**Photo provided by Santa Clara University Student Life.** Students swarm Benson, the university cafeteria.

“What made you become a vegetarian?”

I know vegetarianism can be a later-life choice for some as a way to partake in a healthier diet and environmental efforts, but for me, it’s just the way I was raised; my family is vegetarian so I’m also vegetarian.

Now, I simply haven’t developed a taste for meat—the taste is yucky and the texture somehow even worse. The whole aspect of meat once being a breathing, walking—or swimming—being also doesn’t sound very appetizing.

“Do you eat seafood? That’s not meat, right?”

If it had a brain, aka the ability of independent thought, it’s a no from me. That goes for shrimp, octopus and all the other sea creatures you can think of in a seafood buffet.

This question tends to come from not knowing enough about what vegetarianism means, which is fair enough. I say, more questions like these—I’d love to clarify what not eating meat entails when it’s a genuine question.

“What do you eat? Just salads? How are you getting any nutrition from that?”

No, I don’t eat rabbit food all the time, though I do like the occasional salad. My cultural background actually plays a big role since so much of Indian food is catering to vegetarian diets. Outside of that, there are beans, rice and so much more than just the tofu and mushrooms vegetarians seem to become correlated with.

And, based on my recent doctor’s check-up, my nutrient levels are looking perfect. So, a vegetarian diet isn’t going to make you anemic or unhealthy. But, being vegetarian isn’t solely going to make you healthy either.

Now, all of this doesn’t mean I’m disparaging non-vegetarians. Eat what you want—as long as it doesn’t involve cannibalism.

But, why can’t choosing not to eat meat be like choosing not to eat olives—relatively unimportant and not something you’re haggled about?