In 2008, “Vegetarian Times” reported 3.2 percent of American adults, or around 7.3 million people, are vegetarians. If Bradley is representative of the population, there are about 142 vegetarian undergraduate students.
To accommodate these students and countless others who want to limit their meat consumption, Bradley dining halls started a program called Meatless Mondays, in which Dining Services aims to provide vegetarian-friendly options.
“We implement practices that support the health of people and the planet, and Meatless Monday is one of our initiatives,” Dining Director Gayle Hanson said. “By promoting vegetarian dining, we encourage customers to try plant-based options served at your location while communicating the health and environmental benefits of eating less meat.”
A large Meatless Monday poster is displayed at Geisert’s entrance, but vegetarian students said they were disappointed to realize that, despite the program’s name, meat is still served for meals on Mondays.
“I assumed Meatless Mondays would consist of what the title entails – no meat on Mondays,” Madeline Burke, a freshman animation major, said. “Well the other day, I went into Geisert on a Monday and got really confused because after passing the ‘Meatless Monday’ sign, there were turkey burgers. There was one vegetarian option, Portobello mushrooms, which I dislike, and the rest was meat.”
Dining services’ goal is to keep guests informed and to highlight menu items throughout the beginning of the school year.
“As part of our Healthy for Life initiative, the program empowers people to make healthy lifestyle choices with the dining program and makes it easy to eat well and choose from a variety of nutritious menu options,” Hanson said. “The program supports a culture of health and well-being. By providing a variety of solutions that work together to enable, educate and encourage our customers, they have resources that allow them to make the best decision for themselves.”
