What happened to the veggies?

For much of last year, various student groups waged a campaign against Sodexho, Pitt’s food… For much of last year, various student groups waged a campaign against Sodexho, Pitt’s food service, for what they said were unfair labor practices. Politics of the living wage, unionization and similar issues aside, I have my own complaint, namely: What happened to decent vegetarian food?

Last year, the three main eateries on lower campus – C-Side, Eddie’s and Schenley cafes – provided food that, while not restaurant quality, at least met my basic health needs. This year’s selection seems to be salads smothered in cheese, deep-fried meat products and an appalling absence of vegetarian soup at Schenley.

Before I continue, perhaps I should explain that I am a functional vegan. Vegans do not eat any animal products – meat, poultry, seafood, eggs or dairy. Some refrain for ethical or health reasons. Others do so because their bodies simply cannot process some of the enzymes in these foods.

Phenylketonurics, for instance, cannot eat phenylalanine, an amino acid found in meat and aspartame. Others have an allergy to meat, which, though rare, is not unheard of.

But I have nothing as glamorous as phenylketonuria. I am a lactose-intolerant vegetarian. In addition to not eating any sort of meat or meat by-products, I can neither eat nor drink any dairy products, save butter, which contains a negligible amount of lactose, and for reasons that elude me, Turkey Hill’s cookies and mint frozen yogurt.

Allergies to milk are common among most non-Europeans including, but not limited to, Africans, East Asians, Native Americans, Latin Americans and Jews from Eastern Europe.

Seeing that many students belong to one or more of these groups, it would not be unreasonable to provide for their dietary needs. Indeed, both Eddie’s and C-side provide rice- and soymilk – albeit, it was warm rice- and soymilk for the first few days – soy cheese and other specialty items. Moreover, they provide soy hotdogs, burgers and firm tofu, ready to be grilled.

For a protein-starved veggie, these can be heaven. But girl cannot live by milk and meat substitutes alone – believe me – girl has tried. Because of that, last year’s array of make-your-own salad bars, veggie soups and stir-fries seemed like a godsend. I thought any city that put beef, cheese and fries on a sandwich would prove hopeless. Instead I found options on campus and off.

This year things took the proverbial turn for the worse. A recent C-side Sunday brunch greeted this vegan with a bowl of cheese-covered salad. Amongst the shredded cheddar, I thought I could hear the tomatoes mocking my inability to eat them. The normal vegetarian section, usually piping with hot entrees, lay dormant. The steam-table buffet yielded only scorched broccoli and shattered dreams of a brunch to call my own.

I am not asking for entree quality. It would be costly and absurd to provide the same number of vegan options as omnivore. I know that I will never again enjoy the same service as the rest of the cheeseburger-munching populace. Nor am I saying that people should drop their fast food bags and rush to the nearest food co-op for a wheat grass and tofu concoction.

Meat is not a habit everyone wants to break. I’m a compromiser when it comes to food choice, but a bit of a “Booker T. Vegan.” Militant vegetarians who want to send what they term “carnivores” to re-education camps should evaluate their priorities and their mental states.

Similarly, meat-and-potatoes people should not show a still-mooing steak in people’s faces and ask them if they want a piece of bleeding, delicious meat. These are divisive issues, getting to the bare bones of what people think and feel about what they choose to ingest.

Instead, I’m asking for a bit of thoughtfulness. Bring back the era of cheeseless salad. Take the bacon out of the mashed potatoes and let people add it if they want. Put veggie soups out and let me drink their nectars. Usher in a new, more considerate era of food and watch as people take up timbrels and dance in the streets.

Or at least don’t deflate hopes of a full belly for all like a child slowly pushing the air out of a balloon pinhole.

Anyone who thinks that shiny, new buildings and consolidated student services will appease angry students has clearly never seen a freshman on a sugar binge. Now there’s an opiate for the masses. Keep our stomachs full and be amazed by the things we will put up with.

Sydney Bergman currently lives on apples and microwave popcorn. She can be reached at sbb23@pitt.edu.