by Sarah Herring
As the finals week and thesis deadlines loom closely on the horizon, I am struck by how much has already been accomplished on Eastern University’s campus.
This semester, I undertook a project to increase awareness surrounding a vegan lifestyle on my campus. I started the year by making an important connection with a fellow undergraduate. Claire, although not vegan, shares a passion with me for sustainability and environmental protection. Together, we were able to start a new club at Eastern this semester called “Student Association for Sustainability” (S.A.S. for short…cute right?).
As Claire and I worked together, we had extensive dialogue about the vegan diet and its advantages when trying to live both an environmentally sustainable and ethically Christian lifestyle. We decided that advocating for a vegan lifestyle should be a big part of our club’s platform as it fully encapsulates the ethics of compassion, love, and stewardship that we want to embody as Christians. Claire also decided to transition to a fully vegan lifestyle, so now our club will be led by two powerful, vegan women!
Another big change that is in the works is shifting the menu in Eastern’s dining commons. The university has a contract with Sodexo. As a company, Sodexo has a lot of great resources for plant-based eating, including a menu containing 50% vegan meals. However, much to the dismay of students at Eastern, our dining commons has not implemented this menu. Instead, we are served meals lacking nutrient dense, plant-based options. Through Sarah and CreatureKind, I was able to contact Kate at Forward Food, who has come alongside our community to persuade our dining services to implement the already available Sodexo menu. We have both been in contact with Eastern’s executive chef and the regional Sodexo representative and we are hopeful that we will start to see changes as soon as the beginning of next semester!
Overall, I have been so encouraged by the interest and dedication of students at Eastern—so many individuals are making the choice to live a vegan lifestyle even with the difficulties that come with eating on campus. Seeing so many people make the connection between the way we treat animals and our calling as Christians to love all beings has ministered to me and fueled me to continue to work for even greater change in the Spring semester!
