As Katherine Lydon pulled into a drive-through craving a late-night burrito, she was asked whether she would like chicken or steak on her order. She laughed as she replied she wanted neither, because she was a vegetarian.

Lydon, junior in pre-journalism and mass communication, stopped eating meat long ago. The last time she’s had anything with a face on it was in the eighth grade. She said she started the vegetarian lifestyle so that she could be a healthier person, but her reasons changed as she got older.

“At first I did it for health, because I wanted to improve my diet,” Lydon said. “All I was eating was meat, so I figured I’d be healthier if I gave up meat. But the more I learned about animal rights, animal cruelty, the environment and my own health, the more I loved being a vegetarian.”

Lydon, like many students, believes being vegetarian is a good moral choice. Gaurav Pranami, graduate student in chemical and biological engineering, said he finds it invigorating and self-fulfilling to be a vegetarian.

Pranami grew up in a vegetarian family and lived the meat-free life because of it. Later in life, he decided to be different and eat meat, but later went back to vegetarianism.

“It was my own choice, morally,” Pranami said. “At first I was just doing it because my entire family was, but as I grew, I found it correct morally to be a vegetarian.”

Lydon said she found the morality of vegetarianism after reading a book called “Slaughterhouse” by Gail Eisnitz. The book investigates the cruelty of slaughterhouses and how the people that work there often ignore the laws instigating humane deaths for animals. She said the book really opened her eyes to reality.

“A lot of animals aren’t just killed,” Lydon said. “It’s pretty common to have live cattle on the line being dismembered alive, skinned alive or boiled alive. Because the animal is in such pain, trying to escape, it creates hazards for the slaughterhouse workers.”

Cara Moravec, freshman in genetics, became a vegetarian in the fifth grade. She said she also found it wrong to eat animals.

“I don’t believe eating animals is right,” she said, “because a lot of the animals we eat are closely related to us.”

Moravec said campus dining centers are OK, but lack a lot of options. She said she could find vegetarian food at the Union Drive Community Center, but other dining centers could do a lot better in serving the vegetarian community.

In particular, Moravec would like if they added more tofu products and said the other dining centers don’t offer a lot of protein.

Pranami said the meat-eating community doesn’t always understand what it is to be vegetarian. He said he sometimes is given a hard time for his eating habits.

“A lot of the time, people say vegetarian food tastes like s—t, and they say I am too skinny because I’m vegetarian,” Pranami said. “But it’s all in good fun.”

After attending Iowa State for a while, Lydon felt the need to create a stronger bond for the vegetarians on campus. This year, she created the ISU Vegetarian Club. Lydon is preparing for the first club meeting, expected to take place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center. She said anybody is welcome to attend the first meeting.

Lydon said making the switch to vegetarianism isn’t hard. She gradually phased out meat from her diet and now she has no problem passing up a hamburger.

“The transition to becoming a vegetarian is not as hard as people think it is,” she said. “I used to love meat. I grew up like every other American on pork chops and chicken nuggets. I just phased it out gradually and didn’t quit cold turkey. I just quit one thing at a time and it’s become a way of living that I’m really happy with.”

Replacing the protein in her diet was easy, she said. Although the choices at many restaurants are often limited, there are many places to go to get good vegetarian food with protein.

“People always ask me where I get my protein,” Lydon said. “I love the number six at Jimmy John’s. Also, putting beans and rice on a burrito is the perfect protein combo.”

Pranami also finds it’s not too hard to go out to eat as a vegetarian. He usually can find something he likes on the menu – but then again, he’s used to it, he said.

“I normally go to Italian, Thai or Indian restaurants,” he said. “They usually have good options there. Even if you go to Hickory Park, they will replace meat. It’s not that bad. Usually there’s at least one vegetarian dish wherever I go.”

Going out to eat on campus is more difficult for vegetarians, Moravec said.

She said she usually eats in her dorm room, because the vegetarian options at most restaurants on campus are limited.

“I get a salad if I go out,” she said. “There’s usually one or two things on the menu, but it’s usually a salad.”

Pranami said being a vegetarian has multiple benefits. In addition to the healthy lifestyle, he said he has been able to get away with eating a lot more than meat eaters without having to worry about gaining weight.

More importantly though, he said being a vegetarian has made him a better person.

“The point is, I am a vegetarian because it is morally right,” Pranami said. “When I am strict about being moral in what I eat, it forces me to be moral in all the walks of my life. I feel good about not being responsible for an animal being killed and being a healthier person. It makes me feel better about myself.”