Students Team Up With peta2 to Try to Bring School's Dining Halls Into the 21st Century 

For Immediate Release:
November 6, 2009

Contact:
Ryan Huling 757-622-7382

Oxford, Miss. -- If you are a university student these days, it's easy to find top-notch vegetarian and vegan foods--unless you attend the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). The school's dining services department has not been able to keep up with the increasing demand for vegan options on campus. That's why the University of Mississippi Vegetarian Organization teamed up with peta2--the world's largest youth animal rights organization--to collect more than 2,000 signatures on a petition to expand students' meal choices. The petition reads, in part, "We have the right to healthy, humane options at every meal. I support vegetarian-friendly options!"

It's a little surprising that Ole Miss is still flunking out with students who want healthy animal- and Earth-friendly food. According to food-service giant ARAMARK, which serves more than 400 campuses in the U.S. and Canada, nearly one-quarter of all college students want vegan options. For example, students at American University--which was named peta2's Most Vegetarian-Friendly College for 2008--can choose from a plethora of delicious vegan options, including spicy Korean barbecue and seitan in miso broth with noodles. Runner-up Wesleyan University's barbecue tempeh wraps and hearty Moroccan-style chickpea and tomato stew have even meat-eaters asking for seconds. And the vegan mozzarella and sausage pizza at the University of California-Berkeley only adds to that school's tradition of excellence.

Ole Miss students know that vegan options are better for the environment and animals and help keep off that dreaded "freshman 15." In fact, student demand for vegan food is so high that PETA produced its own book of recipes--PETA's Vegan College Cookbook--earlier this year. The University of Mississippi Vegetarian Organization works to spread awareness of the health, environmental, and animal welfare benefits of a plant-based diet. Students can get involved with the campus organization by contacting professor Meg Shannon.

"Any way you slice it, the University of Mississippi fails to meet students' hunger for nutritious, humane, and Earth-friendly vegetarian options," says peta2's college campaign coordinator, Ryan Huling. "Even though the University of Mississippi is a major university, when compared with other schools that offer more progressive menus, it's small potatoes."

For more information, please visit peta2.com.