Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2001/10/29/vegetarian_dining_hijacking_kosherhallal.php
Monday, October 29, 2001
A group of strict vegetarians have begun to call for a new vegetable-only dining hall on campus. Forced to purchase a meal plan from the College, they find the Dartmouth Dining Service's current options unacceptable.
According to Assistant Dean of Student Life Nora Yasumura, there is 'a small group of students, faculty and staff who are concerned that the varied needs of vegetarianism are not being fully met by the College.'
Who are these champions of vegetarianism, and what changes do they envision?
Many students have recently received an email requesting support for a new campus dining option. The proposed dining facility would cater to those who 'are vegetarians and/or those for whom it is important that the food does not come in any contact with meat products during preparation.' The authors of the email singled out the intended beneficiaries: 'Those that choose [vegetarianism] for health reasons, personal beliefs as well as those that are Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh or consider 'Ahimsa' (nonviolence, towards humans as well as animals) an important principle. This also includes people who adhere to vegetarian diet only on specific days or who support the concept although they are not able to practice it.' Based on the responses to this email, Assistant Dean Yasumura and will gauge interest in the new facility.
Currently, vegetarians have two main dining options. Collis Café has a variety of salads, pastas and other meatless fare, while Homeplate has a daily vegetarian offering as well as vegetarian soups.
Yasumura pointed out two important reasons why Collis and Homeplate do not meet the needs of the strict vegetarian. First, both are contaminated by the presence of meat. Some vegetarians will not eat food that has touched a meat product, and some will even shun food prepared by an employee not devoted entirely to vegetarian fare. For example, 'a vegetarian might be disgusted that a veggie burger was cooking on a grill next to a hamburger, or might refuse to eat a slice of veggie pizza that was consolidated into a pepperoni pie.' Details, then, are the downfall of the Dartmouth vegan.
Yasumura also explained that Collis does not make clear the ingredients with which it prepares each dish. 'A vegetarian might have some vegetable soup, only to find out later that it was made with beef stock. This vegetarian would have unknowingly compromised his or her beliefs.' This reporter found Collis's soups to be well-labelled. The labeling of ingredients is a service provided daily at Homeplate.
A vegetarian dining facility would, undoubtedly, address these two issues, namely the presence of meat and the listing of ingredients. How else it would differ from existing dining options is unclear. Yasumura referred to improvements in 'food preparation,' and said that ideally, the facility would conform to the strictest vegetarian standards, to 'appeal to a common denominator.' At one point, Yasumura embraced the notion of combining strict vegetarian dining with the new Kosher-Halal facility. The facility would then be unable to serve meat or even animal products, such as eggs. Despite this, Yasumura claimed that such a dining option would 'appeal to many students on campus, and not just vegetarians.'
Yasumura was reluctant to share further information regarding the initiative that she had co-authored. She would not cite the origin of this vegetarian movement and would not reveal whether the proposal was conceived by students or by the College. Yasumura replied only that 'the blitz message was initiated by a small group of students, faculty and staff who were concerned that the varied needs of vegetarianism were not being fully met by the College.' When pressed for further contacts, she said, 'It's a busy time right now with midterms, and I don't feel comfortable giving out names.'
Equally vague were the group's motivations. The email would seem to suggest that religion was a key factor in prompting such a request. Yasumura stated that, 'some students have religious beliefs that do not allow them to touch meat, or eat food that has touched meat.' However, she then downplayed the importance of religion, stressing instead 'cultural motivations' as most important. Of over one hundred fifty positive responses to the email, only twenty have cited religion. Instead, there is a 'wide range of reasons for people to support vegetarian dining.' But what are these reasons? They are 'personal reasons corresponding to core beliefs.'
The movement for a vegetarian dining option on campus is still in its nascent stages, 'gathering interest and assessing needs.' A coherent plan of action seems to be lacking. When asked where such a facility might be located, Yasumura admitted that 'there are no new dining halls available.' She then stated that, 'We do not necessarily want to create a new dining option at Dartmouth.' Following this statement, Yasumura stressed change within the existing dining system. 'We may be able to fix some of these problems by simply raising our concerns to Dartmouth Dining Services. Other problems will not be solved so easily.'
Again downplaying the idea of a vegetarian dining hall, Yasumura said that the result of the initiative may be the creation of vegetarian support groups on campus. In such a group, students, faculty, and staff would have the opportunity to come together, share recipes, and offer guidance. Some students have offered that the best solution to this problem would be not forcing vegetarian and non-vegetarian students to have a DDS plan of $400 or more, which obviously compels them to spend money at DDS dining halls. The needs of Dartmouth's few strict vegetarians could be met by allowing them to prepare their own food.