Lakeland Mirror

Issue date: 10/15/09 Section: Opinions

Media Credit: CULINARYPILGRIM.WORDPRESS.COM Is there meat hiding inside your pasta salad?

As a Lakeland student and a vegetarian, sometimes my choices at meals are limited. Vegetarians often come across this problem in restaurants and such, because it is true that the majority of the American population eats meat.

In the last couple of years, I have not had much trouble finding options to eat in the line, because foods such as pasta with a marinara sauce were offered frequently. This year, however, I am finding less and less available to eat.

On numerous occasions this year, I have had to make a sandwich because all of the main options in the line contained meat.

In the salad bar, I usually hope to find pasta salads that I can eat, but lately, of the four pasta salads that are sometimes offered, all of them contain meat, eliminating all of my options. Sometimes I walk away with a sandwich, a salad, and a piece of fruit, which is not quite enough for me to eat.

In the Muskie Grill, vegetarian options are limited as well. The only items available for those who do not eat meat are veggie burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, veggie pitas, cheese curds, French fries, and mozzarella sticks.

It's a bit disappointing to feel as if you're eating the same thing all the time, but sometimes there is no other choice.

Junior Jamie Schmidt said, "My roommate and I went vegan for a week, but I have been vegetarian for a year and a half. There are days in the cafeteria when the only vegetarian option is a salad or making yourself a veggie sandwich.

"And there is usually nothing to eat for a vegan except some days when there are French fries or a salad, but someone can't eat just a salad everyday and be happy.

"This year I live off campus so I eat at home a lot, but I did live on campus last year as a vegetarian. There were some options but… I didn't like the fact that I pretty much had to eat the same thing every day," Schmidt said.

I am relieved that I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian (a vegetarian who eats dairy and eggs), because I think that it would be near impossible to be a vegan (one who has eliminated the consumption of all animal products in his or her diet) while eating in the cafeteria.

Soy milk is offered sometimes, but it would be extremely difficult to find options in the line. If I were to become a vegan, I don't know what I would eat, because a lot of the foods I eat from the line contain dairy products.

Continued...

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