Where's the Beef (In the Teenage Diet)?

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http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,412343,00.html

 

Where's the Beef (In the Teenage Diet)?

More teenagers, particularly girls, are turning to vegetarianism. And that's

making America's beef producers very nervous

By JESSICA REAVES

 

 

 

BEEF STAKES: The beef industry is targeting girls with ads like this pitch from

the Cool 2B Real Website

 

 

 

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2003

The Atkins diet may be hot among American adults, but its meat-heavy dictates

apparently don't fly with the younger generation. According to a new study from

market researchers at Teenage Research Unlimited, one in four teens now

considers vegetarianism " cool. " The study indicates a rise in vegetarianism in

the teen population, particularly among girls. While some grown-ups, including

those at animal-rights group PETA, are delighted by the trend, others —

including those who work for beef production and marketing companies — are

understandably miffed. Their goal now: come up with innovative ways to win back

young salad-eaters.

Enter the folks at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, who have responded

to the looming vegetarian crisis by launching a website, Cool 2B Real, in an

attempt to link meat consumption with some degree of hipness. The site, which

looks like a cross between a Barbie fan page and a Taco Bell ad (beef-filled

tacos and gigantic hamburgers dot the screen), extols teenage girls to " Keep it

Real " — " real " as in a person who eats beef, preferably three or four times a

day. Visitors are also invited to send e-cards to their " real friends " and to

tell the world why they are " real girls " (because they eat beef burritos, of

course!)

" We hope the 'Cool 2B Real' campaign helps girls make healthy decisions about

food and exercise, " says Mary Young, a registered dietician and Executive of Nutrition for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The NCBA,

says Young, is concerned about the nutritional shortfalls of vegetarianism,

which Young refers to as one of the " wacky eating behaviors " teenage girls tend

to favor.

Still, it's hard to wonder if they're going to be successful with this pitch. As

any teenager could tell you, obvious pandering is not the way to go when you're

trying to reach this audience. Back in the early 1990s, companies with

experience in the teen market realized traditional marketing was not going to

work; young consumers are too savvy for old-school ads, and too steeped in irony

for sincere come-ons.

While chipper taglines about " cool " are not going to affect any normal teenager,

frank discussions about health just might. New findings from the University of

Minnesota link teen vegetarians to a less health-conscious lifestyle than that

of their carnivorous peers. Presented with a degree of subtlety, the U of M

study may just succeed not only as an indicator of larger body-image and

confidence problems among teens who choose vegetarianism, but also as a warning

shot for young vegetarians. You may think you're eating healthfully by avoiding

meat, but here are some low-protein pitfalls you could face: thin, brittle hair,

bad skin, low energy. These are problems teenage girls care about — and they

could be massaged neatly into a palatable pro-meat message.

 

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Y WITH CHOICE: Kate Rosenberg, left, and Julia Howe are both students who have

chosen to go vegetarian. 'I never liked the idea of eating meat,' Julia says.

'Now I would never forsake my decision.' (RICHARD PATTERSON, For The Herald)

 

 

 

 

Posted on Thu, Jan. 23, 2003

Going vegetarian is increasingly cool with teens

BY SHARI RUDAVSKY

srudavsky

 

Remember the Simpsons episode when Lisa decides to go vegetarian after petting a

baby lamb at the children's zoo? Sara Schwartzman does. That half-our of

television sent the Weston 16-year-old down the road toward vegetarianism five

years ago.

 

''See, television can positively affect children,'' jokes Sara, a junior at

Cypress Bay High School who eats no meat, fish nor fowl, nor candy and gum that

contains gelatin.

 

Whether it's television, peer pressure, concern for animal rights or a way to

distance themselves from their family, a growing number of teens and college

students are following Lisa Simpson's lead and giving up meat.

 

Teenagers are the fastest-growing demographic of vegetarians, says the People

for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. One out of every four teens thinks

vegetarianism is ''cool,'' reports Teenage Research Unlimited , a market

research firm in Northbrook, Ill.

 

Two percent of adolescents age 13 to 17 -- more than 400,000 -- consumed no

meat, fish nor fowl in 2000, up from 1.4 percent in 1995, the Vegetarian

Resource Group, a Baltimore-based nonprofit, reports. Moreover, 11 percent of

teen girls eschew beef.

 

The trend is greater on college campuses, where about 15 percent to 20 percent

of the students maintain vegetarian diets.

 

Restaurants and food services have started catering to this group. Burger King

recently inaugurated a veggie burger. Many colleges offer vegetarian or even

vegan meals -- with no animal products, including dairy or eggs -- for their

students.

 

While experts say health concerns usually are only a minor factor in a teen's

decision to stop eating meat, the result can be a more nutritious diet than the

standard teen fare of hamburgers, fries and pizza.

 

''They don't do it for the same reason that a 45-year-old who's been told that

he or she has high blood pressure or cholesterol would,'' says Reed Mangels,

nutrition advisor with the Vegetarian Resource Group. ``That's not something

your average 19-year-old is worried about.''

 

ANIMAL RIGHTS

 

''Kids are becoming more conscious of animal rights as a whole,'' said Patricia

Trostle, an education coordinator with the Norfolk, Va.-based People for the

Ethical Treatment of Animals. ``This is something that's going to develop into a

lifelong pattern.''

 

That could well be the case for Julia Howe, a South Miami teen who gave up meat,

originally thinking she'd try it for one week. She liked the test drive so much

that five years later Julia still will eat no meat nor food that has touched

meat.

 

''I never liked the idea of eating meat. I never enjoyed the fact that it came

from an animal and that something had to die,'' says the senior, who attends

Miami's Design and Architecture Senior High School (DASH). ``Now I would never

forsake my decision.''

 

Because Julia's family has always been health-conscious, she finds it pretty

easy to stick with her family's dinner and just forgo the meat dish. Sometimes,

she winds up having to cook for herself or even the whole family.

 

While it has been supportive, her family hasn't adopted her lifestyle. In fact,

her father's on the Atkins Diet, and he eats predominantly those foods Julia

won't touch.

 

Julia is so serious about her vegetarianism she's toying with the idea of

opening a vegetarian restaurant one day. For spring break, she hopes to travel

to Manchester, England, to attend Cordon Vert, a vegetarian cooking school.

 

Parents whose teens announce they're vegetarian can often find a way to work out

menus that cater to all tastes, but it may take extra juggling, nutritionists

warn. Still, experts agree that a child's decision to give up meat can be cause

for celebration rather than concern. While a vegetarian meal can be a Coke and

fries -- especially at a place that uses vegetable oils to supply the grease for

the potatoes -- many teens who go veggie wind up eating healthier diets.

 

''It really changes the way you're eating and it's a healthier way,'' says Sara,

the Broward teen. She studies nutrition labels to make sure she gets a full

complement of vitamins.

 

''I'm very supportive of teenagers taking an interest in what they eat,'' said

Sheah Rarback, director of nutrition at the Mailman Center for Child

Development. " What I tell parents is this is a great opportunity to talk to your

child about healthier choices.''

 

When teens come to her espousing vegetarianism, Rarback asks them to write down

what they eat and she makes sure their choices are nutritionally sound. The teen

years represent the second biggest growth period in life, right after infancy,

so nutritionists recommend that adolescents who stop eating meat make sure they

receive a full complement of vitamins and minerals from other parts of their

diet.

 

GOOD SUBSTITUTES

 

Peanut butter, soy products and cheese or eggs, if the teen is not a vegan, all

can substitute for meat. Because it's a time of peak bone growth, Mangels says

it's critical for adolescents to make sure they receive enough calcium and

vitamin D. Those who give up milk and eggs should also ensure they have an

alternative source for B12, while girls who give up meat will need to fulfill

their iron requirements.

 

Some experts express concern that some young girls may say they're going

vegetarian as a way to mask an eating disorder. A 1997 study found that four

times as many teenagers who ate no meat reported self-induced vomiting as those

who ate meat.

 

If peculiar eating behaviors accompany a switch to vegetarianism, UM's Rarback

tells parents to make sure their nonmeat-eating child takes in enough calories.

 

But vegetarianism is not a surefire way to lose weight, Rarback warns.

 

''You can lose weight eating animal products or not, and you can gain weight

eating animal products or not,'' she says.

 

Some teens opt to give up meat gradually rather than going, well, cold turkey.

Kate Rosenberg of Miami Beach, a senior at DASH, stopped eating meat after her

biology class dissected a frog, prompting her to explore her own feelings about

animal rights.

 

''I just thought meat was a frivolous thing we don't need to eat,'' the

17-year-old says.

 

Recently, however, she started eating chicken and fish at home again for

convenience sake after 1 ½ years of cooking her own tofu and beans. But she has

every intention of giving up animal products altogether once she leaves the

house for college.

 

At college, she will likely find a smorgasbord of veggie options in the dining

hall. School districts are also responding to the trend.

 

In 1999, 69 percent of those surveyed told the American Food Services

Association they had options for those on special diets, including vegetarians

and those with lactose intolerance or food allergies. This year, for the first

time, the Association will ask specifically about vegetarian meals.

 

Broward County recently earned a B, the highest grade given for its healthy

lunches to any school district from the Physicians Committee for Responsible

Medicine. Miami-Dade received a C. An ever-present salad bar, as well as

occasional offerings of collard greens and plantains and other vegetables,

helped Broward garner the praise, while the lack of vegan offerings prevented it

from earning an A.

 

''I take this as meaning that we are trying to please a very diversified school

district where we have everything under the sun,'' says Jane Wynn, director of

food and nutrition services for Broward schools.

 

While the district has not received a flood of requests for meat-less meals,

menu designers try to think beyond the salad bar for nonmeat-eaters.

 

'CONCERTED EFFORT'

 

''When I look at the menus, I say if I don't eat meat, can I still get a

balanced nutritious meal?'' Wynn says. ``We've tried to make a concerted effort

but it's not always easy.''

 

Cheese pizzas, macaroni and cheese, egg salad, grilled cheese and the potato bar

allow a child to eat a meat-free lunch in Broward schools. Other meals like

chicken with black beans and rice and plantains offer students a chance to say,

``Hold the meat.''

 

Still, vegetarians like Sara are not completely sold on some public school lunch

offerings. She and her friends hope they can persuade administrators to include

healthier vegetarian options in Cypress Bay's new cafeteria.

 

Sara's no stranger to leading the way with lunch foods. When she went

vegetarian, she'd often eat hummus for lunch, an unfamiliar food to many of her

classmates. She'd offer a taste to anyone who asked. A few weeks later, everyone

started bringing their own hummus.

 

Although Sara eased meat out of her diet when she began exploring vegetarianism,

she's now wedded to the decision.

 

''It wasn't a snap. It took a little while,'' she says. ``But once I realized

the animal cruelty and health issues involved, that made it much easier.''

 

 

 

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