Welcome to Veggie Mondays
Published: February 6, 2013
For Ruth Midgley, it's all about supporting the environment.
“I pledge to go veggie on Mondays, because I care about the environment,” says Midgley, an environmental studies student. “Eating more sustainably, even for one day a week, makes a difference.”
Estelle Chettiar is a work-study student specializing in political science and human geography. Midgley and Chettiar have been working with Food Services, St. George campus, on a Veggie Mondays campaign.
“I am sure the students will appreciate all of the new veggie options on Mondays,” says Chettiar. “Coming from India, a country with depleting water resources, the fact that cutting meat one day a week saves more than two thousand gallons of water is what sold me on Veggie Mondays.”
Food Services (UeaT) on the St. George campus recently launched Veggie Mondays, a campus-wide campaign, in order to encourage the U of T community to consume more plant-based foods at least one day of the week. The first phase of this campaign is to implement a vegetarian and vegan standard which will be followed by all foodservice providers on campus. This standard will allow students and staff to easily identify vegan and vegetarian foods in campus eateries. Chettiar and Midgley wrote the standards, with the help of Food Services Director, Jaco Lokker.
“There is a growing demand for more vegan and vegetarian food on campus,” explains Lokker. “Although the foodservice providers already serve vegan and vegetarian meals, there is no clear definition of what constitutes a vegan or vegetarian meal. This is why we are introducing the vegetarian and vegan standards – to establish definitions, ingredients and procedures which are vegan and vegetarian safe. It is important that students can easily find vegetarian and vegan food in any cafeteria on campus.”
The pledge will constitute the third phase of Veggie Mondays. By pledging to eat more plant-based foods on Mondays, students will receive discounts on vegan and vegetarian meals while dining on campus. In addition, they can download recipes and tips on how to make plant-based meals at home. UeaT’s vision is that students will submit their tried and tested recipes which will help form an online, interactive cookbook for students.
