During the month of October, pink ribbons flood our lives as we are reminded of our sisters who have struggled with Breast Cancer. What most of us do not realize, however, is that October serves as Awareness month for another “cause”—Vegetarianism.
By Jesse Krehlik
News Editor
During the month of October, pink ribbons flood our lives as we are reminded of our sisters who have struggled with Breast Cancer. What most of us do not realize, however, is that October serves as Awareness month for another “cause”—Vegetarianism.
Each year, seniors in the nutrition and dietetics program are assigned the task of coordinating a program for a business plan competition. This year, students in the program designed events to promote Vegetarian Awareness at Seton Hill University (SHU). All of the submitted programs are judged before a panel who select one of the plans to implement. This year, two of the plans tied; as a result, both were implemented.
Seniors Jessica Lieb and Julia Whidden presented their events about a week apart. Lieb staged interviews with passersby to gauge how much students and faculty really know about vegetarianism. Whidden created “Survivor Vegetarian” to clear up common misconceptions surrounding the vegetarian diet.
During the event, Whidden and her fellow nutrition and dietetics classmates tutored and quizzed students in three activities, focusing on the types of vegetarians, meat substitutes and nutrients.
“Each lesson was followed by a Challenge in which each tribe competed in order to make it to the Final Round to compete for the gift card to The Supper Club,” Whidden said. “I wanted to create an event to show participants that they can not only survive, but thrive on a vegetarian diet ” Whidden said.
Lieb asked students questions, including “What percent of Americans are vegetarians?” Lieb herself was startled by the result: “I did find it interesting that only 3 percent of Americans are vegetarians. This was a recent statistic, but I’m sure even as days go by, that number is rising. It was just a lot lower than I thought it would be.”
Whidden agrees that the number of vegetarians in the U.S. is growing steadily. “It’s obvious that there is a demand for more vegetarians in the cafeteria, which is great. The cafeteria now offers tofu on the salad bar, vegetarian soups and veggie burgers. I am impressed with their [Armark] continued efforts to accommodate the vegetarians on campus.”
Whidden plans to provide the cafeteria with her meat substitute recipes, which she used during her second activity. Survivor students sampled four recipes: Tofu Parmigiani, Oven-Baked Tempeh, Pan-Roasted Garlic Penne with Quorn and Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) Chili. “It’s hard to say which recipe was my favorite, because I enjoyed eating each of them all day. If I had to choose, my favorite was the TVP Chili,” Whidden said.
According to Lieb, students answered “40/60 correct to incorrect” over the course of the afternoon.
Not only did Lieb and Whidden have to plan their events around vegetarianism, they also had to learn about this lifestyle choice. “We lightly touch upon the subject in our classes, but we haven’t had very in depth education on the topic,” said Lieb.
Both were pleased with the turn out for their events. “Even after having to move indoors, we had over 55 students/faculty members stop by our table,” said Lieb. “I was just surprised at how many people were interested in it. I loved when vegetarian students came up to our table and were able to share with us their experiences and opinions.”
Whidden’s event attracted 18 students to each of her sessions. “Each tribe used the information from the lessons to complete each challenge and had a really fun time doing so,” said Whidden.
“Vegetarianism, like any specialized diet, has its benefits but also risks if not followed properly,” said Lieb. “The most important thing about following a vegetarian diet is to make sure you aren’t cutting out the necessary nutrients your body needs. Getting enough of the important nutrients that come from animals like protein, iron and calcium is very important for vegetarians. Eating foods like soy or pairing complementary proteins together can provide the lacking nutrients.