The meat of the matter as a modern vegetarian

T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta

Most of the time, Mary brings her own lunch to the office. It's not so much a choice as a requirement -- she is a vegetarian and there is no nearby food outlet offering something she can eat.

"I don't want to eat ketoprak (fried bean curd mixed with bean sprouts and rice vermicelli in peanut sauce), and gado-gado (vegetable salad with peanut sauce) all the time," she said.

When she does not bring her own lunchbox, she will go out with her colleagues, who agree to compromise by eating at a restaurant where there are some vegetarian choices.

"In the beginning, they were very surprised to know that I am vegetarian, but they could understand," she said.

Mary, 34, decided to become a vegetarian in 1996 after a friend gave her a book about vegetarianism, which she found really "made sense".

She had read a lot of news about the connection between diets high in animal products and many "modern" diseases.

Determined to become healthier, Mary, who lives with her parents, decided to adopt vegetarianism.

"My parents, especially my mother, strongly opposed my decision. They were afraid that in being a vegetarian, I would suffer from nutritional deficiency."

She has felt many positive changes in her life since becoming a vegetarian. Not only does she feel that she is more resistant to common diseases, but she also has more compassion to animals and people in going about her life.

Still, she also has to battle common misconceptions about vegetarians -- that they are strange, weak, overly sensitive individuals who have latched onto an "alternative" lifestyle to somehow make themselves feel superior to others.

"I have to show others that being vegetarian, I can also achieve more," she said about her work performance.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians do not eat meat but include milk and eggs, with beans, tempeh and other legumes recommended as protein substitutes. Vegans cut out eggs and other animal products, while fruitarians -- the strictest of all -- eat a diet primarily focused on fruit and vegetables.

It used to be that people became vegetarian due to religous proscriptions or spiritual reasons, such as for Buddhists to develop greater compassion for the world, but an increasing number of "converts" are concerned about their health and the environment.

Suwandi, 28, who works in an IT consultancy on Jl. Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta, acknowledged it was difficult being a vegetarian due to temptations in the immediate environment and the lack of vegetarian choices.

"I am the only one in the family and also in the office who is vegetarian. My friends often joke that why did I become a vegetarian while there are so many delicious foods out there," said Suwandi, who leads a vegetarian life for both health and spiritual reasons.

"Vegetarian food can also be delicious, depending on how you prepare it," he said, adding that his favorites were vegetarian meals made from gluten but cooked to resemble rendang (sauteed beef), beef steak, fried chicken and shark's fin soup.

Like Mary, he usually opts to bring his own meals to work.

"This morning I had cereal, cornflakes and some bread at home. For lunch, today's menu is ham, potatoes and tuna fish. Sounds delicious, doesn't it?" he said with a laugh.

Unlike Mary, who went cold turkey in switching to vegetarianism, it took Suwandi three months to gradually eliminate meat from his diet.

All agreed that vegetarianism has to be a personal choice, and cannot be imposed or influenced by others.

Willy Wibowo, 27, the operational manager of a vegetarian restaurant in the city, said that it took him a couple of years before he could follow his parents and elder brother into pure vegetarianism.

"I used to eat anything. I only ate vegetarian food occasionally because even though I am a Buddhist, not all Buddhist sects require the followers to become one," he said.

About four years ago, he tried to regularly eat vegetarian food, and he found that he felt healthier and did not suffer gastric problems as often as before. He ate more vegetarian food, but did not completely exclude "normal" food.

"Starting last year, I have become a pure vegetarian," he said proudly.

Links: International Vegetarian Union (http://www.ivu.org), which was established in 1908 in Dresden, Germany; Supreme Master Chinghai Indonesia, a member of the Taiwan-based Supreme Master Chinghai (http://www.chinghai.com).