Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Posted by Webmaster, 3/31/10 at 7:56:06 AM. By Dani Bertrand '11

Pepperoni pizza, chicken tenders, ribs, ham subs, and tacos... All processed meat. At RFA, the number of vegetarian options is next to nothing, and what might have been "healthy" options are replaced by Pop Tarts and potato chips.

With more and more students learning of humanitarianism and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) they have also embraced the concept of vegetarianism. Unfortunately, these students often go hungry during lunchtime due to the lack of non-meat options presented to them.

Some would argue that there are sides of vegetables like string beans, corn, and fries, but in most cases the main course is still meat. $1.65 wasted for half a morsel of decent food. With an order of plain pizza, fries, and mozzarella sticks, it's still hardly a vegetarian meal. Most of the foods are fried in the same oils as the meats, so there is still that lingering feeling of meat while eating. Even if your account is overcharged and you are offered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which also provides hardly any nutritional value within it.

By law, schools are required to provide an adequate mid-day meal for their students. However, it says nothing about alternate diet preferences. Logically, any vegetable would be an excellent main course because of the myriad of vitamins and nutrients that promote healthy brain and body development for teens. All the buffalo chicken and fries are just making us fat.

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