Plant Based Universities

[GriseldaMolestrangler]

https://www.plantbaseduniversities.org/post/warwick-students-vote-yes-for-100-plant-based-menus

Two Russell Group Universities have voted to install a 100 per cent plant-based menu on campus to “end the climate crisis”. During Student Union meetings, students at both the University of Bristol and Imperial College London voted to switch to a vegan catering menu.

What do you think to this?

They will soon revert back when no-one is buying anything.

Vegan is often highly processed so it wouldn’t be great for my son with gut issues. Veggie is usually much healthier than vegan.

I suspect that this is a good business opportunity for food trucks and takeaways offering meat.

There was a mass exodus from my DC's Oxbridge college hall when they tried this for one day per week. Deliveroo benefited. It's a nice idea if students are being allocated catered and self catered options as they chose. It would be horrendous if a student was allocated a V catered accommodation and they were forced to pay for something they really didn't want.

I work in a university that serves only vegetarian food over the whole campus. It all tastes ok and works well.

I do think vegan is harder because there are good substitutions for cheese and egg. But having vegan always there as an option is good.

"What do you think to this?"

I think it would be better to use of rather than to.

If only plant based actually represented cooking from scratch like you'd get in an old style Cranks veggie cafe. Instead it's ultra processed food in the guise of being healthy. Our schools have done this. There's only so much fake chicken nuggets and veggie burgers you can take.

Or food from other cultures that never use fake meat but just use vegetables.

I think it is a move in the right direction - it does need to be whole foods, not so much processed stuff, and I and most of the vegans I know are generally pretty good at making proper food, most of the time, and only having burgers etc as an irregular indulgence. Many students are into burgers and fast food though, so I expect this is the market they need to aim for. I am glad we are moving away from flesh foods.

My children are vegan, and this will make life at uni so much better for them. I am delighted.

It feels a bit controlling really.

Anyway, Warwick doesn’t have any catered halls, all students have kitchens. Tesco is on the edge of campus, where thankfully you can still choose what you want to eat.

so this regime will only apply to the food outlets that you have a choice whether to use - students can still buy whatever they want in Tesco.

I despise stuff like oat milk - it’s rank. I just wouldn’t buy a drink if I could only have that in it.

“Warwick University's Student Union (SU) has announced it will no longer be implementing a fully plant-based catering service by 2027”

Have they done a U turn on their U turn?

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240904091043410

https://www.countryside-alliance.org/resources/news/compulsory-plant-based-catering-at-warwick-university-rejected-by-student-union

https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/24560010.warwick-students-u-turn-vegan-food-options/

Good on them trying to do something about the climate crisis. Better that than succumbing to it’s too late/nothing I can do about it.

I couldn't care less what a university I'm not going to does if I'm honest.

If my uni had implemented this when I was there, I would have just gone to Greggs or maccies instead.

Very much depends what the plant based food is. If it’s tasty dishes cooked on site from plants, fair enough. People who want meat can buy it elsewhere (I’m a meat eater).

If it’s fake sausages or burgers and chips, not so much.

I am not bothered in the slightest because give it 12 months and they will be back to real cheese, real chicken nuggets and milkshakes. The £ is the bottom line and when the cafe isn't making money they will quietly change the menu.

DD is at Uni and is Vegetarian, she had a lot of difficulty in her catered halls getting food that she wanted to eat. She is allergic to quorn and hates "fake meat".
I don't think its a great idea

The title isn't misleading. That is the name of the organisation they've set up. Plant-based Universities.
www.plantbaseduniversities.org

I'm curious how it will work with other dietary restrictions like cealiac. I can't have a lot of the vegan processed crap because it contains wheat.

I’d be fine with it as long as it was proper vegan meals and not the fake meat and cheese rubbish. I’d prefer a locally sourced, unprocessed food menu though to vegan.

They could have voted presumably?

Makes me glad I'm not a student because I have allergies that would make this trickier for me - but in general, good news.

:o

I'd be eating off campus. Or would get in touch with @derxa to arrange a shipment of lamb to cook myself.

What tokenistic nonsense.

I am a vegan and hate processed food. Maybe a veggie option rather than full vegan would be better.

Students aren’t known for eating very healthily, My son’s uni isn’t plant based and serves utter shite. He’s health conscious so cooks for himself or eats off campus.

I’m vegan and don’t eat much processed stuff, rarely eat fake meats, but it’s funny how food only has to be healthy if it’s vegan. Loads of unis serve unhealthy non vegan menus and no one is concerned. As soon as it’s vegan, everyone is suddenly concerned with health. Laughable.

Our university now does vegan food for all the catered stuff (like sandwiches etc).
It's rubbish! We end up apologising to external guests for the quality of the food...