For the most part, the American food industry has adapted to the demands of the public for better and more accessible options for vegetarians, vegans and those with specific dietary needs (such as gluten intolerance). However, it is still very difficult to find more than one meal option at restaurants and especially at school cafeterias.
Though many groan and roll their eyes whenever those with alternative diets ask for more options or even mention the existence of their differing eating habits, it is a real and reasonable request to have access to more than one of the same option every time you go to eat a meal.
Gluten-free foods may be mocked frequently, but Celiac disease is a serious illness that can cause hospitalization and even death if the affected person ingests even a small amount of gluten. Many people with other types of dietary sensitivities (IBS, Crohn’s disease, Diabetes, Hypoglycemia, lactose-intolerance and various food allergies) switch to a vegan, vegetarian or limited ingredient diet because it is a good way to keep their symptoms at bay rather than analyzing the ingredients of every meal they eat.
As a vegetarian student with some dietary restrictions, I have trouble eating in the school dining halls. This isn’t specific to DU; in high school, I always brought my own lunch because there weren’t very good options for me there either. School lunches in American schools have been a problem for awhile; it is hard to find healthy and quality food in a school cafeteria. And for students with dietary sensitivities, just the lack of quality, healthy food can be a huge issue. I personally buy groceries and make my own food because that’s something I’ve been doing for a long time, and it’s the best way for me to get all the necessary vitamins and proteins I need in something I’m still able to eat and enjoy.
At DU, if you’re simply a vegetarian or a vegan, there are some options for you, but they’re mostly salads. Now, salads are good, but no one wants to eat them every single day. The options for vegetables on their own or with the salad are slim and they don’t change often. The quality is mediocre, so a lot of times if you want fresh vegetables, they’re not necessarily there. But imagine if you have a food allergy—there’s no real way to know if what you’re eating has that ingredient in it unless it is specifically stated. I know most students don’t want to go up and ask someone every day what the ingredients are in their food, and to be honest, I doubt that many people know.
The bigger problem lies within the large corporations that provide food for schools and control what gets served, and that isn’t going to change overnight. These corporations have huge lobbying power, and every time someone even proposes a bill in the Senate to restrict or control what these companies can do in regards to the food they provide for schools, it immediately gets shut down by these corporations who object to any government regulation in their business. It’s different when they’re selling to individuals who can choose to get something else to eat if they want, but the students in schools do not have direct control over the companies their school decides to partner with for food services.
In terms of DU, my suggestion, which would be beneficial to me and many other dietarily restricted people I know, would be to get rid of the required meal plan for the first two years. By requiring students to have meal plans for their first two years on campus, DU is forcing students to give their money to these corporations who don’t even offer viable dietary options for them. Students should be given the option to make their own food if they are able, because I know several people, including myself, that prefer that to eating in dining halls.
DU should either make significant changes to their food options and the corporation they partner with for food services or get rid of the required meal plan so that students can use their money on groceries that meet their dietary needs instead of wasting it on food they can’t eat.
