PETA2, an animal rights group, teamed up with Cal State Long Beach students to petition for more vegan and vegetarian meal options on campus.
The group originally set out to collect 1,500 student signatures, but collected 2,000 at the University Student Union and University Dining Plaza on Nov. 10 and 11. 1,200 of those were obtained during the first day, according to PETA2 manager of college campaigns Ryan Huling.
“I think that really speaks to the overwhelming demand that more students want more vegan options,” Huling said.
PETA2 is the student division of animal rights activist group PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The group works with high school and college students to raise awareness about animal cruelty and push for change on campuses.
However, Huling said the issue is much bigger than food.
“It has as much to do with a student rights issue as an animal issue,” he said. “Students have to struggle to find something healthful and vegan in between classes, which is not fair when students are just trying to make a compassionate decision.”
Students expressed difficulty about being able to get three full vegan meals as residents on campus. According to Huling, students said that they typically had to fill up more at either breakfast or lunch, which may be something not as healthful as it could be.
“It’s simply not fair for many students to have dining plans and find it easy to eat three meals a day, and then those that are vegetarian or vegan cannot eat those full-hearted meals,” Huling said.
Huling said that CSULB students sympathized with their peers, and showed their support by signing the petition.
“Everybody knows somebody who’s vegan and vegetarian,” Huling said.
Huling said that many colleges are given the option to order vegetarian foods from their food service providers, but simply choose not to because they just don’t think to do so.
“I hope that CSULB dining services really takes those signatures to heart,” Huling said.
He said he hopes the petition will open the door for discussion for more vegan and vegetarian options.
According to a 2010 study performed by food catering company Bon Appétit Management Co., the number of college students living a vegan and vegetarian lifestyle has increased significantly since 2005.
Students surveyed who identified themselves as vegetarian rose to 12 percent — a 50 percent increase — and students who identified themselves as vegan has doubled in the past four years to 2 percent.
According to Carol Roberts-Corb, director of housing and residential life, the residential dining halls have made great efforts to provide students with special diets foods that meet their needs.
“There’s a lot of food that might be vegan or vegetarian, but you just might not know it, so they mark all of their foods,” Roberts-Corb said. “They also have a registered dietician on their staff that does an amazing job, in my opinion, in working with students who have individual dietary needs … and she’ll meet with students individually to work on certain diets, to the point of preparing special meals just for those individuals.”
Roberts-Corb also mentioned that there is a refrigerator behind the frontline that students can access which houses special items, such as soy milk and soy cheese. Students can consult the manager for the hall to carry special items.
49er Shops is a non-profit corporation of CSULB that operates the dining services and convenience stores.
PETA2 would like to see changes implemented campus-wide, not only in the dining halls, so that students could virtually go into any CSULB convenience store or restaurant and easily find a wide variety of healthy, sustainable vegan and vegetarian foods, according to Huling.
According to Roberts-Corb, the recent USU survey taken this fall will be used to make improvements and renovations to the facility. Some of the questions were pointed at vegan and vegetarian options that students and faculty would like to see.
Although 49er Shops Inc. could not respond to the Daily 49er’s requests for comment by the publication deadline, 49er Shops CEO Don Penrod said via email, “I can assure you that we have many vegetarian offerings.”
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