How should I approach educating my boss and co workers?

[Third Person Groove]

I work for campus dining services at MU University. We feed a good percentage of the students at the facility I work at a place called Plaza 900. It's $11 to get in and it's all you can eat with 6 stations. Deli, grill, on stage(stir fry) , pizza, salad bar, and daily themes. Lots of food waste and lots of college kids who seem like most would be open to veganism if they saw the truth in the right way.

We already have a huge salad bar along with nuts, fruits, vegan soups, veggie burgers( at the grill), beyond chicken strips and garden vegan chicken, soy ,coconut, and almond milk, and sometimes vegan cheese at deli for people with alergies. So basically they have good vegan options sure much more could be Available but it's easy to eat vegan here.


There is a lot of cognitive dissonance in a majority of the staff and customers here. There are few vegans but most people aren't vegan and still see it in a sterotypical way. Maybe 1-5 vegans and 3-10 vegetarians I'm guessi g there might be more that's all I've seen from working at grill I'll see who orders veggid burgers or black bean burgers. Veggie= vegan black bean has egg in it. There's obviously thousands of non vegans.

Average is 8 veggie burgers a day and 1000 burgers a day.

Now I understand the University feeds the students what they demand. The thing is when it comes to the actual reality of using animals for food compared to not using them the numbers are huge. We claim to care about sustainability ( they literally have posters up in the dining hall saying so) but our choices say otherwise.

Spending 8 months now here working at the grill iv learned no one here really thinks about it nor do they know the actual numbers of plant based diets compared to omnivorous diets. Also most people here believe a vegan diet is either not nutritionally adequate or it's really hard to be vegan.


So how should I at least bring this to their attention? I feel that we should talk about these things to the students and that everyone should at least start by agreeing that proper vegan diets are very healthy and can save so many resources in comparison to eating animal products. Also people should know really how hard is it, how expensive, what are the exact numbers and foods we'd be eating, these are all questions I know they have not answered yet.


How can I say this without making them feel guilty or defensive? How can I inspire the passion they already have for this opportunity?


Last note: I made the mistake of talking to my boss about this too early and in a unclear fasion. He supports me and my personal choices but he feels as though that diet is a personal choice. I really wish I would have came at it from just educating people about it instead making it seem like I want to instantly convert everyone.

He also said we might get beyond burgers but the problem isnog enough demand and too expensive.

[brimstoneSalad]

It's going to be tricky. You mentioned cost, but I'd start with that.

I would make it more financially viable, and then bring that to their attention. At the moment, it sounds like the cost is probably higher (with the brand stuff) so they're likely disincentivized to encourage more students to order vegetarian or vegan.

Students pay a flat rate to enter, and if they eat vegetarian or vegan that cuts into profits. They may understand the ethical and environmental stuff, but they're not going to do it if it'll tank the business model.

If you can make veganized meal options cheaper by introducing new vegan options (which they'll probably be willing to go for), they may be more likely to promote them or even serve them entirely in place of the non-vegan ones as long as the students like them. It's also cheaper for them to make fewer different things. AND it's cheaper to not serve meat due to contamination and food preparation issues.

If you can get vegan stuff on parity and taste tests are favorable, I'd start by pitching a Meatless Monday.

Beyond Burgers are great as a one time event (maybe a taste test event), but they aren't going to solve the problem of financial viability unless you can make a deal with Beyond Meat.

[Lay Vegan]

I’m experiencing a similar issue, although for me it is from the perspective of a university student. My school’s Dining Services frequently boasts about their stance on sustainability, citing a handful of sustainability programs they run across their company, while simultaneously being hostile and dismissive of vegan diets centered on lower-resource foods (whole grains, legumes, beans, seeds). Foods that are the cheapest, the most shelf stable and the least wasteful. It’s extremely ironic.

My goal isn’t to veganize the cafeteria, just to get Dining Services to provide more and consistent options for vegetarian students. They haven’t been very receptive, and have expressed concerns about cost, accessiblity of vegan options (we only purchase foods delivered directly to our campus), and general lack of interest in students.

I’ve addressed 2 of 3 concerns:

• Accessibility

This is big fat non-problem. I’ve personally contacted several of the food service vendors who provide our food, and all of them serve vegetarian-friendly options.

• Lack of student interest

I recently drafted a petition to Dining Services requesting that they provide more and consistent options for students with specific dietary needs. I aim to get about 500 signatures, with the goal to form a kind of student consensus on the matter.

I don’t yet know how to address the cost issue, but I imagine that the largest food-service providers (Sysco, ARAMARK, etc.) already offer several varieties of affordable veggie burgers.

If you can make veganized meal options cheaper by introducing new vegan options (which they'll probably be willing to go for), they may be more likely to promote them or even serve them entirely in place of the non-vegan ones as long as the students like them. It's also cheaper for them to make fewer different things. AND it's cheaper to not serve meat due to contamination and food preparation issues.

I don’t understand that more food servers don’t do this. Many of the soups and stews already served at my cafeteria can be easily veganized by not adding in dairy-based thickeners and bits of meat. What’s more, baked potatoes and vegetables are often lathered with butter and cheese. Vegetables can be cooked with olive oil instead of butter. It doesn’t require a higher cost to solve any of these issues.

Also, I've pitched Meatless Monday and it was a bust. They keep mentioning concerns about a genera lack of student interest.

They’ve also recently brought up newer issues; storage capacity and difficulty with cooking on the grill (mainly vegan cheese). Not sure how viable these concerns are. How should l address them?

There is a lot of cognitive dissonance in a majority of the staff and customers here. There are few vegans but most people aren't vegan and still see it in a sterotypical way. Maybe 1-5 vegans and 3-10 vegetarians I'm guessi g there might be more that's all I've seen from working at grill I'll see who orders veggid burgers or black bean burgers. Veggie= vegan black bean has egg in it. There's obviously thousands of non vegans.

I’ve appealed to the general population as well. There are non vegan who’d happily eat a veggie burger or a vegetable soup if given those options. There are also students with dairy/gluten allergies who could benefit from some of the vegan alternatives.

[brimstoneSalad]

They’ve also recently brought up newer issues; storage capacity and difficulty with cooking on the grill (mainly vegan cheese). Not sure how viable these concerns are. How should l address them?

If they have trouble with vegan cheeses on the grill, then they can just make cheese optional on veggie burgers and still offer dairy cheese. Don't see how that would be a big issue.

They're worried about storing veggie burgers that are left over from Monday for the next week?
It's very unlikely that so many students are going to completely turn their noses up at them that they don't have room for them all for the next week. A survey would show this, though, and then they'd know about how many to actually order so they don't have too many extra they can't store.

It also wouldn't be the end of the world to offer the extra on other days too. People who enjoyed it on Monday are more likely to have a second on Tuesday.

[Lay Vegan]

If they have trouble with vegan cheeses on the grill, then they can just make cheese optional on veggie burgers and still offer dairy cheese. Don't see how that would be a big issue.

This is because people have suggested using the cheese to cook vegan meals (quesadillas & grilled sandwiches). These are popular foods at my university.

They're worried about storing veggie burgers that are left over from Monday for the next week?
It's very unlikely that so many students are going to completely turn their noses up at them that they don't have room for them all for the next week. A survey would show this, though, and then they'd know about how many to actually order so they don't have too many extra they can't store.

It also wouldn't be the end of the world to offer the extra on other days too. People who enjoyed it on Monday are more likely to have a second on Tuesday.

Storage capacity isn't their objection to Meatless Monday. Their objection to Meatless Monday is a general lack of student interest. The assumption is that students would not eat the meat-free meals, or feel the policy to be too intrusive. But as far as I'm concerned, plenty of universities who've joined the MM campaign do not make their entire cafeteria vegetarian, and just serve meat alongside the meat-free dishes. Seems like a viable way to encourage sustainable eating habits while being sensitive of students who aren't yet fully on board.

I'm not sure how to demonstrate that students are interested in Meatless Monday. I could conduct some kind of poll, but I'm worried that people will express disinterest due to preexisting biases about plant-based food (protein tho). A lot of students find it difficult to picture a meal without meat, so I may suggest we pass around samples of plant-based food (like a blind Beyond Burger taste test).

So You're Dating a Vegan filmed a video in this fashion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBk-zS1x7_8

[brimstoneSalad]

@Lay Vegan The sample idea is great. A sample with a poll would do a lot to show who will actually eat it.