2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Students Petition for Vegetarian Food
Chris Donnelly '08
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: News
In the next two weeks, members of a newly formed vegetarian/vegan group will be collecting signatures throughout Providence College's dormitories and apartments for a petition to improve the options for vegetarians, especially vegans, at Raymond Hall Cafeteria. The campaign will also serve to create awareness for vegetarian students who may be unaware of the group.
"After being here a few weeks, we realized we were not getting the kind of choices we need to be healthy vegetarians," said Elizabeth Mosier '11, who is a member of the group and has been a vegetarian for over three years.
The vegan diet proscribes animal products of any kind (meat, milk, eggs, honey, etc.) while the vegetarian diet, depending on the variation, allows for some animal products that are produced through non-lethal means to be eaten.
"I think it is a healthier lifestyle, better for me and better for the environment," said Mosier.
According to Allison Filepp '11, the vegetarian group started after a conversation between her and Briana Clements '08 on the topic of animal rights. The conversation eventually shifted to their mutual vegetarianism.
"Seeing how limited my food options were, I became really frustrated. I am paying just as much for my meal plan as those who have more options," said Clements, who during the summer of 2007 worked as an intern at the Farm Sanctuary.
The Farm Sanctuary takes in abused animals and educates people about the reality of factory farming. As part of her internship, Clements had to adopt a vegan diet, which she continued after the completion of her program.
"Having recently become vegan, it is hard to find healthy options and a variety of healthy options," said Clements.
They discussed the difficulty they both say they felt existed in maintaining the diet while at Providence College. Filepp was a vegan before entering her freshman year, but she said she was forced to change her diet away from the stricter vegan diet and to the traditional vegetarian diet due to the lack of options. She said the only foods Raymond Cafeteria consistently serves that a vegan can eat are rice and beans, but that even the beans are cooked with milk.
"After being here a few weeks, we realized we were not getting the kind of choices we need to be healthy vegetarians," said Elizabeth Mosier '11, who is a member of the group and has been a vegetarian for over three years.
The vegan diet proscribes animal products of any kind (meat, milk, eggs, honey, etc.) while the vegetarian diet, depending on the variation, allows for some animal products that are produced through non-lethal means to be eaten.
"I think it is a healthier lifestyle, better for me and better for the environment," said Mosier.
According to Allison Filepp '11, the vegetarian group started after a conversation between her and Briana Clements '08 on the topic of animal rights. The conversation eventually shifted to their mutual vegetarianism.
"Seeing how limited my food options were, I became really frustrated. I am paying just as much for my meal plan as those who have more options," said Clements, who during the summer of 2007 worked as an intern at the Farm Sanctuary.
The Farm Sanctuary takes in abused animals and educates people about the reality of factory farming. As part of her internship, Clements had to adopt a vegan diet, which she continued after the completion of her program.
"Having recently become vegan, it is hard to find healthy options and a variety of healthy options," said Clements.
They discussed the difficulty they both say they felt existed in maintaining the diet while at Providence College. Filepp was a vegan before entering her freshman year, but she said she was forced to change her diet away from the stricter vegan diet and to the traditional vegetarian diet due to the lack of options. She said the only foods Raymond Cafeteria consistently serves that a vegan can eat are rice and beans, but that even the beans are cooked with milk.