On the football field, outside linebacker John Paul Eberenz-Rosero '10 is hungry for big hits and tackles. But off the field, he differs from the team's other players in an important way: He doesn't eat meat.
The junior football player is one of a handful of Brown athletes who consider themselves vegetarians. They aren't alone in the sports world - Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez and former track star Carl Lewis are also vegetarians. Still, vegetarian athletes are relatively uncommon.
"It has definitely affected me in football," Eberenz-Rosero wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "I always find myself playing a position that I don't seem big enough to play."
At 5 feet 11 inches and 190 pounds, Eberenz-Rosero is among the smallest linebackers on the team.
"I find myself having to invest in a good amount of supplements in order to stay on the same level as the rest of the guys, and I'm constantly trying out new things in regards to what I consume," he wrote.
A lifestyle changeSome athletes, like Eberenz-Rosero, have been vegetarians since birth, while others have chosen some form of vegetarianism later in life.
Anna Makaretz '12, a cross country runner, decided to be a vegetarian when she was 6 years old. Her mother tried to get her to eat chili, but Makaretz was determined to remove meat from her diet after she made a realization.
"Wilbur of 'Charlotte's Web' was the bacon I was eating," she said.
Rower Greg Stepina '10 quit meat by going cold turkey eight years ago.
"It was originally a moral decision, and then it basically evolved with my knowledge of the subject to environmental and economic (concerns)," he said.
Some of the athletes who identify as vegetarians occasionally eat fish or other meat due to concerns about health or out of convenience, though opinions differ as to whether "pescetarians" qualify as vegetarians. One benefit of fish, for instance, is its richness of Omega-3 fatty acids, which have numerous health benefits.
Grant LeBeau '09, a member of the water polo team, had been a vegetarian since he was about 10 years old, but he added fish back into his diet in high school.
"I read an article about linkage between eating red meat and heart disease," said LeBeau, whose family has a history of heart conditions. "I don't think it's ever had an effect on my sports at all."
Vegetarian athletes, especially those who weren't raised on such diets, said they have experienced various difficulties in adjusting their lifestyles to fit their athletic commitments. Some coaches have discouraged them from the practice altogether, while others have made sure their vegetarian athletes saw nutritionists.
Swimmer Victoria Hartman '12 became a vegetarian a little more than two years ago, despite her high school coach's criticism of the plan.
"I definitely think I was a little bit weaker at first," she said, adding that she was soon able to adapt. "(My coach) thought it was going to drastically change my swimming."
Rugby player Annalisa Wilde '11 said she tries to silence any doubts about her lifelong diet, which includes eating fish but not other animals, with her physical performance.
"They look at me and they see that I'm strong and I take care of myself," Wilde said. "I can lift with the best of them."
Need for vigilanceSome of the athletes said they take a multivitamin in addition to monitoring their health in other ways. But despite taking supplements, vegetarian athletes still need stay aware of nutrients, according to experts.
"With regard to macronutrients - carbs, fat, protein - protein is obviously the first consideration," wrote Assistant Professor of Community Health Joseph Ciccolo in an e-mail to The Herald.
Ciccolo emphasized that vegans - vegetarians who won't eat any animal products, including eggs and dairy - need to be especially vigilant about maintaining their health.
"Vegans should be advised to supplement their diet with various non-animal sources of protein, with soy being a readily available option," he wrote. "Vegans will need to consider iron, zinc, B12, vitamin D, riboflavin and calcium, as these are important for maintenance of health and recovery from exercise."
Given these health concerns, some coaches said the balancing act between vegetarianism and athletics can be overwhelming.
"In my opinion, it is very tough to be a distance runner and be a vegetarian, as it is tough to get the proper amount of protein and iron, especially if you are eating in a dining hall," wrote Craig Lake, cross country and track and field coach, in an e-mail to The Herald.
Makaretz, the cross country runner, said Lake urges everybody on the team to take supplements, but she said she hasn't felt pressured to resume eating meat.
"I don't think (Lake is) completely happy that I'm a vegetarian," Makaretz said. "But it was only mentioned partly in passing during my recruiting trip."
Water polo Head Coach Felix Mercado said LeBeau, his lone vegetarian player, seems to have figured out how to balance his diet with being a top athlete.
"I'm sure Grant is someone who knows his body better than I do," Mercado said. "He looks very healthy, he trains very hard, in games he has a lot of energy. Obviously he's doing a good job of taking care of his body."
Stepina, of the men's crew team, called his high school teammates' doubts about his vegetarianism "the story of my life in athletics."
"I ended up being the fastest guy on my high school team," he said. "Even then, it was, 'how much faster could I have been if I had eaten meat?' "
Culture shiftsMen's lacrosse Head Coach Lars Tiffany '90, a former lacrosse player at Brown, said he considered vegetarianism as a student but ultimately was unsure if it would affect his on-field performance. Soon after graduating, Tiffany moved to the West Coast and decided to give up meat after discovering some tips on how to eat healthfully.
Brown, and society in general, has become much more accommodating to vegetarians, he said.
"There is so much more information out there," Tiffany said. "There are so many more products. The Brown University dining facilities have so many more options now for vegetarians."
As a coach, Tiffany said he has discussed with a few players how to balance the rigors of the collision-heavy sport with a vegetarian diet, but he said he doesn't push the issue. Though Tiffany participates in triathlons and other exercise, he still worries that active lacrosse players might lose "a little bit of an edge" if they were to give up meat.
"In the back of my mind, all of the sudden they don't have a great year, and I have alumni all over me," he said.
In terms of feasibility, most restaurants offer vegetarian options, such as salad or various side dishes, that appeals to players. In the quest for protein, many vegetarian athletes rely on tofu, beans and nuts.
Fencer Charlotte Rose '09 usually maintains a vegan diet, like professional athletes Gonzalez and Lewis, but she said she sometimes has no choice but to eat dairy or fish if her team is traveling.
"There (are) very few vegan options on the highway, but I'm always vegetarian," she said.
Occasionally, vegetarians find themselves in situations with no vegetarian or vegan option. Rose said she needed to eat omelets when she spent six weeks in Bolivia in high school, while rugby player Wilde adjusted to eating fish and goat during her time in Ghana.
"At that point, you learn you've gotta savor everything you can get," Wilde said.
Generally, the athletes interviewed said their diet doesn't cause much alienation from their teammates. But many of them said they have grown to expect a certain amount of teasing from their teammates, especially football player Eberenz-Rosero.
"As you would expect, I do get a lot of crap for my diet," Eberenz-Rosero wrote. "There aren't many vegetarian football players, but - hopefully - it's all in good fun."
Field hockey player Tess Standa '09 said some people have teased her ("I'll pay you money to try some," friends offer), but many others are just curious. Raised as a vegetarian who occasionally ate fish, Standa said she was used to answering questions about her diet while growing up.
She said lunchtime was "weird" when "your hot dog was orange 'cause it was made of tofu."
Some athletes, such as Makaretz, said they would consider making changes to their diets if the physicality of their sports demanded it. But for Hartman, the swimmer, abandoning her vegetarianism isn't an option.
"I would never consider changing back to being an omnivore," she said.
For many vegetarian athletes, different eating habits simply would be too tough to digest.
