The vegetarian society provides

The results revealed that females are more likely to be vegetarians than males, that gender and socio-economic differences factor greatly, and that the taste of meat primarily accounts for on-vegetarianism while a lower risk to diseases for vegetarianism. Finally, a vegetarian lifestyle is perceived healthy, but the taste of meat as well as the social and scientific influences encourages deviance from it. 2 INTRODUCTION The world has produced thinkers for every range of specializations, from the brutish existence in the wilderness up to the present conditions of civilization. In the occurrence of pluralism, every person certainly has something worthwhile to offer. With regard to the fulfillment of a human person’s basic needs -? food, shelter, and clothing – the first appears that he or she render tit the greatest attention.

Eating hence, conveys a variety of social meanings attributed according to the setting, the companions, and most importantly the food being consumed and partaken with. Amidst the cross- cultural consumption of meat arises the prominence of vegetarianism in the contemporary society. Vegetarianism, more prevalent in the developed countries than in the developing ones, Matthew Ruby explains, “ has a recorded history dating back to ancient Greece” (141 The Vegetarian Society provides a clear-cut definition of the term “ vegetarian,” I. E. “ someone who lives on a diet of grains, lulls, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruits, with or without the use of dairy products and eggs,” and thus “ does not eat any meat, poultry, fish, game, shellfish (crustaceans and mollusks) or any by-products of slaughter. However, measuring the progressive degree to which animal foods are avoided, a spectrum of definitions from vegetarians to vegans has sprouted. In broad terms, Julienne Trumann, et al.

Notes that vegetarianism can encompass a number of food avoidance and selection patterns, but is generally regarded as a healthy diet, high in nutritional value (341 The ruinations to college is a period of increased level of independence (Trumann, et al. 340) among first year students. But this also entails issues Of stress, manifested through feelings Of loneliness, homesickness, depression, and worries.

Consequently, experimentation with 3 unconventional lifestyle seems common for college students, and vegetarian ism may be one way that they are able to express themselves as individuals and affirm their independence. It may prove noteworthy that many previous studies have focused on adult vegetarianism, indicative of further research on teenage grounds. Moreover, students are 3. Times more likely to become vegetarians than employees (Alley, Lyons and Tool 423). Participants who adopted vegetarian diets while children or while young adults experience ‘ conversion,’ wherein a sudden link comes about between meat and animals (Ruby 144), supportive of the influences regarding animal welfare and contrastive of the implications concerning potential diseases. That is, vegetarianism, in its theory and practice, establishes so great a level of significance that thereafter calls for specific, norm-based studies. The researcher alms to discover the attitudes and perceptions first-year allege students have towards a vegetarian lifestyle.

Gender differences and socio-economic Status are corollaries that require additional concentration. With increased fruit and vegetable intake, young adults may experience the health benefits, plus their being less prone to overweight and obesity. Carefully note that the body image plays an integral role in the diet of many college students, especially the women.

However, vegetarianism may also invoke disordered eating behaviors among these adolescents, I. E. Dietary restraint (conscientious restriction of food) to attain weight reduction and maintenance, followed by compensatory overeating (Trumann, et al.

40). On the opposite, the tastiness of food (particularly animal-derived) deeply influences the consumption of individuals, especially students who are apparently under the stage of experimentation and exploration. With this is familiarity, and often intensified with the nutrients obtained from animal products. Other possible drives include external pressure (e.

G. From peers), ill experiences with vegetarianism, and mere dislike of alternatives to meat and animal-derived 4 products, or extreme partiality to the mouth-watering appearance and social tauter of meat or the like. Thus, the researcher assumes, in general, that first- year college students perceive vegetarianism as a healthy lifestyle, but they still choose to consume meat for reasons as taste and nutrients. A remarkable sense of awareness of the attitudes and perceptions students have towards vegetarianism and the influences that bring about them aids counselors, educators, nutritionists and concerned authorities to address possible deeply-rooted food and eating issues and concerns. Despite the health advantages a vegetarian student experiences, he or she may suffer from disordered eating.

This study confers much relevance since the subjects are first-year college students of a premier state university, I. E. Their nutrition is of utmost importance with regard to academic and non-academic university calls and demands. In addition, these attitudes and perceptions can also dictate the next path a vegetarian (of whichever stage) or a non- vegetarian student may take: less likely to or more likely to paganism, abstention from use of all animal products, e.

G. Dairy products, egg and/or honey, particularly in diets; or the immediate opposite, I. . Total consumption of meat and other animal-derived products.

Such practices become associated with disgust and emotional distress that only by creating consistency between their diet and the beliefs about welfare that these get reduced (Ruby 144). Moreover, students who possess extreme negative attitude towards vegetarianism, yet intense penchant for meat may face weight and fitness problems. Truly, the bodily systems may easily get prone to complications out of simple, unnoticeable dietary intake. The social meaning bestowed upon the image of an ideal body for both male and female seems to become more hurdled. Psychological, physical or whichever spelling a problem’s nature is, the main matter every rational individual looks after is the resolutions and recommendations, not only in theory, but lived out in practice. Lastly, 5 attitudes are mere portrayal of a person’s personality greatly affixed with internal and external circumstances that have contributed to either their improvement or deterioration.

Furthermore, perceptions identify a person’s thoughts and feelings for a certain thing, and are likewise affected by the surrounding instances and experiences. Attitudes and perceptions vary depending on the intervening features concerning them. Therefore, whatever attitudes students manifest and however perceptions they demonstrate pertaining to a vegetarian lifestyle proffer important depictions everyone else must not be oblivious Of.

METHODOLOGY This study involved only the participation of first-year students from the University of the Philippines (UP) – Dilemma, and so the findings are limited to them. They were asked to answer an online questionnaires which the researcher primarily posted in the UP Dilemma Freshman Group AY 2014-2015, a Backbone group online, for easy accessibility and viewing of responses. The randomly targeted respondents were also reminded to answer the online questionnaire only once, so as to preserve the validity and reliability of its results. After more than two weeks of exposure online, the questionnaire garnered seventy varied responses exclusively from first-year students of the different colleges of the University, of two major genders – male and female, Of ages ranging from sixteen years old to nineteen years old, and of diverse socio-economic status the researcher determined through the Socialized Tuition (SST) System Bracketing, an assessment tool of the university to gain knowledge on the social and economic standing of every student as Refer to Appendix, p. 5 the basis of his or her bracket, tuition. The quantitative and the qualitative data provided by these seventy respondents served as the primary sources the researcher utilized to carry out his study. The online questionnaire consisted of three vital sections aside from selected personal information like age, gender, home college, and SST System bracket. First, the “ Attitudes and Perceptions” of the respondents towards vegetarianism were gauged through the creation of fifteen (15) statements or claims, of which the Liker Scale was employed, I.

. , Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree Nor Disagree, Agree, and Strongly Agree. These sentences were intentionally made vague, but were further divided into three advancing parts: seven sentences towards plants and vegetarianism, seven sentences towards meat and other animal foods, and one sentences of supposedly neutral value. Second, the “ Vegetarian Status” of the respondents was also solicited through simple ticking on one of the options describing the range and degree of vegetarianism. Third and last, the “ Additional thoughts and concerns about vegetarian ism,” which was made possible with the allocation of additional space at the end of the questionnaire, enabled the researcher to deduce mound concepts and ideas from the respondents, I. E. Qualitative findings.

RESULTS The graph below represents the distribution of the status of vegetarianism among selected UP Dilemma male and female students. The figures denote a remarkable increase of sulfanilamide status from being a vegan to being a non-vegetarian. As shown in the data, there is a strong correlation between the type of vegetarianism and the gender of respondents. Firstly, one This later turned out to be leaning on one side as well. 7 (1.

43%) female out of seventy respondents of which twenty-nine (41. 43%) are males and forefront (58. 7%) are females identified herself as lactate-vivo vegetarian. Secondly, nine (12. 86%) respondents of which eight are females and only one is male identified themselves as sexagenarians.

Finally, a surprising number of sixty (85. 71%) respondents, thirty-two females and twenty-eight males, identified themselves as non-vegetarians. However, no one among the selected respondents, either male or female, reported himself or herself vegan, lactate-vegetarian, and ova-vegetarian. In summary, the information above confirms that females tend to identify themselves with higher degree of vegetarianism than males, but the former only to a certain extent. 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Male Figure 1: Vegetarian Status of First-Year UP Dilemma Students and Its Gender Differences The next chart illustrates how the student respondents perceived each statement with regard to its agreeableness and disagreeableness plus its inclination to meat and other animal-derived products. The data reveal noticeably preserved levels of agreeableness and disagreeableness to meat consumption and to plant consumption, with two claims equalizing them. The most surprising finding from the figures shows that 48.

57% of the respondents disagree over the industriousness of meat, while 40% of the same exponents agree over the taste of meat. As 8 shown, 38. 57% believes that we are designed by evolution to eat meat, as well as that meat eating is socially influenced, e. G. Meat-eating household or peers. Moreover, the complicatedness of vegetarianism, which was firstly supposed to equalize the claims, but is rather sided, and the difficulty of preparing vegetarian meals both acquire 34. 29% of the respondents.

Lastly, the violation of animal rights and the avoidance of meat, yet consumption of vegetables to have no proven health benefits, both of which the researcher preconceived to have taken sides now appear to have not, with 37. 4% and 38. 57 % Of the respondents neither agreeing nor disagreeing, respectively. The primary contrast appears when the forethought claim or statement not to advance particular side so happens oppositely.

Overall, the figures laid above prove a great divide among the attitudes and perceptions students have towards the primarily supposed animadverting claims.