It's hip to go veg

Also in today's Indianapolis Star (it must be veg day over there), apparently it's still hip to go veg. That noted:

"It's great that vegetarianism has such a positive image that people want to be considered vegetarian. However, many of those answering 'yes' are not technically vegetarians according to the traditional definition of never eating meat, fish, or fowl."

Despite this, and the fact that the number of young vegetarians has not actually gone up by percentage in years, it is seen more positively than ever by young people, which is certainly encouraging. And it's having an impact at the schools themselves:

Christopher Hutton, food service supervisor for Washington Township Schools, pitched the idea of a vegetarian lunch line when he interviewed for the job in 1995. Hutton and his staff took over one of the six student lunch lines and offered daily vegetarian selections.

"We invested a lot of time and money into this program," says Hutton, noting that the vegetarian line was popular -- at first. "After about two weeks, the novelty of this line dwindled to hardly any students participating. In order to serve daily nearly 3,000 student customers, we finally had to switch the line back to traditional meal service."

Still, says Christine Stoner, food service manager at North Central, "on any given day, vegetarians have at least three entrees to choose from, and often more, depending on the day of the week."
Choices might include cheese quesadillas with refried beans, cheese-filled pasta, PB&J and egg salad sandwiches, baked potatoes and homemade soups.

Not exactly an overwhelming array of options for vegans, but it's a step in the right direction. With more students speaking up for the animals, surely further improvements are just around the corner.

Hopefully we'll see more positive veg news coverage in the coming month as we approach the annual Great American Meatout.

Categories: vegetarians | vegetarian meals