Many nutritionists are discovering the health benefits of consuming a vegetarian diet rather than a meat-based diet.

A vegetarian diet consists heavily of plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains and avoids eating all or some animal products.

There are a variety of reasons aside from health as to why a person would adapt a vegetarian diet, including religious and medical reasons.

Anastasia Bodnar, graduate student in agronomy, has many reasons for why she became a vegetarian, “but the primary one . is the environment.”

Amanda Kopp, sophomore in environmental science, has been a vegetarian for almost seven years. She said she became a vegetarian because she “can’t stand the thought of killing another living thing for unnecessary benefit.”

Others, similar to Kopp, adopt a vegetarian lifestyle because of ethical issues, including animal rights.

Richard Alex Cross, senior in pre-business, became a vegetarian after reading the book “Food Revolution” by John Robbins.

“It really opened my eyes to how animals are treated on factory farms and in the animal-slaughter industry,” Cross said.

There are also health benefits in a vegetarian diet.

According to the American Dietetic Association, an adequately planned vegetarian diet can provide health benefits aiding in the prevention of certain diseases.

Other benefits of a vegetarian diet the ADA lists are lower levels of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, minerals and vitamins.

If you are considering a vegetarian diet, there is a vegetarian and vegan club on campus that hosts different events throughout the semester.

Kopp recommends meat eaters should “just to try [a vegetarian diet] for a week or two. You will feel so much healthier and you will have more energy, too.”

“A lot of people have been negative. It’s surprising, especially because of the health benefits,” Bodnar said. “No one berates you for starting a new exercise program, but some people try their hardest to convince me that I need to eat meat.”

Even with all the studies that find a correlation between health benefits and consuming a vegetarian diet, not everyone is very accepting of the idea.

“In Iowa, people think I’m crazy – I’ve definitely never got a pat on the back for not eating meat,” Kopp said.