Students choose from vegetarian options inside the servery every Monday.
Many schools and universities have implemented Meatless Monday programs to improve public health and promote environmental sustainability. The Humane Society, the nation’s largest animal protection organization and Meatless Monday advocacy group, was the inspiration for Choate to reduce the amount of meat served. Ms. Katrina Homan said, “we had connections to the people working in the Humane Society and there was interest in terms of how we could educate the choate community about the impacts of their food choices.”
In 2009, Choate started serving only vegetarian options in the servery on Monday during lunch. There is a reason why it is called “Veg-Out Monday,” rather than “Meatless Monday.” Staff members of Choate’s former dining hall service, Aramark, came up with the name “Veg-Out Monday” because the intentions of this initiation was not to stop serving meat or influence students to be vegetarians. Ms. Homan explained, “The goal of Veg-Out Monday is to make you think about your food choices and encourage people to make a difference.”
On Veg-Out Mondays, meat options are always available outside the servery in the salad, sandwich, and soup areas. Even though plant-based diets are encouraged, an array of meat products will always be an option due to some student’s dietary restrictions and food sensitivity. Ms. Homan said, “We are not trying to send the message that people need to be vegetarians, rather to encourage our community members to be mindful of what they consume.”
Many student and faculty groups, such as the Sustainable Committee and C-proctors, were in favor of the initiative for various standpoints ranging from environmental health to animal welfare.
Most factories modify chickens through beak searing, tail docking, and ear cutting to ensure the best tender meat for people to consume. According to the video shown at school meeting at the beginning of the year, “If all Americans did Veg-Out Monday, it would prevent 1.4 billion animals from being in factory farms per year.”
Ms. Homan said, “For some people, food is a huge part of how they view sustainability.” By choosing a plant-based diet, people save thousands of gallons of water, reduce water pollution and methane production. The video also explained, “If every American just replaced chicken with vegetarian options for just one meal, it would be like taking over half a million cars off the road.”
Veg-Out Monday has many personal health benefits, as plant-based diets are mostly built around beans, lentils, vegetables, and whole grains, which are rich in vitamins and fiber. These plant-based proteins are less expensive than meat and can also reduce and prevent heart-diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
Many students are in favor of Veg-Out Monday as it reduces environmental impacts. Carly Casazza ’19, a current KEC student, said, “I think it helps us be more aware of the impact our daily food intake has on the environment. However, I feel like a lot of Choate students are less inclined to support Veg-Out Monday since they do not know that it has negative environmental impacts.”
Hannah Huddleston ’19 added, “I hear a lot of people complaining about having no meat for one meal a week. I wish they would be more mindful about the impacts of their food choices. The meat industry has some huge effects on the environment.”
Ms. Homan added, “What is great about our community is that we like to be informed and make educated decisions about how our actions affect the world around us, and Veg-Out Monday is another way we can make a difference.”
