Being a vegetarian and eating at the dining halls can be a little rough. Salads can get boring and while Sodexo offers vegan and vegetarian options, they often don’t look appetizing and are filled with onions, the vegetable bane of my existence. With the number of options they have I wasn’t too shocked in October when Binghamton University was named by peta2 as one of the “Most Vegetarian-Friendly Colleges in America.”
In a press release from the organization, peta2’s Dan Shannon said, “Binghamton University is meeting its students’ demand for smart food choices in the most delicious ways imaginable — and educating them in the process.”
Students can get a weird-looking bean dish on the hot line, but BU is far away from being one of the “Most Vegetarian-Friendly Colleges in America.” By no means am I a militant vegetarian. Sure, I avoid gelatin and read the ingredients of items before I eat them. I know when I go out to eat at restaurants my meal is probably being prepared on the same surfaces as meat, but at the dining hall, the kitchen away from my personal kitchen, I should be able to have a say.
In order to truly earn the title of one of the “Most Vegetarian-Friendly Colleges in America,” I’m pleading with you, Sodexo, to take up these practices:
1. Have deli employees ask students if the employee should change their gloves before making a student’s sandwich. Yeah, I’ve asked them to do it and the employees scoff and comply, but students shouldn’t have to ask if we’re truly a vegetarian-friendly campus.
2. Have a vegetable-only knife at the deli or actually clean the knife at a sink instead of with a dirty towel and dirty water.
3. Use separate grills for food that doesn’t contain meat, like quesadillas, veggie burgers, burritos, grilled cheese and meat-free omelets.
4. Fry vegetarian things like french fires and mozzarella sticks in separate oil from the chicken and other fried meats.
5. List ingredients of pasta/potato salads and salad dressings. You’d be surprised at the amount of dressings that have traces of fish and meat in them.
I could go on, but now I’m jonesing for some french fries and in order to get some of the vegetarian variety, I’ve got to go to Wendy’s.