The vegetarian's dilemma at John Jay

Dinners at John Jay are an inevitable part of life for first-years like me, especially when the weather gets cold and the trek to Hewitt just isn’t an option. When you walk into John Jay, you are faced with plenty of options for dinner: pizza, veggie burgers, and tofu dogs from Wilma’s Grill, soup, salad, cereal—the list goes on. But as you make your way past the salad bar to the hot entrées, you are faced with some questionable items. Does anyone know what, exactly, is in those “vegan beef” dishes?

My guess is that most of the vegan meat options are predominantly made of soy. Taking a second look around, you may notice that John Jay is full of soy products. At brunch there is tofu cream cheese, and there are tofu dogs, veggie burgers, two flavors of soy milk, and then, of course, those vegan entrées. As a vegetarian, I do appreciate that, despite my self-imposed dietary restriction, I have choices. I also realize that the task of feeding a population of students with a variety of different eating restrictions, whether vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or just picky, must be quite difficult.

However, most other vegans and vegetarians I know are not only concerned with animal rights, but also with our health and the well-being of the environment. No, we aren’t all Birkenstock-wearing, save-the-whales hippie activists—generally speaking, though, the fact that we choose to not eat meat or to also restrict dairy and eggs means that we are trying to be conscientious consumers. This means caring about the environmental impact of our food choices and trying to eat as healthfully as possible. I commend John Jay for offering local milk and local apples and for trying to get vegetables that are in-season. However, taking another look at the soy situation, we can see that there is room for improvement.

I’m no expert on the immensely complicated issue of industrial agriculture and sustainable living, but I do know that soy is not as innocent as it may seem. Soy farming in South America is causing further harm to the Amazon rainforest. Like industrial corn, which was scrutinized by Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and the documentary “King Corn,” soy is farmed as a monocrop. This agricultural practice—of growing the same item season after season on the same piece of land instead of using crop rotation—depletes nutrients in the soil and depends highly on the use of pesticides. Many environmentalists criticize Silk Soymilk for purchasing soybeans from South America. It remains unclear whether these beans meet the standards for the USDA organic label, especially since soy is often genetically modified. The process of turning soy into milk or cheese also requires a lot of energy—so far, it seems soy may not be as green as we’d like. Health experts are also suspicious. While some say soy decreases the risk of breast cancer, others claim the opposite, especially in a vegan or vegetarian diet high in soy. Soy has also been accused of decreasing a male’s sperm count.

Perhaps the money and resources allotted to the many soy products in the dining hall could be redirected to better serve health and environmental interests. It would be great if John Jay offered a more varied selection of vegetables and more choices in the salad bar. The dining hall should consider adding mesclun greens, which are more nutritious because they contain spinach and arugula and are routinely an option at Hewitt. Nuts are another great source of protein, and can be delicious on salads. The efforts to buy in-season local produce should definitely continue, with beets, sweet potatoes, squash, and broccoli in the winter, and peas, strawberries, and asparagus in spring. I would also love to see more whole-grain options such as brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, which are healthier options for all students because they contain complex carbohydrates.

John Jay should continue the green initiatives already in place. By decreasing soy and offering more vegetables and protein sources, however, the dining hall could address students’ dietary restrictions in a manner that supports the environmentally conscious attitude of many of these students who choose not to eat meat.

The author is a Columbia College first-year.