International student's dietary habits and attitudes towards plant-based meals

Study Overview

As international students, our eating habits may have changed more or less after coming to Canada to study, and we are curious about how student’s eating habits change when they came to Canada, especially whether they now eat more or less meat. We wish to investigate the different eating habits of international students and their attitudes towards vegetarianism.

Biographies

Lanzhuo(Crystal) Meng

I'm Lanzhuo(Crystal) Meng from VANT149's group 28. I am Chinese, and this is my first year to come to Canada. After living in Canada, I experienced the difference in diet between East and West. While living in China, I have been living with the traditional Chinese diet, such as rice, various kinds of meat, stir-frying with various spices and so on. After I came to Canada, I found that the eating habits here are more healthy. Canadians mainly eat meat and vegetables, supplemented by pasta and rice. Therefore, I gradually changed my eating attitude and chose more plant-based foods.

Kaiqi(Jeffery) Jia

I'm Kaiqi(Jeffrey) Jia from VANT149 group 28. This is my first year living in a country with a different culture and eating habits in Canada. Lifestyle changes and diet changes made me very uncomfortable. There are many traditional Chinese cooking methods. Compared with Canadian cuisine, I think the former is more abundant and "challenging". The promotion of the vegetarian diet in Canada has exposed me to a dietary habit rarely mentioned in China.

Yuanqing(Sunny) Li

I am Yuanqing(Sunny) Li from VANT149 group 28 who is from China. This is also my first year living and studying in Canada and I resided in China for all time before. After I came here, my eating habits have also changed due to the change of the surrounding eating environment. In my past diet, grains accounted for the majority. However, when I arrived in Vancouver, my daily intake of staple food gradually decreased, while meat and dairy products in my diet increased. Sometimes I deliberately ate more vegetables, and of course the salad bar in OC restaurant provides me with power and convenience.

Yani(Abby) Ouyang

Hi, I’m Yani Ouyang, prefer name Abby. I currently study at UBC Vantage College. I come from China and I’ve been studying in Canada for two years. Having food is one of my favorite things. I am obsessed with meat and fast food because it tastes good and make fast. So when I came to Canada, McDonald was the first restaurant I walk in! I was surprised when I first saw vegetarian food in OC restaurant, I realized people’s eating habit may be changed under different environment and that’s why our group are doing this research.