Being a vegetarian isn’t just for those who don’t want to eat meat anymore, it is increasingly popular among environmentalists. While driving a Prius and turning off your lights may be one step towards ‘greening’ your lifestyle, a vegetarianism is a simpler and cheaper way to not only stay healthy but to stay eco-friendly. The production of meat products is not usually considered a productive step in the right direction but after looking at facts about methane and the greenhouse effect, I was convinced.
In the past I was a vegetarian for almost a year, discontinuing only for health reasons, my only reason for giving up meat was to try something different. Why not? After researching the effects of methane on the environment for a discussion project, I was ready to try it again, this time with other motives in mind. The United Nations recently said, “Livestock is one of the top three or four contributors to climate change”.
The University of Kansas does wonderful things to help the environment by planting gardens and recycling, but I have noticed that when I am in the dining halls looking for some basic vegetarian food, all I seem to come up with are carrots and salads. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that being a vegetarian means eating veggies, but where’s the motivation when you are forced to live off of wilted salad from your dorm’s cafeteria, well there’s little. I propose that the university takes a second look at it’s option and even considers locally grow food. I may just sound like a ranting granola eating hippy, but the truth is; I eat green to go green.
- Grace
Editor’s Note: This post is one in a series published by students in the Sustainability Learning Community at KU. Additional posts from this series can be found under “LC” on the Categories list.
Danielle Olson said,
November 30, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Grace,
I agree with you that the options to eat for vegetarians are limited on campus. However every section of the cafeteria or The Underground offers one or more options for meat lovers. I understand they are trying to provide to the desires of students but maybe they should take a second look at the health of the students and the overall quality of food they provide. If they provided more meatless, healthy, and tasty options for students, I think we would see a shift in the health and the way students ate. Along with provding new options for students I think campus should educate students on how to make healthy choices better by giving more information on the food they are serving such as amount of sodium in the food and the ingrediants used to make the food. I think people would be surprised at what they were actually eating. Here is a site that provides information on ways to eat healthfully http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/food_labels.html
-Danielle
Vanessa said,
December 3, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I totally agree with you about the decision being much more difficult when there are so few options offered to vegetarian students. It is certainly not encouraging and during a time when it’s easy to fall behind on your health, the lack of options is dangerous. I know from personal experience that not having the right things at easy access makes being a vegetarian a less than fruitful experience.
Being Catholic, I observe the practice of not eating meat on Fridays during Lent. For the past 4 years, I’ve given up meat completely for the entirety of Lent. It was definitely a difficult thing to keep up with particularly because my family was not really ready for my transition to vegetarianism for 40 days. It took a while to transition but it is possible.