Eating Green in the Dining Halls

As I mentioned earlier, being a vegetarian in the dining halls at UCLA is easy, and eating green appears to be getting easier every day. Just today they introduced cage free eggs. Also, by the way, UCLA consumes 1.5 BILLION EGGS PER YEAR. Just thought I’d share that. Anyway, today I went to dinner with a few of my friends and people on the sailing team. There were six of us and three of us were vegetarians, and two were pescatarians. That left all of ONE meat eater, and let me tell you, he felt a little uncomfortable looking at our plates. He even threw some tofu in his salad out of shame.

Out of the six of us, only one started this year vegetarian. She was my inspiration for choosing vegetarianism for my project. I was next, dropping meat from my diet and risking ridicule from the six-foot tall sailing kids who can pound back two burritos from Chipotle (yes, they’ve done it before). “If it doesn’t have meat, it’s just a snack,” they’d say. Soon after, however, people began to join us. A few of my friends just decided to try dropping meat a couple days ago, with the intention of reintroducing the foods they truly missed, like fish, and I’d like to think my personal journey into sustainability helped influence them. The six-foot meat eater also started ordering vegetarian fajita burritos at Chipotle. While I don’t broadcast my vegetarianism, having friends who support your decisions make it much easier to achieve.

It is inspiring to see people attempting to be greener. While we have so, so far to go and so little time, at least there is an effort being made, and it is inspiring. Sorting through the propaganda surrounding the green movement is a daunting task, and there is so much misinformation being put out by both sides (The Story of Stuff, anyone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM). These issues are complicated, and it’s not surprising that most people don’t take the time to understand all the implications. Even I don’t understand all of the arguments, and I am about to finish a full year studying them! The fact that people do care, and once they know the facts will attempt to change, is a ray of hope in the dire discipline that is environmental studies.

The past week has been tumultuous, and retackling my sustainability goals has become more than just a class project. Living sustainably is more than saving myself money or saving resources for my children and their children; it has taken on a personal meaning that elevates it above the material repercussions. I have become more focused on achieving these goals and continuing them into the future, and the recent changes in the dining halls have served to inspire me further. So to all of those attempting to go green, good luck! Do not be swayed by those who say what you are doing makes no difference, that the sacrifices you are making are not worth it. If you are ever feeling like the challenges we face are too great, just watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY&playnext_from=TL&videos=oBKBqHyImn4, not for its political implications, but for its message. Our country has tackled big problems before, and this issue of sustainability is no different. If you need inspiration, just look around you. Look at the garden growing in Sunset Recreation Center, look at the new recycling bins on campus, look at your classmates who are going vegetarian, starting compost piles, and reducing their trash.

Oh, on an unrelated note, I have decided to make my favorite vegetarian dish for my presentation- Indonesian fried rice with tofu. This recipe was actually shared with me by one of my friends who is the biggest meat eater I know, and one of the main sources of ridicule I face for being vegetarian. Who knows, if one vegetarian could convert four out of five of us in a quarter, maybe we will be able to convince him also.