man, do i work in the wrong place

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http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2004-10-31-vegeteria_x.htm?csp=26 & RM_Exc\

lude=Juno

 

Posted 10/31/2004 4:19 PM

 

Vegan CEO hopes to influence employees with

meat-free cafeteria

 

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — For telephone company CEO

Norm Mason, a vegan and lifelong animal lover,

there was never any doubt what he'd offer at his

company cafeteria.

 

Soy steaks and soy sloppy joes, veggie burgers,

nachos and other meatless, eggless, butter-free

delicacies are cooked daily using heavy bags of

texturized vegetable protein.

 

If that doesn't sound so great, consider this:

It's all free.

 

Mason says he created the " Vegeteria " out of

concern for the well-being of his 200 employees

of Cat Communications International. So he's

giving them all the fresh vegetables, meat

substitutes, cakes and drinks they could ever

want.

 

" This was a way to say: 'Look, we don't feel it's

right to have the flesh of an animal, an animal

killed for your benefit,' " Mason said. " I see it

no different than smoking. People are asked to go

outside and smoke. "

 

It also will hopefully teach them respect for

animals, he says, a value symbolized by Lucille,

the paralyzed dog he adopted that follows workers

around on a little wheeled contraption.

 

Bruce Friedrich, a spokesman for People for the

Ethical Treatment of Animals, says Mason is part

of a growing number of vegetarian and vegan CEOS,

including Steve Jobs of Apple Computers Inc.,

Michael Eisner from Walt Disney Co., John Mackey

of Whole Foods Market Inc. and Bill Ford of Ford

Motor Co., who have made it easier for employees

to eat meat-free.

 

" They haven't actually prohibited eating meat,

but they've certainly increased exponentially the

vegan offerings in their cafeterias, " Friedrich

said.

 

But Mason, who is a PETA member, wants to go

beyond catering to current vegetarians. He sees a

person's craving for meat as a nasty habit that

can be broken. By providing free vegetarian

lunches and stocking the room with information

pamphlets about vegetarianism, Mason hopes to

nudge his carnivorous employees toward a

different lifestyle.

 

" We are, I think, addicted to the foods we are

fed as children, " he said. " It's the fat and the

sugar and the salt in our food that becomes so

addictive. "

 

Mason, 60, gave up meat about 25 years ago. He

said he eased into it after a period of

soul-searching about the food on his plate.

 

Since then, he has grown increasingly serious

about the vegetarian lifestyle after researching

— and he's ready with statistics if asked — how

many cows, pigs and chickens people could save in

a lifetime by not eating meat, the percentages of

Americans who are obese, the amount of

degradation the meat industry inflicts on the

environment, and more.

 

" It's pretty scary what we're doing to animals, "

he said.

 

Mason began offering vegetarian meals about four

years ago, and he also has established an Angels

of Assisi office in the building that provides a

discount spay and neuter service, an adoption

center for cats and dogs, and a sanctuary for

farm animals.

 

So far, however, Mason's carnivorous employees

have been slow to reform.

 

" They have this thing called 'soyberry steak'

instead of Salisbury steak, " says Michaela

Goodman, a 19-year-old customer service staffer,

while delicately picking at a plate of corn and

coleslaw.

 

" It just didn't seem right. The fake meat stuff

is not for me. I tried the nachos, though, and

that looked about the same. It was pretty good. "

 

As she ate, workers filtered in and refilled soft

drinks or nibbled on the cake. A few stopped in

front of the platters of sloppy joes, potato

soup, lima beans and fried potato wedges.

 

Ginger Hinkley, 33, was more practical about her

salad: " I'm not one of those veggies, but it's

free. Where else could you work and they'd

actually give you free food? "

 

A few disgruntled employees called a local

television station to complain about not being

able to bring meat into the Vegeteria. But Mason

says they still can eat meat — they just have to

take it into another company room. Or they could

go out for lunch.

 

" I try to combine as much preaching with living

by example, " Mason said. " That's why the

cafeteria is free. Nobody's forced to eat in the

cafeteria. They can go somewhere else. If they

want to spend their money, that is their right.

 

" But I hope through example, they would say,

'Hey, this is pretty good stuff.' "