HELP!
Hello there,
I've been lurking around VegWeb for a year or two, and just recently became a member a month or two ago.
I need some advice and I can't think of where else to turn (other than Peta...and who knows if I wanna go there.)
I'm a student at Rowan University (New Jersey). I was promised, prior to enrollment that every place on campus has vegan options at every meal.
Turns out that was a blatant lie. There was virtually nothing for me for the first 2 or 3 months of school. Occasionally they put out a plain baked potato for a dinner option.
Needless to say, I've complained and complained dozens of times. I've even contacted the corporate headquarters for the company that runs our dining services (Sodexo).
Since the beginning of the year, they have labelled non-vegan food as vegan almost every week.
Today, I hit the limit for what I'm willing to put up with. They labelled Vodka Rigatoni as vegan. Because I don't really trust any of their signage, I asked them to check with the cook (Vodka Rigatoni usually contains cream and sometimes meat). The chef confirmed my suspicions--the sauce was made with heavy whipping cream. I freak out! I told them they had to remove the sign immediately. They barely even apologized.
Am I right to be as angry as I am? I can't get if off my mind.
What step should I take?
It's to the point where I'd consider legal action against them--they're mislabeling food allergens. Were they selling a product, the FDA would have had them shut down already.
how frustrating! I am not totally sure what advice to give, other than complaining to management and your school, constantly, getting other vegans to do the same....I know many places take food allergies more seriously than veganism so that is a route that may help your cause. Glad you've joined, sorry about the lameness at your school!
I'd think in New Jersey things would be better than here, but is it possible that they don't know what a vegan is? Here it is so uncommon that people have never even heard the word or assume it means the same thing as vegetarian. Many people here don't know what vegetarian is either really.
There are no laws difining what vegan means, so it wouldn't be considered mislabeling food allergiens. If the sign said dairy free, then they would be in trouble. I know it means the same thing, but dairy-free labels are legally defined. Until the term vegan is legally defined, the ball is in their court.
I'd try to educate them as much as possible, and maybe get a group of vegans together and talk to both the university and food company. If there are enough of you and you're vocal enough, they may listen. Maybe make a list of suggested vegan items along with a list of things that have been improperly labelled as vegan. There are several veg-friendly resources out there for food service, such as http://www.vrg.org/fsupdate/index.htm, and pointing these out might help as well.
It all else fails, I'd keep a log of the vegan options at every meal and try to use it to get out of buying a meal plan next time around.
Sodexo was the food service company at my college, and we had this same problem. Someone organized a protest and had a day where they asked people not to eat in the dining halls to show them we were serious about changes. They now buy local ingredients and products (such as bagels, granola and pastries from a local bakeshop), and they instituted more vegan and vegetarian options. They also now have to list ingredients for everything. It's frustrating, basically because the workers have no idea what vegan means, or don't really care at all.
But all is not lost. You could organize a group that calls attention to these problems. And you have every right in the world to be angry. If you had an allergy, you could be dead or very sick. I'm sure there are other people on campus who are vegan or have allergies that want more transparent food service.
VeganRun that is awesome!
The allergen approach is a good one. Good luck!
Wow, thank you for the responses.
And...for giving me a better perspective, definitely.
I hadn’t given any thought to the fact that they didn’t say “dairy-free.”
I’m not quite sure what my approach will be just yet. I need to think about it some more.
Everyone I talk to always suggests getting a group of vegans together.
And that’s an EXCELLENT idea, but I cannot think of ANY way of rounding them up.
I know of one other vegan girl at my school. I’m sure there’s a bunch more--there has to be, statistically.
Any ideas about that?
Oh, and in response to lbarte, I’d imagine it’s more tolerated here (but that’s purely from speculation...I’ve never been to Illinois). But then again, I find that 90% of the people I come into contact with have no idea what vegan means. Sometimes, of course, they know what “veh-gin” means ;)
So, I had the same exact company at my college, I found other options around the cafeteria and got creative with my meals. It is really sad that they are not as aware as to what food is or isn't vegan. Just because something says it's vegetarian doesn't even mean it's vegan; i.e. are a lot of veggie burgers with eggs in them.
You can round up other vegans at your school by putting up fliers, word of mouth, on-line announcements, or if your school has a weekly newsletter you could put an announcement in there.
Start a group! Lots of colleges will give students money and a group meeting space to start a group on campus if you can form a mission plan and get a minimum number of members.
Yes, that's all excellent advice! Also, what about contacting PCRM (they work on a lot of veg School Lunch campaigns... www.healthyschoollunches.org) and PETA. Perhaps they can work with you and the school to get healthier options for all students!
Good luck and welcome to VegWeb!!