I Don’t like Change.

I’m not going to lie to you, choosing not to eat meat when its readily available to you is a tough decision to make. For example which would you choose, a festive, bland tofu dish from upper, or a juicy, roasted turkey sandwich from lower? To me the clear-cut decision would be to go with the turkey sandwich, but that decision does not take into affect the looming environmental consequences of choosing meat over a more sustainable food option.

Over the past two weeks I have made an honest effort to have one meat-less meal per day and most of the time the behavior change stays in affect; however, when the meat option looks exponentially better than the vegetarian route, I still regrettably choose the meat. Does this make me a bad person to knowingly choose meat? I do not think so, I really put the blame on, Bon Appetit, Lafayette’s food provider because they continually put less effort into their vegetarian food options then they do their meat options. This angers me because Bon Appetit can control students’ eating habits more so than any other single entity on campus. If they put more effort into the visual appearance of their vegetarian dishes, I am 100% percent sure people would tend to pick up plates at the vegetarian station rather than simply look over in anguish at the weird looking array of science experiments. In my opinion behavior change would be a lot easier if the options for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes were given the equal amount of time and effort.

Reflecting on my own behavioral change, I enjoy substituting a turkey sandwich for a powerbar to replace the protein, but at this point in time I would still resort back to my old, less-sustainable ways if given the option. I would resort back mainly because the thought that has to go into every meal is a bit a hassle and not having to think about what you eat is a great freedom. I will still move forward through this challenge to see if the habit can be sustained, but at this point in my life I do not think It can be, especially while at Lafayette.

4 Responses to "I Don’t like Change."

Jennifer Oddo says:

November 24, 2013 at 3:28 pm

Hi Jeremy! I could not agree with you more – if our dining services make the vegetarian and vegan options look more appetizing, they would have many more fans! It’s obvious that when giving the option to eat a juicy teriyaki steak or a mound of mashed tofu that looks like something resembling vomit, you would choose the first. I completely respect the fact that you are being honest with yourself when you do or do not eat meat, and I agree with the fact that not going meatless does NOT mean you’re a BAD person. Lafayette’s meatless options are not appetizing, however, have you tried eating anywhere off campus? It would definitely be worth a shot especially for just eliminating meat one day out of the week. I have tried that, and eateries such as Don Juan, Campus Pizza, and Cosmic Cup may be alternatives that can help you out on your meatless expeditions. Additionally, as I feel your pain, I am considering writing to Bon Appetit in order for them to increase the value of their meatless options, and make them just a little bit more appetizing. Like I said before, I think it’s great that you are honest with yourself, and I wish you the best of luck with the rest of your sustainable eating endeavors!

Reply
Hailey Votta says:

November 24, 2013 at 7:45 pm

Jeremy, I agree with you completely that Bon Appetit puts less effort into their vegetarian options than their meat options. I share in your anger that they can pretty easily control student’s eating habits on campus. If vegetarian options were given the same attention as meat options more students may be willing to choose meatless options over the main course of the day. Going meatless is hard and sometimes I forget that I choose to go meatless on a particular day just because I looked at the vegetarian choices and compared to the meat choices there was no contest that I was going to eat meat that day. Though I am planning on staying on my reduced meat diet post the challenge, I agree that outside Lafayette that choice would be so much easier. Having a friend participating in the challenge with me has made it easier, but few people would be willing to lower meat consumption when they don’t have to. I wish you luck in the remainder of your challenge.

Reply
Emily McGonigle says:

November 25, 2013 at 11:54 am

I definitely agree with the idea that the vegetarian options definitely take a backseat to the meat entrees at Laf. However, I believe that they do make an effort to provide a vegetarian option. You can always leave out the meat in the non-vegetarian dishes and just the the sides. I have found that to be the best option, besides eating pasta and salads. I do think it would be easier for students to eat less meat if they provided better options. Like on the days when they serve mac and cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches, most students don’t go out of their way to find meat to eat. I think having a support system definitely helps, though. If you have someone there to help you take the vegetarian option, there is less pressure to give into the social norm of eating meat. I hope eventually you either find someone to help you transition to less meat or you find a vegetarian option you truly enjoy.

Reply
Joan Haling says:

November 26, 2013 at 10:59 am

I had never thought about how much power our food provider has on our eating choices. I mean I definitely choose what I want based on what it is and how good it looks but I never considered the fact that they can control the type of food we choose to eat on a broader scale. However, this is a very good point and I could not agree more. Now looking back at the foods that I choose on my meatless days, it is almost without fail salads. This is because the other options that are provided on campus that do not include meat do not appear to appetizing at all. I would suggest maybe eating off campus a little more because restaurants tend to put the same amount of effort into all the dishes that they make. Also, I would not feel bad about choosing the option with meat occasionally because the goal that you set for yourself is difficult and causes you to drastically change your normal behavior pattern. If you wanted to continue to cut back on eating meat after this project ends I might suggest not eating meat for just one or two days of the week. I applaud your eagerness to help the environment. I hope that this challenge is providing you with some positive outcomes. Good luck with the rest of it!

Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply