Editorial: Campus vegetarian options don't always deliver
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Opinion
As we reported last week ("CWRU nominated for PETA's most vegetarian-friendly college contest"), Case Western Reserve University was one of PETA's 32 initial nominees for a competition which is supposed to select United States colleges and universities with the most extensive and well-prepared vegetarian options. While CWRU, and by extension Bon Appetit, CWRU's dining service provider, are doing a decent job and should be congratulated for being recognized, we feel the award overstates the success of vegetarian offerings on campus.
The first concern is that the competition appears, at least in part, to serve a public relations effort on the part of both PETA and the schools involved. The design of the competition is such that only the nominees were chosen in an ostensibly objective manner, based on questionnaires submitted to schools about the vegetarian options they offered. Once the contest began, 'winners' are selected and advanced by popular vote. The goal seems to be to drive traffic to the site rather than publish evaluations of different vegetarian options. In addition, a number of Bon Appetit clients make up the nominees, including the school Case 'lost' to in the first round, Oberlin College. One might assume that two colleges in close proximity with the same dining service contractor would have similar dining options.
Bon Appetit has done a very good job over the past few years of advocating for sustainable food practices and offering locally produced foods. They do provide vegetarian options on a daily basis. But to consider this nomination as evidence that CWRU doesn't need to continue improving vegetarian and vegan dining would be a mistake.
Students have often found that specially requesting vegetarian food is a hassle because of the effort involved with preparing food that hasn't touched meat dishes or utensils used in their preparation. Less popular vegetarian alternatives often take additional time to prepare when requested, and sometimes veggie burgers and egg whites will run low. Options like vegetarian soup and tofu are good, but students often can be limited to salads as a backup option.
Perhaps most concerning is the fact that the situation isn't improving. Bon Appetit probably did a better job when they initially ramped up efforts to provide a vegetarian-friendly experience. Currently, available options may not be the healthiest, and may not always lend themselves to a balanced diet. The recognition of CWRU as a particularly vegetarian-friendly school is nice, but the student experience isn't always as advertised.
The first concern is that the competition appears, at least in part, to serve a public relations effort on the part of both PETA and the schools involved. The design of the competition is such that only the nominees were chosen in an ostensibly objective manner, based on questionnaires submitted to schools about the vegetarian options they offered. Once the contest began, 'winners' are selected and advanced by popular vote. The goal seems to be to drive traffic to the site rather than publish evaluations of different vegetarian options. In addition, a number of Bon Appetit clients make up the nominees, including the school Case 'lost' to in the first round, Oberlin College. One might assume that two colleges in close proximity with the same dining service contractor would have similar dining options.
Bon Appetit has done a very good job over the past few years of advocating for sustainable food practices and offering locally produced foods. They do provide vegetarian options on a daily basis. But to consider this nomination as evidence that CWRU doesn't need to continue improving vegetarian and vegan dining would be a mistake.
Students have often found that specially requesting vegetarian food is a hassle because of the effort involved with preparing food that hasn't touched meat dishes or utensils used in their preparation. Less popular vegetarian alternatives often take additional time to prepare when requested, and sometimes veggie burgers and egg whites will run low. Options like vegetarian soup and tofu are good, but students often can be limited to salads as a backup option.
Perhaps most concerning is the fact that the situation isn't improving. Bon Appetit probably did a better job when they initially ramped up efforts to provide a vegetarian-friendly experience. Currently, available options may not be the healthiest, and may not always lend themselves to a balanced diet. The recognition of CWRU as a particularly vegetarian-friendly school is nice, but the student experience isn't always as advertised.
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