Vegging Out: Construction Workers Order VeggieBurgers at Burger King

[Guest guest]

Jennifer Surrette rarely hits a fast-food drive-thru, but the other day the

28-year-old Halifax schoolteacher found herself rushed and in a lunch-time

lineup at Burger King.

 

A vegetarian for the past 10 years and a vegan for five, Ms. Surrette, who

counsels kids as young as elementary-school age about vegetarianism, was keen on

a meatless burger as she idled behind a pickup truck loaded with four ravenous,

male construction workers.

 

" I totally expected to hear 'Whopper, Whopper, Whopper, Whopper' from their

window, and I thought I was hearing things when they all ordered veggie

burgers, " she says. " It was unbelievable and wonderful. I was sitting in my car

cheering. "

 

No longer the sole orbit of middle-aged ex-hippies, fanatical animal-rights

activists, anemic health nuts and flaky movie stars, vegetarianism today is

embraced by a wide assortment of people. And they are being converted younger

than ever.

 

Lisa of The Simpsons isn't the only eight-year-old who shuns meat. These days,

hordes of university students, teenagers and even children go vegetarian for

political, environmental and health reasons, embracing our furry and feathered

friends and slashing their risks of nasty conditions such as heart disease,

cancer, and obesity in the process, all hile their parents watch from across the

dinner table.

 

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