Campus, News

CSULB vegans call for more food options

For vegan students at Cal State Long Beach, cruelty-free food is slim pickings as being on campus often boils down to either skipping a meal or skipping out on dietary standards completely.

In the past few years, veganism, the practice of abstaining from animal products, has become a popular trend. In 2017, 6 percent of Americans identified as vegan, compared to just 1 percent in 2014. Around this time, restaurants began adding meatless options to their menus and new vegan-friendly spots opened in the city of Long Beach.

However, popularity does not equate to accessibility, especially on campus.

Tammy Maldonado, a masters student in linguistics, said vegetarian options on campus are minimal. She describes having to starve to avoid paying the high cost of the available menu items at the university.

“It’s been awful,” Maldonado said. “If I’m really hungry, like I am now, then I have no options. I eat before I leave home because I don’t find much on campus.”

On-campus options improved since the Nugget added meatless options such as vegan burritos and veggie burgers for $5.29 to the menu. The residential dining halls also offer at least one meatless entree per meal.

“One thing I can always rely on is the salad bar,” said May Chhun, treasurer of Students for Sustainable Health and senior nutrition and dietetics major. “But sometimes when I go in, everything is full vegetarian. What about vegan residents?”

Vegetarian students, such as junior women’s gender and sexuality studies major Annika Horvath, insist that restaurants must expand their variety of options to make a real change.

“I’m really sick of veggie burgers,” Horvath said. “Every time a restaurant needs a vegetarian option, they panic and choose a veggie burger and it’s so boring…I think every place has some vegan options, but [they are] clearly an afterthought.”

According to a report by CoBank, plant-based protein and lab-grown meat have recently climbed in popularity, but the sales of meat from animals still dwarf them; sales of alternative protein and meat are worth $800 million and $49 billion, respectively. The market is expected to stay small and exclusive into the next decade, which contributes to the high cost of vegan restaurants.

“Vegetarian or vegan food is always associated with health food,” Horvath said. “Vegan food always comes with an extra price because it’s marketed as being healthy or organic. Even the tofu wraps they have at the convenience store are fucking ridiculous. It’s $9 for a wrap.”

According to a report from the Feminist Food Justice, for low-income families and women this means less access to healthy meatless options.

One way the university has tried to make healthy food more accessible is with its monthly Farm-to-Student event, which gives students free produce and teaches them about the sourcing methods of local farmers’ markets. Students and faculty interested in growing their own produce can also rent plots at the on-campus Grow Beach garden.

“Unfortunately, food that’s worse for you is cheaper and produce is really overpriced,” Horvath said. “But you’ll have healthier, happier students if you give us healthier options.”

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