BY KATIE CAMPISI PHOTOGRAPHY BY GRACE STAUFFER DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION BY MARTINELLI VALCIN
Eating a vegan diet is not as hard as many people assume it is. All vegans tend to hear the same comments from non-vegan eaters—“I could never give up cheese!” and “I love meat too much!” But at BU and throughout Boston, the many vegan-friendly businesses make it easier to walk away from meat, dairy and eggs. With about 15 vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the Greater Boston area, vegans have ample choices for dining out. BU students are never further than a short T or bike ride from tasty and hearty vegan fare. While it is true there are many vegan options in the dining halls and a good number of restaurants off campus, a vegan diet is not as easily accessible to those outside the city. Laura Kakalecz (CAS ’15) is a longtime vegetarian-turned-vegan student activist and keeps this privilege at the forefront of her mind. “Being vegan can lend itself to a more wholesome fresh diet simply because so many processed foods contain animal products. But
it is important to keep in mind inequality in access to nutritious food and cultural norms may be a barrier to the vegan lifestyle,” Kakalecz said. People commonly ask, “What can vegans even eat?” Steamed lobster and clam chowder generally come to mind when Boston is mentioned. Or maybe even an overflowing box of Mike’s Pastry cannolis and a heaping plate of spaghetti and meatballs from the North End. For the small number of Bostonians living an animal product-free lifestyle, their idea of Boston cuisine looks more like a coconut milk ice cream sundae from FoMu or vegetable stir-fry from Life Alive. In reality, most vegans eat a wider variety of foods than they would as omnivores. The range of vegetables is a big one, and one that’s even worth a try for creative non-vegans. Just because you eat “normal” cheese does not mean you should not try to make some out of cashews. You may ask a vegan a million times where they get their protein, or wonder if they miss hamburgers or bacon more, but people ask these questions far too often. Vegans are normal people, too—I promise. Treating a vegan like an alien or using descriptors like “the vegan” is not going to help. “In my hometown I felt totally out of place being a vegan. Yet when I came to BU, I felt like my school respected and went out of their way to accommodate vegans,” said Jillian Richardson (COM ’16). There are a lot of vegans and vegetarians at BU and even more who “go veg.” The
community is a strong one, with organizations such as the BU Veg Society and the Boston Humane League right on campus. In a 2013 survey of veg-friendly schools, PETA gave BU Dining Services an A for their offerings. Although not all vegans are completely satisfied with the nutritional balance available, the fact that BU provides a vegan option for each meal in every dining hall is a huge step up from many universities. Off-campus choices are endless. Restaurants like Life Alive offer cooked and raw vegan cuisine, while others such as Veggie Galaxy give vegans and vegetarians a meat-free spin on their favorite classics. Even some meat-eaters are drawn to the vegan food joints around campus. Root, a vegan eatery sandwiched among three others at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Cambridge Street in Allston (also a vegan mecca), is well known on BU’s campus for serving delicious food, especially its weekend brunch fare. “Their breakfast burritos were so good that I didn’t even miss bacon,” said Annie Freeman (SMG ’15). FoMu, the vegan ice cream shop next door, drew in Vanessa Zarba (COM ’15). “I thought I would hate vegan food, but it’s actually delicious. This brownie is so good I want to die,” Zarba said while devouring one of FoMu’s vegan baked goods. No matter if you are on campus, on Brighton Avenue or elsewhere around the globe, keep in mind that it is not as hard as it seems to go on a plant-based diet.
THE BUZZ | FALL 2014 | 27