U. South Florida students petition Marriott for more vegetarian, vegan entres

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http://news.excite.com/news/uw/001023/health-195

 

By Jordan Dye

The Oracle

University of South Florida

(U-WIRE) TAMPA, Florida --

 

Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is petitioning Sodexho

Marriott to increase its selection of vegetarian and vegan options at

University of South Florida campus dining halls. SETA president Karla

Wejberg, 24, said the petition is aimed particularly at first-year

students because they are required to purchase meal plans.

 

Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is petitioning Sodexho

Marriott to increase its selection of vegetarian and vegan options at

University of South Florida campus dining halls. SETA president Karla

Wejberg, 24, said the petition is aimed particularly at first-year students

because they are required to purchase meal plans.

 

SETA will be seeking signatures for several weeks at Terrell Sessums Mall

near Cooper Hall, Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., said Wejberg.

 

Johan von Ancken, Marriott manager for student marketing, said, " To deliver

a consistent product, menus are passed down from corporate headquarters,

and dining halls are restricted from significantly varying from these menus. "

 

While Crossroads Café previously served virtually no vegetarian entrées

before its recent renovation, it now serves a vegetarian entrée daily, von

Ancken said. A vegetarian entrée is also served at Campus View Restaurant

in the Marshall Center, he said. SETA is asking Marriott to modify meals so

they are suitable to both vegetarian and vegan diets, Wejberg said.

Vegetarian refers to meals prepared without meat, while vegan extends the

omission to all animal products, including dairy items and eggs. For

example, dining halls could serve food with vegan cheeses, soy and

wheat-based alternatives to meat, and dishes such as beans prepared without

meat, as well as non-dairy bread, Wejberg said. " Marriott has progressively

tried to adapt to students' needs, but has not met its goal at this time, "

von Ancken said. " For dining halls to modify recipes to vegan, between 20

and 30 percent of those on the meal plan would need to want this. "

 

According to the Vegetarian Resource Group, vegetarians make up roughly 4.5

percent of the U.S. population. Von Ancken's figure would be difficult to

reach if only vegetarians on campus signed the petition. Senior Kat

Templin, 25, is not vegetarian. But she signed the petition because she

said people need to have choices. " There are a lot of vegetarians and

vegans because of religious, health and ethical issues, " Templin said.

 

First-year students Siobhan Winick and Erin Merkau, both 18, are

vegetarians who eat at Crossroads Café. " I miss a lot of the stuff I was

able to eat at home, like vegetarian chili, pea soup and bean dishes, " said

Merkau. " I figure they're going to keep it the same, " she said. " Since it's

our choice (to be vegetarian), they don't feel they should have to offer a

large variety to us. "

 

For Merkau and others involved in the petition, the decision to eliminate

meat from their diet was based frequently on ethics. Merkau changed her

eating habits after watching a video on slaughterhouse practices. " I

figured if I couldn't deal with how animals were killed, I shouldn't eat

meat, " she said. SETA member Jeff Kaplan, a 20-year-old junior, said, " Once

you learn about the mistreatment of farm animals, you can't turn away --

you can't have a dog for a pet and say it's OK how they mistreat other

animals. "

 

Following the Hindu religion, Sandhya Vaidya, who signed the petition, said

her vegetarian lifestyle stemmed from the belief that eating animals is

wrong. " USF has a much greater vegetarian population than they realize, "

said Vaidya, a 20-year-old senior who lives off-campus.

 

To assist Marriott in incorporating vegetarian and vegan alternatives, SETA

has ordered institutional-size vegetarian menus from the Physicians

Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Wejberg said, " We're going to give Marriott the petition and menus and say,

'This is how you can help us.' "

 

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