2008 Woodie Awards
Mixed reviews from week of Cafeteria veganism
Lauren Newmyer
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Forum
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Eating in the caf is like playing slot machines. A lot of the time, you're just wasting money, but every once in a while you come out even. Vegans just have less money to start with, and higher odds.
To see just how challenging it really is to be a vegan at Guilford, I decided to drop eggs and dairy out of my already vegetarian diet for a week.
I found that while the caf does cater to vegans, you have to be a little creative to get by, and at the end of the day, there just isn't much variety.
Sure there is always pasta with marinara, bagels, cereal and soymilk, fruit, and some variety of bland steamed vegetables. More often than not, you'll find some variation of rice and beans, never short of salt, the Guilford cafeteria's seasoning of choice.
The caf had a vegan entree Monday-Thursday this week for lunch and dinner, albeit more than half of those meals were vegan stir-fries or rice and beans.
On Tuesday, I was a little discouraged when my question "Is this vegan?" in reference to pesto pasta was met with some very confused looks. "Yeah, there's no meat in it," I was informed.
On Friday, I had a delightful vegan stir-fry over organic rice, prepared at the vegan station. I was pleasantly surprised to see that for once, it was made without using a ludicrous amount of oil. This could be a turning point for the caf.
On Friday, I had a delightful vegan stir-fry over organic rice. Wait a second, I feel as though I've had this before … Oh! That's right, lunch earlier today. They could at least make an effort to make it appear as though there's some variety in the meals. Worst of all, there was no vegan choice in the regular hot food line, aside from a shady-looking mixture of wilted green beans and mushrooms.
Protein is a concern for vegans, and while the caf does a good job of always providing tofu, what many people don't know is that soy is not all that good for you. Recent studies have shown that soy contains trypsin inhibitors that can actually prevent the body's enzymes from digesting protein. Also, unfermented soy products contain high levels of pytates, which can block the body's intake of zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium.
To see just how challenging it really is to be a vegan at Guilford, I decided to drop eggs and dairy out of my already vegetarian diet for a week.
I found that while the caf does cater to vegans, you have to be a little creative to get by, and at the end of the day, there just isn't much variety.
Sure there is always pasta with marinara, bagels, cereal and soymilk, fruit, and some variety of bland steamed vegetables. More often than not, you'll find some variation of rice and beans, never short of salt, the Guilford cafeteria's seasoning of choice.
The caf had a vegan entree Monday-Thursday this week for lunch and dinner, albeit more than half of those meals were vegan stir-fries or rice and beans.
On Tuesday, I was a little discouraged when my question "Is this vegan?" in reference to pesto pasta was met with some very confused looks. "Yeah, there's no meat in it," I was informed.
On Friday, I had a delightful vegan stir-fry over organic rice, prepared at the vegan station. I was pleasantly surprised to see that for once, it was made without using a ludicrous amount of oil. This could be a turning point for the caf.
On Friday, I had a delightful vegan stir-fry over organic rice. Wait a second, I feel as though I've had this before … Oh! That's right, lunch earlier today. They could at least make an effort to make it appear as though there's some variety in the meals. Worst of all, there was no vegan choice in the regular hot food line, aside from a shady-looking mixture of wilted green beans and mushrooms.
Protein is a concern for vegans, and while the caf does a good job of always providing tofu, what many people don't know is that soy is not all that good for you. Recent studies have shown that soy contains trypsin inhibitors that can actually prevent the body's enzymes from digesting protein. Also, unfermented soy products contain high levels of pytates, which can block the body's intake of zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium.
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