UT is a nominee for PETA2’s third annual most vegetarian-friendly college competition, with the University of Missouri as the University’s rival for the first round.
UT is competing against 31 other schools for the title.
PETA2, an international youth animal rights organization, received feedback from students at thousands of schools throughout the year and chose nominees based on consistency and quality. Students nominated their schools through e-mail, Facebook and on PETA2’s blog.
One-fourth of college students are actively seeking vegetarian options for reasons that range from health concerns to animal cruelty, said Ryan Huling, PETA2’s college campaign coordinator.
“Some schools, like UT, stand out for catering to the vegetarian diet and offering delicious vegetarian items,” Huling said.
The competition shows how mainstream vegetarian options are, he said. The vegetarian section on a menu is not necessarily for vegetarians. Any student can enjoy vegetarian food, he added.
Linguistics junior Benjamin Brown, a vegan and member of Students Against Cruelty to Animals, said UT deserves the award.
“UT is doing a good job at satisfying vegetarians’ needs,” he said. “There is so much stuff that you don’t have [only one choice of food].”
All-you-care-to-eat dining halls have color-coded line item identifiers. For example, green means the item is animal-free, and white means it has dairy or eggs.
“I like eating healthy,” said Karen Tobias, a radio-television-film junior. “I used to be a vegetarian throughout most of high school, but it was too hard on me. The food here could be better. I come across nasty vegetarian food, which [might be] one of [the
University’s] experiments.”
UT uses students as taste testers for food items that have not yet hit menus.
Both vegetarians and meat eaters who eat at UT dining halls are welcome to give comments and suggestions during Vegetarian Focus Group meetings. The group meets with managers and directors of the food service department and Brandy Shih, a registered dietician. Students receive samples of new vegetarian items, and their reception helps decide whether the item should go on the University’s menus.
“[Those] who come to our meetings help guide our offerings,” Shih said. “So, if we don’t know about [other students’ complaints], how can we help promote change?”
Labor, acceptance, appearance and taste are not the only factors considered before introducing an item to UT’s menu.
Successful items are those that appeal to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, said Greg Moore, food service manager for Kinsolving Dining.
“[There is a] focus on those [kinds of items] because we need to move products to be viable from an economic standpoint,” Moore said.
When Shih began working as a dietician for the Division of Housing and Food Service in 2001, vegetarians had little to choose from. Fried vegetables and rice and beans were counted as the vegetarian entree.
“Maybe there was not a big push [for vegetarian foods] at the time,” Shih said.
UT has improved the availability of vegetarian options, and there are now quiches, casseroles, lasagnas, enchiladas and different vegan products.
Theater junior Taylor Tisdell said UT should offer more vegetarian options. Keeping up with the veggie lifestyle in college was a challenge for Tisdell, a former vegetarian who began eating meat a year ago.
“Getting protein was a big issue,” she said. “There should be more options outside the salad bar with more substance.”
The top 10 out of 32 U.S. college nominees will receive certificates to hang in their dining halls. Round 1 voting ends Nov. 6, and there are a total of four rounds followed by finals.
Weekly menus for UT’s main dining locations are available at www.utexas.edu/student/housing.
Be the first to comment on this article!