Introduction
For our oral history project our research topic focuses on
the advantages and disadvantages of being a vegetarian. To find this out we
conducted two interviews, one with a health food store owner and another with a
dietitian. Melissa Pickell, R.D is a registered dietitian who owns her own
practice in Stockon New Jersey. Her main focus is weight loss, special diets,
and health coach. Our interview was conduct at the home of Melissa Pickell in Flemington
New Jersey on April 12, 2011 at 6:00pm. Our interview consisted of questions about
her being a vegetarian, cures for illness/diseases, different types of food, and
the diet of a vegetarian. The goal for our interview was to get knowledge from
a professional perspective regardless to vegetarianism. Mainly we stayed on
topic, but there was one incident when Leo, Melissa’s cat interrupted during
the interview. Overall the interview was successful and we completed the
necessary task.
Our second interview was conduct with a health food store owner, Dorothy Boody, one of the co-owners of Health Now, a health food store in Vineland New Jersey. The interview was conduct on April 9, 2011 at 4:00pm in the setting of her store at a table near the entrance. She spoke about her experience as a vegetarian and her family's experiences with eating healthier food. In particularly we were interested in the blood type diet. We wanted to ask questions since we knew she supported the idea. Dorothy explained that blood type diets feature heavily in her food philosophy, and as a result, she believes blood type A's are more likely to successfully live a vegetarian lifestyle. Many of her comments on ethics, today's food industry, and keeping fruits and vegetables in the diet speak to meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Overall our interview went well but some segments may require an explanatory text slide before, but in general, most sound bites should stand alone as independent comments and/or stories.
Our second interview was conduct with a health food store owner, Dorothy Boody, one of the co-owners of Health Now, a health food store in Vineland New Jersey. The interview was conduct on April 9, 2011 at 4:00pm in the setting of her store at a table near the entrance. She spoke about her experience as a vegetarian and her family's experiences with eating healthier food. In particularly we were interested in the blood type diet. We wanted to ask questions since we knew she supported the idea. Dorothy explained that blood type diets feature heavily in her food philosophy, and as a result, she believes blood type A's are more likely to successfully live a vegetarian lifestyle. Many of her comments on ethics, today's food industry, and keeping fruits and vegetables in the diet speak to meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Overall our interview went well but some segments may require an explanatory text slide before, but in general, most sound bites should stand alone as independent comments and/or stories.
Interview with Melissa Pickel:
Edited Transcription
Sarah: We are doing a project for my Writing, Research and Technology class. It is an Oral History project, as well as a Collaborative Research Project. And we are researching the pros and cons of a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle, and so today we are sitting with Melissa Pickell, a registered dietician, and also a lifelong vegetarian.
Sarah: So Melissa, --
Melissa: Yes
Sarah:--What is a vegetarian?
Melissa: Well a vegetarian is someone who doesn’t eat any meat of any kind. That would be fish, poultry, meat from an animal. Some vegetarians also do not eat any animal products. That would be things like eggs, or dairy products, even honey.
Sarah: And those are classified as vegetarians, or do they have a different sort of name?
Melissa: Anyone who doesn’t eat any animal products would be considered a vegan. And it’s a slightly different type of vegetarian. It, there’s considered to be a vegan lifestyle. People who are vegan not only eat no animal products, including honey, but they also wouldn’t wear any animal products. That would include silk, from a silkworm, wool, leather. That covers the--
Sarah: Cool. What are the typical reasons behind a person becoming a vegetarian?
Melissa: I hope you don’t mind I made a few notes--
Sarah: That’s fine--
Melissa: I think it comes done to a few different groups of reasons. One of course is health reasons. Many people will decide to go on a vegetarian, or vegan diet, or follow one, for their health in some way. Particularly cardiovascular health. Then there’s the moral reasons. And that would include a love of animals, prevention of animal cruelty, a disagreement of factory farm animals.
Sarah: Right.
Melissa: And then there would be religious reasons. Typically Seventh Day Adventists are people who follow a vegetarian diet, although they are not vegan. And Buddhists also tend to follow a vegetarian diet.
Sarah: Wow, very interesting.
Melissa: And some east Indian religions as well. And then the last thing I would say would be there are also environmental reasons, especially today. Many people are looking to a plant-based diet as a way to help the planet. Greenhouse gases come mainly from the meat and dairy production.
Sarah: Awesome. So we kind of already talked about this, but are there differing degrees of vegetarians? And if so, what really differentiates them from one another?
Melissa: Right, so we talked about vegetarian, and that I would say, we could break down into a couple of different groups. There are what we call ovo-vegetarians. These are people who don’t eat any meat, no meat, no fish, no poultry, but they do eat eggs. That’s the only animal product that they would eat. You might have a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, someone who eats meat, um dairy and eggs.
Sarah: But no meat?
Melissa: But no meat. And then, you might even have someone who’s a lacto-vegetarian, who eats dairy products but no eggs, and of course no meat, fish or poultry.
Sarah: So Melissa, --
Melissa: Yes
Sarah:--What is a vegetarian?
Melissa: Well a vegetarian is someone who doesn’t eat any meat of any kind. That would be fish, poultry, meat from an animal. Some vegetarians also do not eat any animal products. That would be things like eggs, or dairy products, even honey.
Sarah: And those are classified as vegetarians, or do they have a different sort of name?
Melissa: Anyone who doesn’t eat any animal products would be considered a vegan. And it’s a slightly different type of vegetarian. It, there’s considered to be a vegan lifestyle. People who are vegan not only eat no animal products, including honey, but they also wouldn’t wear any animal products. That would include silk, from a silkworm, wool, leather. That covers the--
Sarah: Cool. What are the typical reasons behind a person becoming a vegetarian?
Melissa: I hope you don’t mind I made a few notes--
Sarah: That’s fine--
Melissa: I think it comes done to a few different groups of reasons. One of course is health reasons. Many people will decide to go on a vegetarian, or vegan diet, or follow one, for their health in some way. Particularly cardiovascular health. Then there’s the moral reasons. And that would include a love of animals, prevention of animal cruelty, a disagreement of factory farm animals.
Sarah: Right.
Melissa: And then there would be religious reasons. Typically Seventh Day Adventists are people who follow a vegetarian diet, although they are not vegan. And Buddhists also tend to follow a vegetarian diet.
Sarah: Wow, very interesting.
Melissa: And some east Indian religions as well. And then the last thing I would say would be there are also environmental reasons, especially today. Many people are looking to a plant-based diet as a way to help the planet. Greenhouse gases come mainly from the meat and dairy production.
Sarah: Awesome. So we kind of already talked about this, but are there differing degrees of vegetarians? And if so, what really differentiates them from one another?
Melissa: Right, so we talked about vegetarian, and that I would say, we could break down into a couple of different groups. There are what we call ovo-vegetarians. These are people who don’t eat any meat, no meat, no fish, no poultry, but they do eat eggs. That’s the only animal product that they would eat. You might have a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, someone who eats meat, um dairy and eggs.
Sarah: But no meat?
Melissa: But no meat. And then, you might even have someone who’s a lacto-vegetarian, who eats dairy products but no eggs, and of course no meat, fish or poultry.
Interview with Dorothy Boody:
Edited Interview
Below is an edited version of the interview with Dorothy Boody
Conclusion
Before starting the interview process, we knew we wanted to interview Melissa Pickell R.D., Sarah Pickell’s mother. As Melissa and Sarah are both vegetarians, they formed a readily accessible resource. When deciding upon our interviewees, being able to converse with at least one vegetarian and gain information from a professional perspective was important to us. The interview itself with Ms. Pickell seemed more relaxed than the "professional perspective" atmosphere we expected; speaking with a classmate's mother changed the interview dynamic. Ms. Pickell gave us great information, which should prove useful in our collaborative research project.
When interviewing Dorothy Boody, we were more interested in her personal opinion of vegetarianism and in her food philosophy. Ms. Boody's information and opinions were sometimes unexpected, but interesting nonetheless. Her suggestions for eating a healthier diet can apply to a broader audience than a vegetarian-only view, and she spoke easily about her experiences and her passion for organic food. An interview seems to run more smoothly when the subject responds in that way, not needing constant prompts or redirection. The interview did lean a little more in the organic/blood type diet direction than intended, but weI think that information is still applicable to the topic at hand. It also provides a separate view for both our meat-eating and veggie-only audience members.
On a side note, working with unfamiliar technology - even if it's just a different type of digital camcorder that happens to save video in a different file format - will bring you grief, sweat, panic, almost-voiced obscenities, and murderous inclinations. (God bless you, it's true.) Between crashing several programs on the school's Macs, enlisting outside help to convert the little bugger of a file, and finally cracking and utilizing my work computers
When interviewing Dorothy Boody, we were more interested in her personal opinion of vegetarianism and in her food philosophy. Ms. Boody's information and opinions were sometimes unexpected, but interesting nonetheless. Her suggestions for eating a healthier diet can apply to a broader audience than a vegetarian-only view, and she spoke easily about her experiences and her passion for organic food. An interview seems to run more smoothly when the subject responds in that way, not needing constant prompts or redirection. The interview did lean a little more in the organic/blood type diet direction than intended, but weI think that information is still applicable to the topic at hand. It also provides a separate view for both our meat-eating and veggie-only audience members.
On a side note, working with unfamiliar technology - even if it's just a different type of digital camcorder that happens to save video in a different file format - will bring you grief, sweat, panic, almost-voiced obscenities, and murderous inclinations. (God bless you, it's true.) Between crashing several programs on the school's Macs, enlisting outside help to convert the little bugger of a file, and finally cracking and utilizing my work computers
