trajectory—research on how profitable vegan restaurants are against restos offering meat on the menu. You may also recommend innovative business strategies for a starting vegan restaurant to thrive and stay competitive in the market. 

From J.Lo to Bill Gates, there is an increasing number of famous personalities who are riding the vegan trend with good reason. So first, list a few celebrities, influencers, and public figures who are known advocates of veganism. Then, research and write about stories that compelled them to change their dietary preference.

The market for vegan-based non-food products is rising, from makeup to leather bags and clothes. First, create a list of vegan brands that are growing in popularity. Then, research the materials they use and the processes they employ to preserve the vegan principles. This may prompt may also turn into a list of the best gift ideas for vegans.

Many believe that a high-protein diet is a must for athletes. However, several athletes have dispelled the myth that vegan diets lack the protein levels for rigorous training and demanding competition. First, delve deeper into the vegan foods that serve as meat alternatives regarding protein intake. Then, cite other health benefits a vegan diet can offer to athletes. You may also add research on what vegan athletes say about how a vegan diet gives them energy. 

Interview people in your community who are vegan. Write about how they made the decision and how they transitioned to this lifestyle. What were the initial challenges in their journey, and how did they overcome these? Also, ask them for tips they would recommend to those who are struggling to uphold their veganism.

Make a list of the most popular vegan activists. You may narrow your list to personalities in digital media who are speaking loud and proud about their lifestyle choice and trying to inspire others to convert. Narrate the ways they have made and are making an impact in their communities. 

To enhance your essay, read our guide explaining what is persuasive writing . 

If you’d like to learn more, check out our guide on how to write an argumentative essay .

Yna Lim is a communications specialist currently focused on policy advocacy. In her eight years of writing, she has been exposed to a variety of topics, including cryptocurrency, web hosting, agriculture, marketing, intellectual property, data privacy and international trade. A former journalist in one of the top business papers in the Philippines, Yna is currently pursuing her master's degree in economics and business.

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Blog > Common App , Essay Advice > How to Write a Great College Essay About Veganism

How to Write a Great College Essay About Veganism

Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University

Written by Kylie Kistner, MA Former Willamette University Admissions

Key Takeaway

People become vegan for a number of reasons. For some, it’s a deeply held personal choice, while for others it’s simply a matter of taste.

If you’re vegan, chances are that it’s a topic that’s important to you. You may even be wondering if veganism is something you should write about for your college essay.

Your college essay should be about something you are most passionate about, and veganism can allow you to talk about a core part of your values.

But veganism is also a fairly common topic that can at times be difficult to extract an original and meaningful message from.

Like any common topic, there are pros and cons to writing a personal statement about veganism. The topic isn’t off the table, but some approaches are more effective than others.

Where College Essays About Veganism Can Go Wrong

To achieve the goals of a personal statement, a college essay about veganism has to be about more than just your veganism.

After all, you are vegan for a reason. Something about the practice resonates with you at a deeper level. That significance is what you should focus on.

Two of the most common approaches to writing a college essay about veganism miss this mark because they rely too much on generalities instead of your deeply-held and identity-based reasons for being vegan.

“Why I became vegan”

The first ineffective approach is the surface-level “why I became vegan” or “how veganism changed my life” framework.

If veganism is something important to your lived experience, then it’s only logical that you’d want to write your college essay about what led you to be vegan or the specific ways being vegan has improved your life.

That is valuable. But too often essays that follow this approach give only common-knowledge reasons for being vegan. In doing so, they fail to address something truly meaningful about the writer.

A 2018 poll found that 3% of American adults identified as vegan, up from 2% in 2012. Your admissions officer is very likely familiar with the most common reasons behind veganism, so sharing this kind of surface-level answer is inadequate.

Unless you truly interrogate how veganism connects to a broader part of who you are, then your essay will leave an admissions committee wanting.

“Why you should be vegan”

The second common trope to avoid is the simple persuasive approach to “why you/everyone should be vegan.”

Maybe you do think everyone should be vegan. Maybe it’s even the belief that has sparked your interest in studying environmental science or food studies.

Because this topic carries a lot of weight, writing about why people should act a certain way takes a lot of time and care that is typically not possible in a personal statement.

A persuasive essay about veganism also says too much about others and not enough about who you are, so it’s best to find another approach.

Overall, college essays about veganism can go wrong when they make an admissions committee say, “That’s great! But now what?”

If you only write about your veganism, you leave the admissions committee with more questions than answers about who you are and why they should admit you.

Before you begin your college essay about veganism, you should consider asking yourself two questions:

How does my veganism relate to a larger part of who I am?

• And what do I want admissions officers to do with that information?

Using these questions as a guiding framework, let’s discuss two ways to go about writing your essay.

Effective ways to approach your college essay about veganism

Background and identity.

One way to make an essay about veganism stand out is by connecting your veganism to another significant part of your background or identity.

Instead of writing generally about why you became vegan, allow veganism to be only part of your more complex story.

Drawing these connections for the admissions committee will give them more genuine insight into who you are and what motivates you.

Consider the “how” and “why” behind your veganism to identify the value or motivation that is most central to you.

Did you go vegan after watching Food, Inc.?

Or maybe you grew up on a farm and your veganism is because of (or in spite of) your upbringing.

Or perhaps you simply have a dairy allergy and don’t like the taste of meat.

In all of these cases, the compelling story is not that you are vegan. Your veganism is compelling because it developed in a context that is specific to you.

Let’s plug the Food, Inc. example into our questions:

I went vegan after watching Food, Inc. > I watched Food, Inc. in health class. > I cried during the documentary because I felt bad for the animals that were being treated poorly. > I love my veganism because I can actively live out my compassion for animals.

And there it is! A compelling, motivating part of your identity: your compassion.

And what do I want admissions officers to do with this information?

I want admissions officers to know that I am deeply compassionate towards animals. > This compassion is a guiding principle for how I move throughout the world.

With these two questions answered, you have a seedling for your essay. If you find that your answers to the questions actually aren’t that compelling, then you might consider a different topic.

Related Interests

The second effective way to approach your essay about veganism is to relate it to a specific academic or co-curricular interest.

Your veganism can then be a vehicle through which you talk about another topic related to your goals and passions.

This approach is effective because it allows you to discuss something you’re personally passionate about (veganism) and connect it to another part of yourself (your interest or accomplishment) that gives the admissions officers more reason to admit you.

Probably the most popular connections are wanting to study environmental science or biology or being a climate or animal rights activist.

Let’s try the questions again:

I’m vegan. > I’ve joined and now lead an online community of vegans. > I’ve developed an academic interest in niche communities and am interested in learning more about them.

I have an extracurricular accomplishment managing an online community of 5,000+ members. > My veganism has led to a budding interest in the psychology and sociology of online groups.

Again, you’ve found the seed. You can use your newfound connections as the foundation of your college essay.

Key Takeaways

Veganism is deeply important to many people. If you’re one of them, it’s okay to write your college essay about it.

While some approaches are better than others, essays about veganism are still fairly common.

So if you choose to write one, make sure that you root your essay in genuine and specific examples that clearly illustrate how your veganism connects to a core part of you.

In the end, your college essay about veganism should showcase another value, belief, or interest that you hold deeply. Once you’ve determined what that looks like for you, check out our other resources for writing a college essay and creating a cohesive application narrative .

Liked that? Try this next.

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Veganism - Essay Samples And Topic Ideas For Free

Veganism is a lifestyle and dietary choice that excludes all animal products and attempts to limit the exploitation of animals as much as possible. Essays could discuss the ethical, environmental, and health aspects of veganism, challenges faced by vegans, and the societal reaction to veganism. The impact of veganism on the food industry could also be explored. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Veganism you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

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Positive Effect of Veganism on Environment

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A Better Understanding of Veganism

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Veganism and its Effects

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BEING VEGAN: A personal essay about veganism

I wear a necklace that spells out the word vegan. People peer at it and ask me, “Are you vegan?” It seems like an odd question, but people find vegans odd. When I respond that I indeed am a vegan, the comeback reply I dread most is when the person lists the animal products they eat, and how they couldn’t live without chicken or cheese.

In the cut and thrust of talk about food, I’ll then respond that the chicken is the body of an animal who wanted to live. That cheese is made from milk, a nutritious sustenance meant for a mother to give her newborn calf. If the baby cow was male, he was slaughtered for veal.

The slaughtering of baby animals is a good way to end what could escalate into an uncomfortable conversation neither of us really wanted to have.

Few of us are born vegan, and those who choose to become vegan usually do so following a personal epiphany, perhaps in the wake of a health crisis, or after meeting and befriending a farm animal whom one might formerly have considered food. That was my route. I was 40 before I understood that I was living a lie, claiming to love animals on the one hand, and eating them on the other. Today, veganism brings me peace of mind and a nice circle of friends.

I find it regrettable that vegans are so widely disliked in the mainstream media, but I’m not surprised. Our insistence that animals are neither objects nor ingredients is a perspective that people find challenging and even subversive. Our choice not to eat or wear animals challenges people to think about their own relationship to animals.  Most people love animals. Most people don’t want to think about animals being gruesomely treated and slaughtered. Faced with a vegan, the non-vegan has to think about that. Or else thrust such thinking into the depths of the psyche, and quick.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, on a weight-loss campaign to shed some of his 300 pounds, hurriedly dismissed two PETA-sponsored vegans who brought him a basket of vegan treats during one of his weekly weigh-ins. He wouldn’t even look them in the face. He abruptly dismissed a question from a reporter about veganism and retreated into his office.  He skipped a subsequent weigh-in.

His Honour could have relaxed a little. Veganism is a way of life that is not forced on anyone. We don’t come to your house with flyers or make robo-calls. We’re not funded by some giant corporation. We’re people who care deeply about animals, and about the people who have nothing to eat because so much of the corn and grain grown in North America goes to feed livestock, not hungry children.

Vegans mean it when they say they love all animals. A recent vegan advertising campaign showed a dog or cat facing a pig or chick, and underneath was the caption: “Why love one but eat the other?”

The questions we raise bother people. One commenter on a social media forum wrote:

“Those who don’t eat meat, I can empathize with you but you also need to get off your soapboxes.”

I relish the irony of being told to get off my soapbox from someone who is firmly planted on theirs. Non-vegans have been doing more than their fair share of “preaching” for centuries. In our day, McDonalds and Burger King push their beliefs and products on me dozens of times a day through TV and newspaper ads, and coupon flyers stuffed into my mailbox.

The Canadian government forces me to subsidize the meat and dairy industries through taxation. Non-vegans have preached and promoted their point of view on such a large scale that they have successfully hidden the cruelty of the meat and dairy industries from public view.

When I’m responding to an item in the newspaper about the subject of veganism, someone in the next comment box will inevitably ask me why I bother with animals when there is so much human suffering in the world. I love that question because it allows me to explain that I see animal liberation and human liberation as being intertwined.

The great physicist Albert Einstein famously said: “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” He also held the view that not eating animals would have a physical effect on the human temperament that would benefit the lot of humankind.

The vegans I know care about injustice, enslavement, and oppression, no matter what the race, ethnicity, or species of the victim. When someone argues with me that human problems take precedence, I have to turn the argument on its head and ask not only what that person is personally doing to alleviate the suffering of human beings, but why they feel the heartless exploitation of other animals should continue even so. Humans are hurting, so kindness to animals must therefore be abandoned?

The most ridiculous argument that I hear is that plants have feelings too. To which I quote the answer provided by vegan food writer Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, who asks, in an episode of her podcast devoted to what she calls excuse-itarians—“ Really? Really?”

Animals are sentient and plants are not. Sentient beings have minds; they have preferences and show a desire to live by running away from those who would harm them, or by crying out in pain. Plants respond to sunlight and other stimuli, and apparently they like it when Prince Charles talks to them, but they are not sentient; they don’t have a mind, they don’t think about or fear death, they aren’t aware and conscious.

Finally, there’s the argument of last resort: that eating flesh is a personal choice. If it were my personal choice to kick and beat you, would you say to me “that’s your personal choice”? Being slaughtered for food is not the personal choice of the billions of animals that just want to live their portion of time on Earth.

Being vegan has changed not only what I eat and wear, but how I cope with the anger, outrage, dismissal and verbal abuse of others.

I’m learning, as I go, to let it all go. I speak out where I feel my words will do the most good, and if all else fails, I’ll simply smile and say, “Don’t hate me because I’m vegan.”

[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]Bonnie Shulman is a writer and editor working in Toronto. She earned her Master of Arts degree at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. You can follow her on Twitter at @veganbonnie .

image:  rian_bean (Creative Commons BY-NC-SA)

The biggest issue for me in the whole politics of eating is the divide that’s created among people solely based on their choice of diet. To be vegan or non-vegan shouldn’t matter. Like any labels I wish they didn’t even exist. But of all the unnecessary labels, to have to use the word vegan is pretty sad. What one chooses to eat is a personal choice that doesn’t hurt anyone else, yet some people blow it up into such a big issue.

I wish people didn’t get so annoyed at vegans because it just contributes even more discord to this world. The only upside I see is that when people single out vegans and get defensive it at least causes them to think and talk about veganism.

Hi Breathe:

I agree that discord between people isn’t pleasant. Yet that is the end result of being an advocate for animals. I want to put a stop to the wholesale torture of animals on factory farms. To do that, I have to take a stand. I have to stand up and declare myself for animals. I have to campaign about the abuse, so that more people know what goes on behind those walls where pigs and chickens never see the light of day their entire lives. Speaking up for animals makes some people uneasy, and they get angry. On the other hand, some people, meat eaters included!, appreciate the stance I take. I say meat eaters too because even good people who eat meat don’t want animals to suffer as they do in the current conditions on factory farms. Watch any video by Mercy For Animals and you’ll see what I mean. It’s horrifying.

Thanks for your response. Take care.

First, I appreciate that you’re willing to stand up for animals. It takes courage and it’s a thankless job, which is why so few do it.

As I mentioned, I see the benefit to standing up for animals and I don’t discourage that. What I was getting at is how can we advocate while maintaining peace? How can we raise our communication to a higher level?

Saying the V-word pisses people off. It always has… maybe always will because people just don’t like to think that they’re in the wrong. Defensiveness is one of the ego’s most potent tricks. It has the power to disprove even the most solid logic. And so, enemies are built. The point is not even to build “allies” because that too is separation. We’re all humans doing the best we can with the resources we have at work. So the question is how do we advocate for animals by overcoming this ego battle? For me, that just means loving them, being in nature, connecting to them and sharing my love for them. Now I don’t believe that this is making a world of difference or anything. The whole issue of animal rights is no easy situation to deal with and I’d just like to think of different ways of doing things.

Breathe, you ask the million dollar question. And you hit the nail on the head: advocacy can lead to icky feelings between people! I once passed by a demonstration against wind farms, and I asked someone with a picket sign why she was against wind farms, and she kind of spat in my face with disgust at my question. Naturally, I am ALL FOR windfarms now (haha – I actually was before the incident).

May I recommend a great book? It’s my advocacy bible and I have a review on Amazon.com about it. I think it really addresses what you talk about – we have to change the world for animals without alienating people. I am not perfect, I admit, but I hand out vegan food at work and leave easy vegan recipes in the servery. That helps! Food is good! I’ve even got some people to try out Meatless Mondays, without even asking them to do so. They just thought it was cool to give vegan food a try. They love it now.

Here’s the book:

The Animal Activist’s Handbook: Maximizing Our Positive Impact in Today’s World by Matt Ball and Bruce Friedrich. These are the top advocates that I know of, and I respect them so much. They are brilliant people who understand that we must not lose touch with people in our animal advocacy. Again, they are the masters. I bow to their wisdom!

Thanks for writing!

Breathe, When you are in a non vegan diet what one chooses to it hurt innocent animals. It took me a while to connect the dots. I was not always a vegan, but becoming a vegan was a moment of brilliance that it is one of the best things that has ever happen to me. I can not keep exploiting animals.

I don’t hate anyone because they are vegan. But the vegans hate me because I insist that eating meat is natural for humans. Being vegan is a choice. Eating meat is a choice.I respect yours but do you respect mine? Your article is again full of accusations. Up to today I never got an answer to the questions: How does a vegan think about a Lion eating a Zebra? How does a vegan think about a cat eating a mouse or a bird? And why do they think different about a human eating a cow or a chicken? Humans are omnivores since millions of years. And please spare me the – how did you cal it “The most ridiculous argument ” that our bodies, our teeth etc are not made for meat. We eat it since millions of years for heavens sake! When do people accept that eating meat is our natural food? Yes we can chose to not eat meat. Yes I do accept that. But it is a choice! And if you want to tell me that I hurt animals by killing them then you have to accuse a Lion as well. And by the way, dairy is not our natural food. I agree with you on this. Not because we steal it from the mothers but because it is not natural and that’s why so many people are dairy intolerant. It is natural to be weaned off dairy products. But we do not have a great number of people who are meat intolerant. Because it is part of our natural diet.

Dear Peter:

When a lion eats a zebra I am distressed at the images of the kill, but I let it go because that is the way of the lion world. They cannot grow plants and raise crops. I am not angry at the lion for having its dinner. I find it pretty ridiculous that you would even think that. Also, people are not lions, so why do you even bring that up as an argument?

What do I think about a cat eating a mouse or bird? if it is a domestic cat I’m infuriated, because there so many farm animals are being slaughtered already, the by-products of which go into animal food readily available at stores. The decrease in the number of North American songbirds has been attributed largely to household cats.

If meat is a natural part of our diet, why do so many people thrive the minute they give it up? Also, why are so many of our hospitals stuffed to the gills with people requiring heart surgery? Only a minor percentage were born with heart defects. Among the rest, many gorged on such meat products as steaks, bacon, sausages and chicken fingers, as well as high-fat dairy, until their bodies rebelled.

I see my article has made you very angry. If this doesn’t prove my point then I don’t know what does. Thank you for writing, PeterNZ.

Question for you – would you be able to go right now, pounce on a cow, pig, etc.’s back, chomp through their hide/skin with your teeth to their muscle and eat it without cooking it? If your answer is NO (which it should be if you are human), well then there is your answer. Next, just because something has been done for millions of years, does not mean that it is right. Humans have done MANY things for millions of years that have been considered atrocities (sadistic Roman gladiator games, slavery, etc.). Were those things okay? These are just excuses. Believe me, I understand, as I made excuses my whole life…Done with that!

Bella I am a completely normal human being and i would be more than happy to go to my local supermarket and eat food that they provide, as this is what is normal for our culture. let me just quote History.com, one of the most reliable sources possible “In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team announces the discovery of burned plants and bones from 1 million years ago. Their findings suggest that Homo erectus?not Homo sapiens or Neanderthals?became the first hominin to master flames, possibly in order to cook their food.” as my ancestors have done I would happily cook the meat so that the food becomes safe for my consumption, I agree with you in the concept that no human would go and pounce on a wild animal and sink their teeth into them as this is not what a normal human would do. I personally if it was down to survival would light a fire and cook the meat so that I could enjoy the delicacy that has been provided to me by nature. just this weekend i have enjoyed one of my favourite meals that does meat in it. i would suggest some of the recipes from this site as i have found them the best http://www.foodnetwork.ca/everyday-cooking/photos/most-popular-beef-recipes/

In your responses try to not be so aggressive as your way of life is far from the main stream and preferred way of living 🙂

also note to the author of this post, don’t try and act like your not trying to bring attention to your self, your twitter name is legitimately “veganbonnie”.

We vegans don?t hate u guys but we just wish non vegans to understand how the animals have to suffer and have to end their precious life just for the food u eat. and don?t compare humans with loins we humans can think rationally and we have can grow crops .. we have many options but the lions don?t have any options.. we respect your choice to eat meat but animals do not exist for humans and our uses. Animals also have moral rights to live in this world as much as human have.

Human beings have a variety of options when it comes to getting protein into their bodies – rice paired with lentils, chickpeas or any kind of bean forms a perfect protein. There is also tofu, and a lot of soy products are viable alternatives for those who are not allergic to soy. We cannot educate a wild animal such as a lion, to grow, harvest and ferment soybeans. Or chickpeas. This argument is silly. Lions hunt based on instinct. Human beings are more advanced (arguably) and therefore, we can use our more advanced brains to make food choices that do not cause harm to other living things. We have many instincts that we can overcome, and that we have overcome in order to be able to live in “civilized” societies.

Eating the flesh of a living thing is a personal choice that kills an innocent creature. There is nothing inherently wrong with your choice. But don’t get defensive when someone points out this fact.

Fact: You choose to place your tastebuds and your personal enjoyment over the life of another living creature, because you view yourself as more advanced and therefore entitled to consume flesh.

You do not need to feel guilty about your choice. Just be honest about it, and accept the moral consequences. That’s all. Meat may have been eaten by humans since the dawn of time… but historical precedent is not, in my mind, a valid excuse by which to continue justifying a behaviour.

In a similar vein, women have been treated as property since the dawn of time as well. Men are more powerful and indeed women did not always hold legal personhood status throughout history. So we should continue in the same vein, no? But this argument doesn’t fly today. Why? Because we know better, so we can act better. The same goes for the meat argument.

Your dietary implications may not be clean and pretty, but if you’re going to stand firm in your position, stick to it 100%. Do not waver, and do not speak about naturally being an omnivore. Just because you CAN eat it, enjoy it and thrive on it, doesn’t mean you SHOULD continue to do so. If we are enlightened beings, as we all like to claim to be, we should be held to a higher moral standard. If we do not want to hold ourselves up to that standard, that is fine.

P.S. Before you begin to assume things about me I will tell you that no, I am not a vegan. Why? Because I love eating fish, and cheese on occasion. But I don’t apologize for it. I know I can live without it, and I know that I am making a personal, selfish choice in the face of cruelty and suffering.

Laura, your reply is so beautifully heartfelt, and I read it with great interest. I love your honesty. Part of my animal advocacy is just asking people to be honest with themselves about the choices they make.

I also think you make a critically important statement that really hits the nail on the head. I’ll repeat it here:

Just because you CAN eat it, enjoy it and thrive on it, doesn’t mean you SHOULD continue to do so.

Thank you for contributing such wise words to the conversation, and all the best.

http://www.amif.org/blog/eating-meat-is-ethical/

This is so inspiring! I am a loyal vegetarian and have been for almost 9 years, I really feel deeply moved by it! I’ve thought about becoming Vegan but on a strict competitive national training programme it could be difficult, but you’ve definitely persuaded me to give it a go! Thank you for your thoughtful insight!

I just wanted to voice my support and appreciation for this article. With your stance and mine, putting the word “vegan” out in the world is going to make people angry. Anything different makes people angry. But if that anger ever leads to them making sure they understand the implications of their actions, it is worth it. It is worth it if they think.

I have had a close friend of mine tell me that he honestly believes in mind over matter. He also said he couldn’t ever stop eating meat. That self-limitation is stopping the human race from doing great things. WE must think through our actions, because we are the only species who can. Do what is right, because we are able.

Can people really be okay with eating a being that loved its mother? I always hypothesize a world were people could speak to animals and I ask the meat eater “Tell that animal to its face that it was born for the purpose of dying and feeding you, only for a single day, before you eat its children.”

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Introduction: Thinking Through Veganism

• First Online: 25 May 2018

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• Emelia Quinn 6 &
• Benjamin Westwood 7  

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature ((PSAAL))

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This introduction outlines the social, environmental, and intellectual contexts shaping the emergence of vegan theory. It establishes an understanding of veganism’s messy, contradictory aspects, which runs counter to contemporary conceptualizations of it as a faddish diet or punitive set of proscriptions. Quinn and Westwood argue that veganism is situated between two opposing, but necessary poles: utopianism and insufficiency, aligned respectively with the work of Carol J. Adams and Jacques Derrida. The importance of these coordinates derives from their opposition: veganism as a confluence of utopian impulses, and the acknowledgement of their inevitable insufficiency. This introduction shows how thinking through veganism—as a heuristic lens and topic in its own right—opens out onto a wide variety of issues and questions explored in the following essays.

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Oxford English Dictionary , 3rd ed., s.v. “vegan, n.2 and adj.2. ”

See Robert McKay’s essay in this collection.

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, “Around the Performative: Periperformative Vicinities in Nineteenth-Century Narrative,” Touching Feeling: Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity (Durham, 2003), pp. 71–72.

See Richard Twine’s essay on the “intersectional disgust ” that he suggests has divorced the question of the animal from mainstream feminism (“Intersectional disgust ? Animals and (eco)feminism ,” Feminism & Psychology 20, no.3 (2010): 397–406). While we are reluctant to conflate homosexual oppression with the oppression of animals, we do not shy away from the recognition of important analogies that allow us to theorize human social and political structures in relation to the nonhuman. As Twine concludes “It would be a shame if disgust were to get in the way of conversation” (p. 402).

As made clear by Carol J. Adams in Sexual Politics of Meat  (London, 2015) and Annie Potts, “Exploring Vegansexuality: An Embodied Ethics of Intimacy” William Lynn: Ethics and Politics of Sustainability. 9 March 2008. http://www.williamlynn.net/exploring-vegansexuality-an-embodied-ethics-of-intimacy/

See, for example, José Esteban Muñoz , Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity (New York, 2009) and Judith Halberstam , The Queer Art of Failure (Durham, 2011).

See Sara Salih’s essay in this collection.

J. M. Coetzee, The Lives of Animals (Princeton, 2001), p. 67.

See, for example, Martha Nussbaum, Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law (Princeton, 2004). Nussbaum condemns disgust as reliant on fears that are “typically unreasonable, embodying magical ideas of contamination, and impossible aspirations to purity, immortality, and nonanimality, that are just not in line with human life as we know it” (p. 23).

Matthew Calarco, “Deconstruction is not vegetarianism: Humanism, subjectivity, and animal ethics,” Continental Philosophy Review 37, no. 2 (2004): 194.

Ibid., pp. 195, emphasis added.

United Nations, “World population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050” UN.org , 29 July 2015. http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/2015-report.html

United Nations Environmental Programme, “Assessing the Environ-mental Impacts of Consumption and Production” UNEP.org , 2010. http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1262xPA-PriorityProductsAndMaterials_Report.pdf ; London Economic, “Vegan Food Sales up by 1500% in Past Year” The London Economic, November 2016. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/food-drink/vegan-food-sales-up-by-1500-in-past-year/01/11/ ; Vegan Life, “Veganism Booms By 350%” VeganLife Magazine, 18 May 2016. http://www.veganlifemag.com/veganism-booms/

The UK National Health Service supports this, stating on its website that a well-planned vegan diet will provide all the nutrients the body needs. NHS, “The vegan diet,” nhs.uk. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Vegetarianhealth/Pages/Vegandiets.aspx

Michael P. Branch and Scott Slovic, The ISLE Reader (Athens, 2003), p. xvi.

See, for example, Graham Huggan and Helen Tiffin , Postcolonial Ecocriticism (Abingdon, 2010), Carol J. Adams and Josephine Donovan, Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (Durham, 1995), and Val Plumwood , Feminism and the Mastery of Nature (London, 1993).

For more on Deep Ecology, see George Session, Deep Ecology for the Twenty-First Century (Boston, 1995).

Robert C. Jones, “Veganisms,” in Critical Perspectives on Veganism, eds. Jodey Castricano and Rasmus R. Simsonsen (London, 2016), pp. 15–39.

Kara Jesella, “Vegans exhibiting an ever wilder side for their cause,” nytimes.com , The New York Times, 27 March 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/arts/27iht-vegan.1.11463224.html

Best et al., “Introducing Critical Animal Studies,” Journal for Critical Animal Studies 5, no.1 (2007).

Taylor and Twine, “Introduction. Locating the ‘Critical’ in Critical Animal Studies,” in The Rise of Critical Animal Studies, eds. Nik Taylor and Richard Twine (Abingdon, 2014), p. 2.

Ibid., p. 6.

Ibid., p. 12.

Pederson and Stanescu, “Future Directions for Critical Animal Studies,” in Critical Animal Studies, p. 262.

Wright, The Vegan Studies Project: Food, Animals, and Gender in the Age of Terror (Athens and London, 2015), p. 7.

Joshua Schuster, “The Vegan and the Sovereign,” in Critical Perspectives, pp. 216, 210.

Anat Pick, “Turning to Animals Between Love and Law,” New Formations: A Journal of Culture/Theory/Politics 76 (2012): 65–85.

For more comprehensive surveys of the development of animal studies, see Linda Kalof (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Animal Studies (Oxford, 2017); Garry Marvin and Susan McHugh (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Human-Animal Studies (Abingdon, 2014); Derek Ryan, Animal Theory: A Critical Introduction (Edinburgh, 2015); and Kari Weil , Thinking Animals: Why Animal Studies Now? (New York, 2012).

The French edition was published in 1999, with an extended version released in 2006. The work itself is based largely on the text of a series of lectures given by Derrida at the 1997 Cerisy-la-Salle conference on “The Autobiographical Animal.”

Derrida, “‘Eating well’, or the Calculation of the Subject,” in Points… : Interviews, 1974–1994 , ed. Elisabeth Weber, trans. Peggy Kamuf (Stanford, 1995), p. 280.

Derrida, The Animal That Therefore I Am , ed. Marie-Louise Mallet, trans. David Wills (New York, 2008), p. 111.

Ibid., p. 28.

Adams, Sexual Politics of Meat , pp. xix; emphasis original.

Ibid., p. 63.

Ibid., p. 21.

Erica Fudge, Animal (London, 2002), p. 45.

Derrida, “Eating Well, ” p. 282.

Calarco, “Deconstruction is not vegetarianism,” p. 198.

Ibid., p. 194.

Gary Steiner, Animals and the Limits of Postmodernism (New York, 2013), p. 63.

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Quinn, E., Westwood, B. (2018). Introduction: Thinking Through Veganism. In: Quinn, E., Westwood, B. (eds) Thinking Veganism in Literature and Culture. Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73380-7_1

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54 Veganism Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best veganism topic ideas & essay examples, ⭐ good research topics about veganism, ❓ veganism research questions.

• Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diets: Impacts on Health However, vegetarians have the option of consuming animal products like eggs and milk, but this option is not available to vegans; vegetarians tend to avoid the intake of all the animal proteins.
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Life of a vegetarian college student: Health, lifestyle, and environmental perceptions

Melissa d. olfert.

a Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design, Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA;

Makenzie L. Barr

Anne e. mathews.

b Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA;

Tanya M. Horacek

c Falk College, Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA;

Kristin Riggsbee

d College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Wenjun Zhou

Sarah e. colby.

To examine health behavior and environmental perception differences among vegetarian and nonvegetarian students.

Participants:

First-year university students (n=1078) from eight United States universities.

Data were obtained from base 2015 and followup 2016 assessments. Vegetarians and nonvegetarians were compared for anthropometrics, lifestyle behaviors, and campus environmental perceptions (CEPS).

Vegetarians had smaller waist circumference, lower systolic blood pressure, higher fruit and vegetable consumption, lower percentage of energy obtained from fat, and higher perceived stress. Vegetarians expressed a lower rating of perceptions of health policies on campus.

Conclusion:

A clear difference in indicators of physical health does not appear, however, vegetarian students show positive dietary patterns which can promote positive health outcomes. Further, vegetarians had lower perceptions of health policies on campus. Results can be used by administrators to ensure policies are in place to support health of students as currently vegetarian students see limitations in the environmental health policies.

Introduction

The vegetarian diet, commonly defined as a diet that excludes intake of meat (fowl, seafood, etc.) and meat-based products, continues to grow in popularity in the United States. 1 Estimates show that approximately 4% of the American population identifies as vegetarian. 2 Further, certain demographics, such as college students, are more commonly switching to a vegetarian diet with 6% of young adults stating they follow the vegetarian diet. 1 , 3 Factors leading to the choice of following a vegetarian diet are vast and include health benefits, animal and ethical issues, religion, social media and popular trends, and peer/environmental influence. 4 , 5

In regards to health, research has suggested that vegetarian diets have the potential to be anti-obesogenic relative to diets that include some amount of meat or fish. 6 A study of groups with differing dietary patterns found that groups whose diets entirely excluded meat (vegans and vegetarians) had lower body mass index (BMI) (BMI) than groups of pescatarians, semi-vegetarians (restricting meat intake), and nonvegetarians. 7 BMI was also observed to increase simultaneously with greater inclusion of meat and/or fish in the diet. 7 Likewise, several studies have shown that vegetarianism is associated with beneficial effects among cardiovascular health indicators, including lower BMI (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, glucose levels, and incidence of and mortality from ischemic heart disease. 8 , 9 Therefore, following a vegetarian diet may be preventative for chronic disease development.

Further, as may be expected, previous studies have observed that vegetarians on average consume greater quantities of fruits and vegetables daily than nonvegetarians. 8 Specifically for college populations, vegetarian students have been found to be more likely to meet the Healthy People 2010 dietary guidelines in comparison to their nonvegetarian counterparts, which may be preventative of future health problems. 8 However, other research indicates that college aged vegetarians may be at an increased risk for unhealthy eating behaviors such as binge eating and overall lead to the development of disordered eating behaviors. 10 – 13 Further, in some young populations, vegetarians have reported higher levels of anxiety and depression although research is limited. 14 As college students are already susceptible to higher levels of stress, this additional layer of restrictive eating could be problematic. 15 Therefore, the impact of a vegetarian diet on the behaviors and lifestyle of young adults needs further investigation.

Additionally, adherence to a vegetarian diet on a college campus may be difficult due to the environment. Growing data suggest that conditions and features of the campus environment influence diet choices, physical activity levels, and indirectly, the risk of developing obesity and/or related lifestyle diseases. On college campuses, the quality and perception of the dining food are often poor, with students often perceiving little to no healthy options are available. 16 , 17 Though the current body of psychological research makes it clear that perceptions can have a significant impact on individuals’ behavior, one aspect of the relationship between environment and obesity has rarely been explored: whether an individual must actually live in an objectively-assessed obesogenic environment in order to be at risk for the associated negative health outcomes, or whether is it sufficient that he or she perceives the environment to be not conducive to a healthful lifestyle. One of the few studies related to this topic found that positive perceptions of the local environment, including perceived access to dining amenities and recreation facilities, were associated with increased physical activity, higher levels of self-reported health, and lower rates of obesity. 18 This suggests that perceptions of the local environment may have a significant impact on health behavior and outcomes. Another analysis showed that individuals’ perceptions of their food environment may not be an accurate representation of the true, objectively-measured environment, and that factors such as low socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with underestimation of the quality of the local food environment. 19 The addition of “health promoting” amenities to an obesogenic environment may not be sufficient to reverse trends of obesity and poor health outcomes if community members’ perceptions of their environment do not change accordingly. Thus, examination of the relationship between environmental perceptions and health behaviors and choices, including adherence to a vegetarian diet, could lead to valuable insights for future health policy development.

Although campuses are often termed “obesogenic environments,” 9 , 20 with student populations become more diverse and popularity of vegetarian diets continue to rise, many colleges and universities have sought to implement modifications to their campus environments in order to promote more healthful lifestyles and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity among their students. Multi-campus evaluation of campus dining options shows 80% of campuses providing vegetarian options. 21 Some institutions have also made efforts to improve students’ health by promoting vegetarian/semi-vegetarian diets through initiatives such as the “Meatless Monday” campaign. 22 Few studies have investigated whether the indications of superior physical health observed in other vegetarian populations are also present in vegetarian college students. Additionally, though some studies have investigated the environmental conditions associated with unhealthful diets and negative health outcomes among college students, few studies have examined the conditions associated with unusually healthful diets. 23 Thus, there were two major aims for this paper: one, to examine the health and lifestyle characteristics of vegetarians in comparison to nonvegetarians, and two, to explore the environmental perceptions associated with adherence to vegetarian and nonvegetarian diets.

Materials and methods

Study design.

Data for this secondary analysis were obtained from the Get Fruved study, a program aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles among young adults. 24 As part of Get Fruved, at-risk freshman students (n = 1155) from eight regionally spread universities in the United States completed a baseline survey that included questions about a variety of demographic, health and lifestyle behaviors and perceptions, and environmental characteristics. Baseline data were collected in 2015 and follow-up in 2016, thus two timepoints of comparison are available. At-risk criteria were defined as having less than optimal fruit and vegetable intake and at least one additional risk factor (first-generation college students, racial/ ethnic minority, low affluence, having overweight/obese parent, or personal overweight Body Mass Index). All subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The protocol was reviewed and approved from each university’s Internal Review Board: [Content removed for blinded review]. Informed consent was collected from each participant prior to enrollment. The Get Fruved study was retrospectively registered on October 21, 2016 on clinicaltrials.gov [Content removed for blind review].

Survey measures

For this current study, variables related to health, lifestyle behaviors, and campus environment were selected from the overall Get Fruved survey.

Health measures

Physical health variables were collected from the Get Fruved anthropometric data (BMI, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) which were measured in person by trained study personnel. Height was measured by stadiometer (Heightonic digital stadiometer; Issaquah, WA) with the participant standing, facing forward without shoes, including height. Weight was taken without shoes and with light clothing via digital scale (Electronic Tanita scale; Arlington Heights, IL). Waist, hip, and neck circumferences were taken while the participant was minimally clothed via Gulick meter (North Coast Medical Gulick tape measure; Gilroy, CA). Waist measurement was taken at the midpoint between the lower margin of the last palpable rib and the top of the iliac crest; hip circumference was taken at the largest area of the hips. Blood pressures were taken in a seated resting position with an automated cuff (Omron HEM 907 XL Intellisense Prof. Digital BP monitor; Kyoto, Japan) that measured twice and averaged the two measurements. All measures were taken twice and averaged. Repeated measures were taken a third time if initial measures had a range larger than 0.2 kilo-grams for weight, 0.2 centimeters for height, and 1.0 centimeters for waist, hip, and neck circumference. All measurements were identical at each intervention site. To ensure data reliability all researchers completed inter-rater reliability to greater than 80% before data collection.

Lifestyle and behavioral measures

All other data used in this analysis were self-reported and collected via Qualtrics survey platform. Several previously validated instruments were included in the survey to assess respondents’ physical and mental health.

Vegetarian variable.

Vegetarian status was assessed using a single multiple-choice survey question that asked students “Do you consider yourself to be a vegetarian?”. Response options were yes, no, don’t know, and choose not to answer.

Stress variable.

Stress scores were calculated using the validated14-Item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14). 25 The PSS scores perceived stress on a scale of 0–56 with scores between 0–13 being low stress, 14–26 being moderate stress, and 27–40 representing high stress. Items include questions regarding stress in the past month (i.e., “in the last month, how often have you felt nervous or stressed?”).

Physical activity variable.

Physical activity was measured by the shortened version of the International Physical Activity Quotient (IPAQ) with higher scores indicated more weekly physical activity. 26 , 27 The short-form IPAQ is a validated questionnaire to score physical activity metabolic equivalency tasks in minutes/week (METs). The tool is comprised of six self-reported items of type (light, moderate or vigorous), frequency in days, and duration in minutes of physical activity performed (i.e., “During the last 7 days, on how many days did you do vigorous physical activities like heavy lifting, digging, aerobics, or fast bicycling?”, “How much time did you usually spend doing vigorous physical activities on one of those days?”).

Eating disorder variable.

The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) 28 is a validated measure that was used to determine eating disorder risk scores range from 0 to 78. Questions cover topics such as dieting (i.e., “I think about burning calories when I exercise”), oral control (i.e., “I feel like others would prefer if I ate more”) and food preoccupation (i.e., “I find myself preoccupied with food”). A score of higher than 20 points indicates disordered eating behaviors.

Sleep variable.

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to measure sleep quality with higher scores indicating worse sleep quality. 29 The PSQI asks about sleep in the last month, with continuous scoring ranging between 0 and 21 with scores above 5 indicating poor sleep quality.

Dietary intake variable.

Daily fruit/vegetable consumption and percentage of energy obtained from fat were measured by the National Cancer Institute Fruit and Vegetable Screener (NCI FV) 30 and Percentage Energy from Fat Screener (NCI Fat), respectively. The validated NCI FV screener tool has students complete 19 self-reported questions on daily fruit and vegetable intake (servings/day). Questions asked about type and amount of fruit and vegetable consumption during the past month (i.e., “Each time you ate lettuce salad, how much did you usually eat?”). Higher NCI scores indicated a larger percentage of intake.

Environmental perception measure

Respondents’ provided perceptions of their campus environment at the follow-up assessment that used the College Environment Perceptions Survey (CEPS), 31 a 28-item survey using a five-point Likert scale for responses. This developed tool examined participants’ perceptions toward seven over-arching themes of their campus: (1) water quality, (2) healthy foods, (3) campus policies, (4) stress, (5) sleep, (6) exercise and sports facilities, and (7) vending machines. 31 CEPS total score was out of 100 points with questions being places into the seven categories. Maximum scores for each subscale are as follows: healthy food = 20 points, water = 12 points, physical activity = 24 points, sleep = 6 points, stress = 6 points, policy = 20 points, vending = 12 points.

Statistical analysis

All statistical analysis was done with JMP Pro 13.0.0 (JMP® , Version Pro 13, SAS Institute Inc. Cary, NC, Copyright ©2013). Respondents were separated into a binary vegetarian or nonvegetarian variable with those who responded “Yes” to the vegetarian question categorized as vegetarians, while respondents who answered “No” were categorized as nonvegetarians. Respondents who selected “Choose not to answer” or “Don’t Know” were not included in further analyses (n = 15). Additionally, students who began baseline as a vegetarian and switched to nonvegetarian at follow-up, or vice versa, were excluded from analysis (n = 26).

Pearson’s chi-square test was performed to test for differences in the number of males and females, number of students identifying as racial minorities, weight loss intentions, and weight loss attempts in the past year between the vegetarian and nonvegetarian groups. Non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was used to assess differences between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in BMI, SBP, DBP, waist circumference, sleep quality, eating disorder risk, physical activity, daily fruit/vegetable consumption, percentage of energy obtained from fat, and perceptions of the campus environment due to lack of normal distribution of continuous variables. Alpha was set at 0.05.

Demographics

From the initial sample, 1078 students were identified as either vegetarian or nonvegetarian at both baseline and follow-up, consistently. This constituted 93.3% of the original sample. Within this group, 61 students were identified as vegetarian and 1028 students as nonvegetarian. The majority of both vegetarians and nonvegetarians were female (85.3% vs. 64.8%; p < .01), eighteen years old (80.3% vs. 87.0%; p = .14). No significant difference was identified in the proportion of vegetarian and nonvegetarian students who identified as members of a racial minority group ( p = 0.50). There was no difference in living arrangements between vegetarians and nonvegetarians, with the majority of students in both groups reporting living in campus residence halls (82.0% vs. 87.1%, p = 0.25).

Health, lifestyle, and environment perceptions

In Table 1 , at baseline compared to nonvegetarians, vegetarian students had significantly lower SBP ( p < .01), smaller hip circumference ( p = .04), higher daily cup serving consumption of fruits and vegetables ( p < .0001), lower percentage of energy obtained from fat ( p = .0032), and higher PSS-14 scores ( p = .0325) at baseline. There were no differences between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in BMI, waist circumference, DBP, IPAQ, EAT-26, PSQI scores, or weight intentions ( p > .05).

Selected demographic, health, and lifestyle characteristics of vegetarian and nonvegetarian students.

Among follow-up assessments, there were similar findings of significant differences among the two groups with vegetarians having a lower BMI ( p < .01), smaller hip circumference ( p < .05), lower SBP ( p < .01), higher NCI FV ( p < .01), and lower NCI Fat ( p < .05). Changes in findings occurred with. A lack of significance among BMI ( p = .07), waist circumference ( p = .23), hip circumference ( p = .08), DBP ( p = .10), PSS-14 (p = 0.17), IPAQ ( p = .68), and EAT-26 ( p = 0.32).

As shown in Table 2 , no significant differences were found between groups in campus environmental perceptions (CEPS), expect for policy with vegetarians having a lower rating of perception of health policies on campus compared to non-vegetarians ( p = .044).

Perceptions of campus environment among vegetarian and nonvegetarian students at post-intervention.

The prevalence of vegetarianism in our sample was 6.2% of 1115 individuals, which is comparable to the prevalence of vegetarianism reported within an earlier study examining early and middle adolescent vegetarians. 8 A study from Perry et al study suggests that the prevalence of vegetarianism may remain constant throughout adolescence. 8 These adolescent vegetarians were found to be significantly more likely to be female than nonvegetarians, a pattern that has been observed previously. 32 Likewise, these results were recognized in our population.

The current body of evidence regarding mental health and vegetarianism reveals a complex and even contradictory set of relationships. In this study, two variables pertaining to students’ mental health were included: stress levels, as measured by the PSS-14, and disordered eating behaviors, as measured by the EAT-26. Among PSS-14, vegetarians had significantly higher stress than their nonvegetarian counterparts. Many previous studies have observed an association between vegetarianism and poor mental health. Few studies have examined stress levels in this population, but vegetarians have been observed to contemplate and attempt suicide at higher rates than nonvegetarians and have a higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and seasonal affective disorder. 8 , 33 – 37 Oppositely, some randomized controlled trials have shown improvements in mood and stress levels in individuals who adopt a vegetarian diet, compared to those maintaining an omnivorous diet. 38 , 39 Features of the vegetarian diet, such as nutrient content and level of consumption of certain fatty acids, have been suggested as contributing factors to the mental health of this population. 35 , 39 It is also possible that certain personality factors predispose individuals to both mental health disorders and vegetarianism.

Regarding EAT-26 scores, there were no significant differences in scores between groups at baseline or follow-up assessment. Klopp et al. observed that college women had a significantly higher proportion of vegetarian women scored above 30 on the EAT, indicating eating disorder risk, in comparison to nonvegetarian women. 40 A study by Bardone-Cone et al found that women with a history of disordered eating were significantly more likely to have ever been or currently be vegetarian compared to women without a history of eating disorders. 41 Adolescent and young adult vegetarians have been found to be more likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder by a physician and to report disordered eating behaviors such as binge eating with loss of control, intentional vomiting, and laxative abuse. 8 , 11 , 42 Similar relationships between vegetarianism and eating disorders have been observed cross-culturally. 34 , 43 – 45 However, in opposition and along with our findings, a few studies have failed to identify any association between vegetarianism and disordered eating. In a previous study of young adults, there was no difference between vegetarians, vegans, semi-vegetarians, and omnivores in EAT-26 scores, but other differences in eating behavior were observed. For instance, vegetarians had lower levels of external eating and were more willing to have and resist cravings than omnivores. 13

A prospective justification for differing results among previous research is the heterogeneity of motivation for vegetarianism. Former studies have shown that individuals may adhere to a vegetarian diet due to various factors such as ethical reasons, personal health, desire to lose weight, environmental explanations, and/or religious beliefs. 46 The association between vegetarianism and disordered eating may only encompass the reasoning for a subset of vegetarians who maintain this diet for health or weight-related reasons. Some evidence suggests that individuals who have or are prone to eating disorders use the vegetarian diet as a mask for generalized diet restriction and disordered behaviors. 45 In this study, as in previous studies on vegetarianism and disordered eating, participants’ motivations for adhering to a vegetarian diet were not explored. It is possible, however, that further examination of our population of vegetarians may find similar reasoning for adhering to this diet.

Albeit previous studies have reported an association between vegetarianism and higher levels of physical activity, vegetarians were found to participate in physical activity at the same rate as nonvegetarians when examining IPAQ scores. 36 In opposition to previously conducted studies, vegetarians were found to have a similar mean BMI as nonvegetarians. As no difference in physical activity levels was observed between vegetarians and nonvegetarians, the potential similarity of BMI could be related. However, it was observed that vegetarians consumed significantly more servings of fruits and/or vegetables per day and obtained a lower percentage of their daily caloric intake from fats than nonvegetarians. Additional cardiovascular benefits could be deduced from these findings with significantly lower SBP observed among vegetarian students in comparison to their nonvegetarian counterparts. Interestingly, this was the case despite the fact that vegetarian students did not appear to differ from nonvegetarians in regard to all measured non-dietary contributors to cardiovascular health, such as sleep quality and physical activity levels. The consumption of lower fat and higher fruit and vegetables may potentially explain the protective cardiovascular effects within the vegetarian group.

In our population, no significant differences were observed between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in any CEPS subscores other than policy with nonvegetarians expressing higher ratings of health policies on campus. These results are not especially surprising for the exercise section, given that no differences in physical activity levels were noted between vegetarian and nonvegetarian respondents. However, it is notable that no difference was observed between the two groups’ mean food scores despite the reported differences in diet content. This suggests that the differences in dietary content are likely not due to differences in perceptions of their food environment. Among policy it may be deduced that vegetarians may expect or pay more attention to health policies on campus and are hyperaware of what they believe should be the amount.

In the present study, respondents were surveyed in the fall and spring of their first year of college, with the vast majority of students reported living in on-campus residence halls or dormitories. Universities often require students who select this type of housing to enroll in a prepaid meal plan, which allows the students to access dining halls and other selected food establishments across campus. As all students enrolled in a meal plan have access to the same variety of dining hall foods, some of the constraints that may influence vegetarianism in other populations, such as the ability to purchase produce and meat alternatives, may not apply in this setting. Both vegetarian and nonvegetarian students would also be expected to have approximately equal access to campus amenities, such as recreation centers, counseling services, and water fountains. This may be an explanation for the homogeneity of environment perceptions among vegetarians and nonvegetarians in this sample.

Although small differences in vegetarian and nonvegetarian health were shown the highlight of vegetarian students showing positive dietary patterns, which can be preventative against negative health outcomes, is ideal and should be of interest to campus administration. The promotion of vegetarian diets on campus can help to align college student diets with that of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 47 Historically, it is known the college students fail to adhere to these guidelines, specifically failing to meet the recommended intake of 5 servings a day of fruit and vegetables. 48 – 50 Therefore, following a vegetarian diet on campus may help students to improve their diet and having campus support for such diets is essential. Further, as students in this study identified a greater need to campus policies to promote health, campus administrators can look to reevaluate health policies to make students more aware and the environment more in line with the health needs of students as currently vegetarian students see limitations in the environmental policies supporting health needs of students.

Limitations and future studies

As this study is not without limitations, we recognize that our vegetarian screening question did not provide a definition of vegetarianism and that students were not asked any additional questions about their vegetarian status beyond the initial screening question. Additional questions should ask the duration of dietary patterns. As such, the current questionnaire tools utilized to capture all data in this population took participants 45–60 minutes to complete, and consequently a registered dietitian 24-hour recall or validated recall tool to ensure vegetarianism was not given to reduce participant burden. Further, the NCI screeners may fail to capture certain vegetarian food items or lack reliability to capture true vegetarianism. Because of this, it is not known whether any semi-vegetarian students, such as those who restricted meat intake or were pescatarians, were included in the vegetarian group. Additionally, the percentages of different vegetarian subgroups (e.g. lacto-vegetarians, lacto-ovo-vegetarians) and vegans present within the vegetarian group are not known. It is possible that this lack of information may have some bearing on the results obtained from these data, as some vegetarian subgroups have previously been found to be significantly different from the general vegetarian population. 7 There may also be differences among vegetarians based on the source of motivation to adhere to a vegetarian diet (e.g. health, religion, ethics). Thus, further studies are warranted to explore health outcomes in various vegetarian subgroups as compared to the general population. Moving forward, it may be valuable to conduct a similar study focusing on students who primarily live off-campus, as such a sample would be expected to have more variation in environmental conditions. Environmental audit data would also be a useful addition to future analyses, as its inclusion would allow for comparison of the objective and perceived environment.

Conclusions

Vegetarian college students who responded to the Get Fruved baseline survey in fall 2015 appear to have heightened indicators of physical health, particularly in risk factors for cardiovascular disease than their nonvegetarian peers. Specifically, vegetarian students show positive dietary patterns that can promote positive health outcomes. Further, while vegetarian and nonvegetarian students had similar campus environmental perceptions, vegetarians highlight the need for policies on campus to promote health. However, the observed health differences are unlikely to be due to differences in perception of environmental conditions between vegetarians and nonvegetarians although more testing is needed.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a research grant from the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Grant no. 2014-67001-21851 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, “Get Fruved:” A peer-led, train-the-trainer social marketing intervention to increase fruit and vegetable intake and prevent childhood obesity - A2101 , as well as West Virginia University Experimental Station Hatch no. WVA00627 and WVA00641. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results. We would like to thank the research participants. Further we would like to thank our multistate partners from the Healthy Campus Research Consortium.

This project was supported by AFRI Grant no. 2014-67001-21851 from the USDA NIFA, “Get Fruved:” A peer-led, train-the-trainer social marketing intervention to increase fruit and vegetable intake and prevent childhood obesity -A2101 along with support from West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station WVA00689 and WVA00721

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The multi-state umbrella Institutional Review Board (IRB) at University of Tennessee, Knoxville approved all recruitment strategies of the study for University of Tennessee, West Virginia University, and Kansas State University (IRB approval #UTK IRB-14-09366 B-XP). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and all participants provided written consent to participate by signing an IRB approved informed consent form. Verbal consent was received from each participant.

Availability of data and material

The datasets generated and/or analyzed in the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Trial Registration

This study was retrospectively registered on October 21, 2016 on clinicaltrials.gov , {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT02941497","term_id":"NCT02941497"}} NCT02941497 .

Conflict of interest

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Home — Application Essay — Liberal Arts Schools — 10 Days of Veganism: College Admission Essay Sample

10 Days of Veganism: College Admission Essay Sample

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Words: 649 |

Published: Jul 18, 2018

Words: 649 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

I stared down at my bowl of coarse, mushy oatmeal as everyone surrounding me at the table began to devour their overflowing plates of eggs, bacon, and French toast.

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This is going to be a long ten days, I thought.

The summer between my junior and senior year, I traveled to a small suburb of Madrid to live and work for a Spanish family, both to experience a new culture and to enrich my knowledge of the Spanish language. Because I normally maintain a very active, busy lifestyle, the slower and more relaxed pace that my host family assumed was very new to me. Even though I was involved in developing a new ESL program at the local school and was busy nannying six kids, after a while the days seemed to feel dulled by the same routine. Three weeks into the experience, however, I realized this boredom was a blessing in disguise. When in my life would I ever have this much free time again? I was determined to challenge myself and try as many new things as I could, like going on a date with a Spaniard who spoke no English, or running all the way to the top of a nearby plateau.

One day, I was browsing Instagram and stumbled upon the account of a 18 year old girl who is famous in Australia for her vegan cause. After pursuing her posts, I advanced to her YouTube account and watched a few of her videos explaining why she is a vegan and how this diet works in her everyday life. Obviously, I was a little skeptical; this ‘lifestyle” as she called it seemed so extreme. However, a few days later, after thinking it through, I reasoned, “I’m all the way out here in Spain, trying to learn to understand and appreciate another family’s culture. What is so different about this?” So, after further researching, I decided to commit to ten days of Veganism. No meat, no dairy, no animal products, nothing.

Day one was the most challenging. Because I didn't know a whole lot yet about veganism, I was under the preconception that it was going to be a boring succession of oatmeal and salads. Enduring this limited meal plan for a day, I was determined by nighttime to find a better approach. Back on YouTube: that night I watched dozens of vegan “vlogs,” and suddenly this lifestyle fascinated me. Not only did I learn why Veganism is beneficial (for both the environment and for our health) but I also learned how interesting and diverse vegan dining could actually be. I inaugurated the “vegan challenge” thinking the ten days would be restrictive and boring. Instead, I discovered that with a little bit of time and research effort, I could grow to understand and appreciate a culture and lifestyle that I was previously unfamiliar to.

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From that point on, added the goal of trying one new vegan “meal” each day. I sampled everything from Curry to Pad Thai to “Nicecream.” Ten days turned into two weeks, and eventually, I just decided to keep the veganism going for the rest of the trip. The decision proved challenging at times, such as when we went to restaurants or ate at other people’s houses. Finding a balance between maintaining a lifestyle while still not disrespecting someone else’s was a lesson I had to learn through those remaining weeks. But by the end of the trip, I felt extremely satisfied with what I had done and decided to continue eating vegan as well as I could. Now, months after returning from Spain, I can confidently call myself a vegan. I am not always perfect; sometimes I just cannot say “no” to a little cheese pizza, but for the most part, I have committed myself to this healthy lifestyle and hope to share its delights with others.

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Discussing passion for veganism as essay?

For my common app essay, I was thinking of writing about my passion for veganism and how I’ve worked to find the best way to show people how great this lifestyle is. (I’ll probably answer common app #4 ) I won’t be primarily talking about why veganism is so great, but mainly how I’ve found that the best way to solve the problem of how to show people my lifestyle is through __. (Want to keep this private). However, I’m afraid that veganism has too negative a connotation and may hurt my chances of getting into a school. Sorry if this is confusing but I would appreciate everyone’s insight!

I’d vote no. You might sound pushy.

It’s not one of the attributes they hope to learn about you from the essay. Nor how you will defend your “lifestyle” by showing people some sort of info. Frankly, they’d likely be more interested in how you get along with others who don’t share this interest, rather than try to convince them or defend yourself.

I have to agree with lookingforward. There is so much of an emphasis on collaborative learning right now that it would be more important to highlight how you can be accepting of other’s viewpoints and work together.

Before you show colleges how you’d solve a problem, you have to be sure they agree that it is one. Why do you need to show others “how great” your (vegan) lifestyle is? People who know you well will know you’re a vegan. People who don’t know you don’t need to know. I’m not sure what your passion for promoting veganism will add to the campus community.

I’d vote no. There is nothing wrong with mentioning that you are vegan as part of an essay. But honestly… most people find others being pushy about their food choices to be kind of offensive. And the last thing you want to do is offend an ad com.

Thank you everyone! @LookingFoward and @momofsenior1 could I maybe use veganism and explain how it has made me develop into a person who is open to other’s opinions? This is actually true in my life because I used to be so judgemental of vegans, then became judgemental of nonvegans, and then finally realized that through sympathy and understanding is key to working together? Do you guys think this take will work?

I think that would be a better approach OP.

BTW, my daughter wrote an essay about religion. Talk about possibly alienating adcoms! But she spun it in a way that her personality and strengths really shone through.

You still make it sound like an essay on veganism, what you thought. Truth is, in some circles, vegetarian or vegan themes can be an eye roller. Not because anyone objects, but because the delivery is too firm and/or defensive. And as I said, your eating habits really aren’t relevant qualities. It’s ok to say you’re vegan, much risker to make this the central theme.

Now, that said, my kiddo claimed her vegetarian style-- but it was just to place her in a context. Said and done. No stand, no value judgment, no claims.

I suppose it could work if you are heading for the “challenged beliefs” essay prompt … but, as others have said, a vegan lifestyle can be polarizing.

Everyone should have a neutral person proofread their essay. If you stick with the vegan theme, please have several people read it - including a committed carnivore!

For what it’s worth, my S18 did his primary essays on his veganism last year. Supporting animal rights is a huge part of his life, and has been for 5+ years, so it was the topic that was closest to his heart and easiest for him to write about. We will never know whether his admission successes were because of, in spite of, or unrelated to his essay, though.

He also wrote about veganism for some essays that are used for merit scholarship for schools that don’t use the Common App, like Pitt. I believe that the reviewers got to know him a little and, apparently, felt positively about him (if merit award offers are any guide) through these essays.

He also got a lot of invites to living learning programs with social justice themes, which I have to assume was a result of writing about his veganism.

Also FWIW, on the idea that veganism is polarizing:

Swiss town denies passport to vegan anti-cowbell campaigner ‘for being annoying’

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-deny-passport-dutch-vegan-anti-cowbell-nancy-holten-animal-rights-annoying-a7520991.html

Adcoms aren’t living in holes, they know vegans and it’s fine. The polarizing comes when someone has to proselytize or can’t separate their or others’ identities from their eating choices. We’re seeing that on this thread.

@pickledginger I suspect your son showed the attributes the colleges wanted. Not just wrote an adamant statement of beliefs. More than determined animal protection.

This Times article discusses essays that both asserted unpopular ideas and were successful in gaining their applicants admission to highly selective colleges:

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/your-money/four-college-essays-that-stand-out-from-the-crowd.html

Those highlighted by NYT are selected by them. Granted, these kids got into fine colleges. But not solely based on what NYT sees as great essays on money. 5 out of 300 self submitted is a drop in the bucket. And each of these kids also submitted a successful full app package. Not just stats, but ECs and short answers, LoRs and any interviews.

Again, it’s not the topic alone or just the quality of the writing. It’s how the writing resonates and fills the adcoms’ need for a relevant picture of you, one that suits them and what they want in their class. Risk alone is not “it.” Far from it.

I think that writing about being a vegan is fine if it’s in the context of who you are. If this is about having your beliefs reflected in your own life, it could work bUT should include more than your diet.

If your diet exposed something of the world to you that has influenced how you think, that could work.

I’d it’s simply about being vegan, I would look for another topic given the purpose of the essay. This is supposed to show who you are. I am guessing you are much more than your dietary choices!

I agree with so many others.

Let me repeat that last bit from @gardenstategal : “This is supposed to show who you are. I am guessing you are much more than your dietary choices!”

That’s the reason you want another topic!!

My last post was also discussing veganism as an essay topic and I’m very grateful for everyone’s insights/opinions! I have 2 new essay topic ideas and if you have the time, please help me decide which would be better!

• I struggled in my AP Calc class but didn't reach out for help bc I didn't want to appear 'weak'. I also happened to create a social media account at the time for showcasing my vegan food, and this showed me the power to community and support (my dietary choices were not supported by my family). Impacted my approach to my math class and ultimately got an A. However, I am not sure how to link the 2 events in my narrative if I were to choose this one.
• This is more of what I initially planned to write. I was very judgemental of people who have differing beliefs than me. I realized that I was not practicing the compassion that veganism stands for when __ (too long to elaborate haha).

I really appreciate everyone’s responses!

In general, watch what mistakes you admit to, like not reaching out for math help and thinking that would be weak. They want kids who do reach out, can self-advocate. I know you mean then and now, but be cautious. It’s like kids who wat to admit getting in trouble to somehow prove they think better now, but in the process, they leave doubts. In the same way, you need to temper just how judgmental you were.

Both of the above are still centered on your veganism. Is there another dimension you could use, another tale? Instead of all this being, “I’m vegan and my struggles with my family and my social media account about veganism and my commitment to my veganism led to better math or better compassion because veganism stands for…”

And a social media account to “reach out” or unload your feelings, blog style, is not the same to adcoms as reaching out, connecting, in real time, face-to-face.

Plus, you need “show, not just tell.” How do you show this compassionate turnaround? With people, I mean.

Again, this is snt just another essay, like when the English teacher says write on any topic that reflects who you are.

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Guest Essay

I Thought the Bragg Case Against Trump Was a Legal Embarrassment. Now I Think It’s a Historic Mistake.

By Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Mr. Shugerman is a law professor at Boston University.

About a year ago, when Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, indicted former President Donald Trump, I was critical of the case and called it an embarrassment. I thought an array of legal problems would and should lead to long delays in federal courts.

After listening to Monday’s opening statement by prosecutors, I still think the Manhattan D.A. has made a historic mistake. Their vague allegation about “a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election” has me more concerned than ever about their unprecedented use of state law and their persistent avoidance of specifying an election crime or a valid theory of fraud.

To recap: Mr. Trump is accused in the case of falsifying business records. Those are misdemeanor charges. To elevate it to a criminal case, Mr. Bragg and his team have pointed to potential violations of federal election law and state tax fraud. They also cite state election law, but state statutory definitions of “public office” seem to limit those statutes to state and local races.

Both the misdemeanor and felony charges require that the defendant made the false record with “intent to defraud.” A year ago, I wondered how entirely internal business records (the daily ledger, pay stubs and invoices) could be the basis of any fraud if they are not shared with anyone outside the business. I suggested that the real fraud was Mr. Trump’s filing an (allegedly) false report to the Federal Election Commission, and only federal prosecutors had jurisdiction over that filing.

A recent conversation with Jeffrey Cohen, a friend, Boston College law professor and former prosecutor, made me think that the case could turn out to be more legitimate than I had originally thought. The reason has to do with those allegedly falsified business records: Most of them were entered in early 2017, generally before Mr. Trump filed his Federal Election Commission report that summer. Mr. Trump may have foreseen an investigation into his campaign, leading to its financial records. Mr. Trump may have falsely recorded these internal records before the F.E.C. filing as consciously part of the same fraud: to create a consistent paper trail and to hide intent to violate federal election laws, or defraud the F.E.C.

In short: It’s not the crime; it’s the cover-up.

Looking at the case in this way might address concerns about state jurisdiction. In this scenario, Mr. Trump arguably intended to deceive state investigators, too. State investigators could find these inconsistencies and alert federal agencies. Prosecutors could argue that New York State agencies have an interest in detecting conspiracies to defraud federal entities; they might also have a plausible answer to significant questions about whether New York State has jurisdiction or whether this stretch of a state business filing law is pre-empted by federal law.

However, this explanation is a novel interpretation with many significant legal problems. And none of the Manhattan D.A.’s filings or today’s opening statement even hint at this approach.

Instead of a theory of defrauding state regulators, Mr. Bragg has adopted a weak theory of “election interference,” and Justice Juan Merchan described the case , in his summary of it during jury selection, as an allegation of falsifying business records “to conceal an agreement with others to unlawfully influence the 2016 election.”

As a reality check, it is legal for a candidate to pay for a nondisclosure agreement. Hush money is unseemly, but it is legal. The election law scholar Richard Hasen rightly observed , “Calling it election interference actually cheapens the term and undermines the deadly serious charges in the real election interference cases.”

In Monday’s opening argument, the prosecutor Matthew Colangelo still evaded specifics about what was illegal about influencing an election, but then he claimed , “It was election fraud, pure and simple.” None of the relevant state or federal statutes refer to filing violations as fraud. Calling it “election fraud” is a legal and strategic mistake, exaggerating the case and setting up the jury with high expectations that the prosecutors cannot meet.

The most accurate description of this criminal case is a federal campaign finance filing violation. Without a federal violation (which the state election statute is tethered to), Mr. Bragg cannot upgrade the misdemeanor counts into felonies. Moreover, it is unclear how this case would even fulfill the misdemeanor requirement of “intent to defraud” without the federal crime.

In stretching jurisdiction and trying a federal crime in state court, the Manhattan D.A. is now pushing untested legal interpretations and applications. I see three red flags raising concerns about selective prosecution upon appeal.

First, I could find no previous case of any state prosecutor relying on the Federal Election Campaign Act either as a direct crime or a predicate crime. Whether state prosecutors have avoided doing so as a matter of law, norms or lack of expertise, this novel attempt is a sign of overreach.

Second, Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that the New York statute requires that the predicate (underlying) crime must also be a New York crime, not a crime in another jurisdiction. The Manhattan D.A. responded with judicial precedents only about other criminal statutes, not the statute in this case. In the end, they could not cite a single judicial interpretation of this particular statute supporting their use of the statute (a plea deal and a single jury instruction do not count).

Third, no New York precedent has allowed an interpretation of defrauding the general public. Legal experts have noted that such a broad “election interference” theory is unprecedented, and a conviction based on it may not survive a state appeal.

Mr. Trump’s legal team also undercut itself for its decisions in the past year: His lawyers essentially put all of their eggs in the meritless basket of seeking to move the trial to federal court, instead of seeking a federal injunction to stop the trial entirely. If they had raised the issues of selective or vindictive prosecution and a mix of jurisdictional, pre-emption and constitutional claims, they could have delayed the trial past Election Day, even if they lost at each federal stage.

Another reason a federal crime has wound up in state court is that President Biden’s Justice Department bent over backward not to reopen this valid case or appoint a special counsel. Mr. Trump has tried to blame Mr. Biden for this prosecution as the real “election interference.” The Biden administration’s extra restraint belies this allegation and deserves more credit.

Eight years after the alleged crime itself, it is reasonable to ask if this is more about Manhattan politics than New York law. This case should serve as a cautionary tale about broader prosecutorial abuses in America — and promote bipartisan reforms of our partisan prosecutorial system.

Nevertheless, prosecutors should have some latitude to develop their case during trial, and maybe they will be more careful and precise about the underlying crime, fraud and the jurisdictional questions. Mr. Trump has received sufficient notice of the charges, and he can raise his arguments on appeal. One important principle of “ our Federalism ,” in the Supreme Court’s terms, is abstention , that federal courts should generally allow state trials to proceed first and wait to hear challenges later.

This case is still an embarrassment of prosecutorial ethics and apparent selective prosecution. Nevertheless, each side should have its day in court. If convicted, Mr. Trump can fight many other days — and perhaps win — in appellate courts. But if Monday’s opening is a preview of exaggerated allegations, imprecise legal theories and persistently unaddressed problems, the prosecutors might not win a conviction at all.

Jed Handelsman Shugerman (@jedshug) is a law professor at Boston University.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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