More and more people are making the lifestyle transition to plant-based, vegan or vegetarian diets, especially as research continues to surface about the health and environmental benefits that these diets provide. If you are someone who practices this lifestyle, or you are a health conscious person who would like to see more plant based options at Montclair, here’s what you need to know.
Meatless Mondays
If you haven’t noticed yet, Montclair Animal Activists club has already succeeded in creating a vegan/vegetarian station once a week on Mondays for “Meatless Mondays” in Freeman and Sam’s Place. Meatless Mondays is a movement that encourages people to not eat meat for just one day of the week.
The ELL and Innovation stations in the dining hall, which include Indian, Latin American, and Italian options now offer TVP (Textured Protein), tofu, tempeh and bean dishes on Mondays. The sticker on the calendar will be starting next month, and Meatless Mondays will become permanent over time. If you are interested in signing the Meatless Monday pledge click here. Meatless Monday is also a great way to start to transition into a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle if you’re considering it.
Want More?
In order to have a permanent station in Sam’s Place, the Montclair State Animal Activists need 2,000 signatures to show that 20% of the student body is interested in this station. Heather Francis, the President of Montclair State Animal Activists, is also a campus representative for PETA. She says they still need 1,500 signatures to make this happen.
When she was asked about how she came up with the idea for the station, Heather explained that it stemmed from her unhappiness with the options for food on campus. As a result of collaborating with other students, they were able to kickstart their interest to put forth change in the dining hall options. Heather would really would like people to try something new. After watching many people make faces at the food because it’s not real meat, Heather wants to encourage people to try something new, because it’s not about going full vegetarian or vegan, but making a small step in any direction that is super important to the movement. After all, you won’t know if you like something unless you try.
You Can Help
If you or someone you know is interested in making the vegan/vegetarian station a permanent meal option in Sam’s Place you can email MSU Animal Activists at montclairanimalactivist@gmail.com or contact Heather at francish2@montclair.edu to sign the initiative. And if you are very passionate about this issue or want to get more involved, MSU Animal Activists club is open to everyone, including non-vegetarians and non-vegans.