You’re one of those?” is a question I often hear when eating out with people for the first time.

“Yes, I’m one of those,” I reply, as I wait for the inevitable look of dread on their faces when they think I might force them to eat weird vegetables they’ve never heard of.

“One of thos”‘ is a vegetarian.

As a five-year vegetarian, I have noticed a lot of misconceptions about vegetarianism. Some people view a diet without meat as unnatural.

Some people believe vegetarians are anemic, starving their body of much-needed protein. Some people believe all vegetarians are radical animal rights activists. The misconceptions are endless.

Due to the misconceptions, the word vegetarian can invoke negative connotations in certain crowds. However, it seems vegetarianism is becoming more acceptable and, in some cases, even trendy.

Unfortunately, some of the people jumping on the trendy vegetarian bandwagon have no idea why they became a vegetarian or what it means.

In fact, I knew a girl who became a vegetarian as her New Year’s resolution. Then, the following November, she whined she couldn’t wait until the end of December so she could eat meat again.

There are a myriad of reasons to become a vegetarian, many of which I have found to be uncommon knowledge. I decided to write a column to help the general public understand why a person chooses to be a vegetarian and to provide reasons to become a vegetarian for people considering the idea.

I originally became a vegetarian because I grew up with a vegetarian mother. Unless my father cooked, our family ate mainly vegetarian dishes.

As I got older, I became interested in animal welfare issues, ecology and natural foods. Vegetarianism seemed a natural continuation of my interests.

One of the most common reasons people switch to vegetarianism is because of health. Eating a diet of grains, fruits and vegetables and a small amount of dairy products can help reduce the risk of developing such diseases as diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer. And, it is very easy to find non-animal protein sources.

Another reason people decide to delete or reduce meat from their diet is because of the chemicals — antibiotics, steroids and pesticides — lurking in meat and poultry.

Antibiotics are routinely given to cattle, milk cows, chickens and hogs to reduce infections. The reckless overuse of antibiotics is causing some of the most dangerous bacteria to evolve into resistant strains.

Administering steroids to livestock to increase their bulk is a very common practice. Ingesting steroids and other hormones from meat consumption has been shown to cause problems such as the early onset of puberty in children and hormonal imbalances in adults.

Pesticides end up in the meat supply indirectly through animal feed.

Although there are conflicting opinions on the long-term effects of pesticides on human bodies, studies have shown pesticides can be stored in body fat for a lifetime and have been linked to cancer and birth defects.

Another reason to consider becoming a vegetarian is to lessen the degradation of the environment.

In addition to direct pollution from agricultural chemicals and animal waste leakage, meat production gulps almost 50 percent of all water consumed in the U.S. for any purpose, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In fact, by the time a one-pound steak sizzles on the grill, it has consumed 2,500 gallons of water.

Other environmental problems like topsoil erosion, overgrazing and deforestation in South American countries (clearing forests to allow for grazing and grain production) are other problems involved with livestock production.

Another reason to consider vegetarianism is to help stop world hunger. The world has a finite amount of resources and a growing human population to feed.

Despite this fact, we allow livestock to consume half of our U.S. agricultural yield. Beef gives back only 10 pounds of edible protein for every 100 pounds of protein consumed and only four calories for every 100 calories consumed.

The numbers are similar for other meats and poultry.

The return on livestock was sufficient when cattle were allowed to graze on grass pastures, turning plants that were not edible by humans into useful protein.

Now, however, cattle are given high-quality protein such as grains and soy.

The animals become waste factories, turning out 90 percent waste and10 percent edible protein.

It is estimated 14 vegetarians can live on the resources needed to feed only one person who eats meat and other animal products.

Some people believe vegetarianism is unnatural, however. Archeological evidence indicatest the human race evolved as vegetarians, not as carnivores.

A diet that is not in harmony with nature causes problems on all levels: disease, environmental degradation and, sometimes, the inhumane treatment of animals.

A diet that is in harmony with nature brings benefits on all levels of life: good health, a sustainable environment and humane treatment of all life.

Yes, I’m “one of those.”

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Jonquil Wegmann is a senior in community and regional planning from Bellevue.