Which Schools Are the Most Vegan-Friendly? Check peta2’s Updated ‘Vegan Report Card’

Students Can Tweet Directly at Their Schools, Compare Their Campus’s Grades to Others, and Learn How to Advocate for More Vegan Options

For Immediate Release:
October 10, 2014

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Since the launch of the Vegan Report Card last fall, more than 75,000 people have visited the site of the survey created by peta2, PETA’s youth division, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat.” The massive effort ranked the vegan-friendliness of every four-year college and university with a dining program in the country—and now, the report card is better than ever, with a slew of added features that allow students to take an active role in shaping their dining experiences.

Students can now use the website to tweet directly at their schools and ask for more hot vegan entrées, more clearly labeled vegan options, an all-vegan dining station or dining hall, or other ways to improve the school’s report card–style letter grade. A new Why Vegan page is packed with tips for both students and dining professionals, and an interactive map allows students to compare their school’s score to nearby campuses’—so a prospective student deciding between schools in the Los Angeles area, for example, can see that Occidental College received an “A,” while the nearby University of Southern California earned a “D.”

“Students across the country want to know whether their schools—and the schools they’re applying to—are meeting the growing demand for healthy vegan food,” says peta2 Director Marta Holmberg. “For years, peta2 has praised schools through our Vegan-Friendly Colleges contest, but the Vegan Report Card allows us to evaluate all colleges—and offer praise as well as encouragement for schools that still need to grow.”

For the second year in a row, the University of California–San Diego topped the list with a perfect “A,” hitting all the measured criteria. The University of North Texas—with its celebrated all-vegan dining hall, Mean Greens—also earned an “A,” as did Yale University, with its campuswide promotion of Meatless Mondays. Since the report card’s 2013 launch, the number of schools earning an “A” or a “B” has grown by 31 percent. One school that has improved is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose “C” was upgraded to a “B,” thanks to its efforts to expand vegan options and the work of its world-class vegan chef.

On the flip side, West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC)—whose vegan options include little other than soy milk—flunked peta2’s survey. However, the dining staff at WVWC recognizes the need for more vegan choices and is working to modernize its menus.

For more information, please visit VeganReportCard.com or peta2.com.