Perhaps you missed it (most people did) but Mason was recently competing in PETA2’s Most Vegan Friendly College competition. The contest’s blink-and-you-missed-it first round ended yesterday and Mason was knocked out by our perennial rivals: UMD. The news here isn’t that we lost, it’s that we were even competing at all. Ask any vegan at Mason how they feel about their food choices on campus and you’ll most likely get a barrage of complaints against Sodexo and Mason Dining and the lack of vegan options at Mason.
The contest, which started in 2006, works like this: schools are put into one of three categories- small colleges, large colleges, or colleges in Canada. In both the small and large college categories, 32 schools are divided into eastern and western divisions and pitted against each other in pairs. Each school is supposed to get its fans to go the website and vote for it. Mason was put into the large college category in the eastern division, head-to-head with UMD. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Terps won. In some of the other match-ups, NYU beat Cornell, BU bested UConn, and the University of Florida topped VCU. UMD now faces off against Towson in round two.
Luckily, Mason’s populace hasn’t been hoodwinked into showing school pride where it doesn’t deserve it. The profile of GMU on PETA2’s website claims, “Prospective students wanting to be within a stone's throw of the U.S. capital and within arm's reach of delicious vegan food—look no further. Within the past year, GMU has really kicked its vegan offerings into high gear, in direct response to negotiations and discussions with students.” It even goes so far as to say, “it's easy to see why GMU has been called the number one up-and-coming university in the U.S.!” To many vegans, this seems like a slap in the face. According to oft-quoted co-chair of Mason’s Environmental Action Group Jason Von Kundra, “There are no good vegan options on campus and there is hardly any ingredient transparency at most dining locations. I, along with several other vegans at GMU, get all of our food outside of campus because it's so bad.”
While it would be nice to to actually be a vegan-friendly school, Mason still has a long way to. To have received recognition this year, even by simply making it out of the first round, would have been a step in the wrong direction as it would have allowed Sodexo to pat itself on the back for the few paltry measures they have implemented. Hopefully by next year, with the help of the Environmental Action Group and other concerned students, Mason will have something to be proud of in terms of its dining options. The EAG is currently pushing Sodexo and Mason Dining to adopt sustainable food practices, including offering more vegan and vegetarian options. The EAG is even demanding an all vegan/vegetarian eating establishment on the Fairfax campus. That would go a long way toward giving Mason something to be proud of.
Editors Note: When asked for the specific results of the competition, a representative from PETA2 refused to provide numbers beyond saying that last year, “more than 20,000 votes were cast in the competition.” It remains unclear as to how many people actually voted or how many votes Mason received.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
More Sustainable Foods at Mason
Last Thursday the Environmental Action Group’s Sustainable Foods Working Group met with Mason Dining Services senior administration to discuss the use of more local, sustainable foods in Mason dining facilities. The group met with Sodexo Resident District Manager Denise Ammaccapane, Executive Campus Chef Peter Schoebel, and Mason Dining’s Dietian Lois Durant. The student lead group consisted of Environmental Action Group members Darius Salimi and Jason Von Kundra, GMU Organic Garden Association member Nya Jackson, and Sustainability Projects Specialist Danielle Wyman. The delegation claimed to be representing over three hundred and fifty members of the Environmental Action Group.
The largest concern of the student lead delegation was the lack of local, organic produce in Mason’s dining services. Executive Campus Chef Peter Schoebel responded to student concerns by stating that he does use local produce, when available, but “we [the students] just don’t know it”. Keany Produce Company, Mason’s produce provider, provides local fruits and vegetables by default when they are available. Due to Schoebel’s time limitations he stated that “I don’t have the time to go through the produce order list and create labels for which food is local”. The Sustainable Food Working Group will be working with two service learners, appointed to work with Dining Services, to assist with creating local food labels to be prominently displayed at Mason Dining facilities to make the Mason community aware of which foods and ingredients are being sourced locally. Denise Ammaccapane, Sodexo Resident District Manager, has also volunteered her marketing student interns, to help with designing labels for locally sourced produce.
Signs for locally sourced produce wasn’t the only labeling issue discussed at the meeting. Environmental Action Group Co-chair, Jason Von Kundra, who is a vegan, expressed his discontent with the prominent labeling of vegan dishes at Southside. Currently, there is a binder with the list of ingredients that are present in dishes but Von Kundra doesn’t think this current system of labeling is convenient. “The list of ingredients should be directly in front of the dishes they correspond to not over in a corner somewhere” said Von Kundra. The Sustainable Foods Working Group also wasn’t satisfied with the current symbols used to identify gluten free dishes, and dishes containing soy, dairy, peanuts, and other ingredients students might possibly be allergic to. The student group will be working with Mason Dining’s Dietian Lois Durant, who is directly employed by Sodexo, to improve the allergy symbols used. Schoebel also claims to be working with Mason’s IT department to fix the labeling glitches.
The conversion of George’s to a vegetarian restaurant was also discussed during the meeting. Ammacaccapane said converting George’s to a vegetarian restaurant had been discussed in the past but there wasn’t enough support for the restaurant. Salimi expressed the need for a vegetarian restaurant on campus. “It’s crazy that I pay $9 to get into Southside to eat without a meal plan and only have one or two vegetarian options available to me. I want the same number of food options as non vegetarians” said Salimi. Ammacaccapane, Schobel, and Durant seemed open to the idea but asked for more information from the student group including where they would like to have a vegetarian restaurant on campus, what the menu and staffing would look like, and what students are willing to pay for a meal. Schoebel volunteered to do a cost analysis of a vegetarian restaurant to see if it is feasible.
Lastly the group discussed the use of garden produce in Southside. Last month the Organic Garden Association donated over 10 pounds of basil to Southside for them to use for their menu that day. The basil wasn’t used in the menu that day. Schobel stated that if the produce from the garden is to be used in Southside he needs advance notice of produce available from the garden that he can use in the next week or two. He also suggested that the Organic Garden Association consider using the garden produce in other dining facilities that have more flexibility in their menus since they are dealing with a lesser volume of customers.
The group will be meeting again in two weeks to discuss their progress and further areas where they can work together. Some members of the Sustainable Foods Working Group seemed optimistic after their meeting. Danielle Wyman, Office of Sustainability Projects Specialist, expressed her excitement after the meeting. “I feel very excited and encouraged that Sodexo seems ready to really move forward with what we all are asking for!” Others have chosen to wait until after some results have been seen to call the meeting a success. Von Kundra of the EAG had this to add. “At the 2010 Longwood Sustainability Conference I was impressed with all the sustainable initiatives Aramark, one of Sodexo’s biggest competitors, is doing at Longwood University. I was even more impressed when I learned that Longwood does not have any environmental group. At GMU, our environmental group has presented the issue and the ball is the hands of Mason Dining and Sodexo to make changes here on campus. I can’t consider [the meeting] a success until we see some changes made.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Sustainable Foods Campaign please contact the Environmental Action Group at gmueag@gmail.com
The largest concern of the student lead delegation was the lack of local, organic produce in Mason’s dining services. Executive Campus Chef Peter Schoebel responded to student concerns by stating that he does use local produce, when available, but “we [the students] just don’t know it”. Keany Produce Company, Mason’s produce provider, provides local fruits and vegetables by default when they are available. Due to Schoebel’s time limitations he stated that “I don’t have the time to go through the produce order list and create labels for which food is local”. The Sustainable Food Working Group will be working with two service learners, appointed to work with Dining Services, to assist with creating local food labels to be prominently displayed at Mason Dining facilities to make the Mason community aware of which foods and ingredients are being sourced locally. Denise Ammaccapane, Sodexo Resident District Manager, has also volunteered her marketing student interns, to help with designing labels for locally sourced produce.
Signs for locally sourced produce wasn’t the only labeling issue discussed at the meeting. Environmental Action Group Co-chair, Jason Von Kundra, who is a vegan, expressed his discontent with the prominent labeling of vegan dishes at Southside. Currently, there is a binder with the list of ingredients that are present in dishes but Von Kundra doesn’t think this current system of labeling is convenient. “The list of ingredients should be directly in front of the dishes they correspond to not over in a corner somewhere” said Von Kundra. The Sustainable Foods Working Group also wasn’t satisfied with the current symbols used to identify gluten free dishes, and dishes containing soy, dairy, peanuts, and other ingredients students might possibly be allergic to. The student group will be working with Mason Dining’s Dietian Lois Durant, who is directly employed by Sodexo, to improve the allergy symbols used. Schoebel also claims to be working with Mason’s IT department to fix the labeling glitches.
The conversion of George’s to a vegetarian restaurant was also discussed during the meeting. Ammacaccapane said converting George’s to a vegetarian restaurant had been discussed in the past but there wasn’t enough support for the restaurant. Salimi expressed the need for a vegetarian restaurant on campus. “It’s crazy that I pay $9 to get into Southside to eat without a meal plan and only have one or two vegetarian options available to me. I want the same number of food options as non vegetarians” said Salimi. Ammacaccapane, Schobel, and Durant seemed open to the idea but asked for more information from the student group including where they would like to have a vegetarian restaurant on campus, what the menu and staffing would look like, and what students are willing to pay for a meal. Schoebel volunteered to do a cost analysis of a vegetarian restaurant to see if it is feasible.
Lastly the group discussed the use of garden produce in Southside. Last month the Organic Garden Association donated over 10 pounds of basil to Southside for them to use for their menu that day. The basil wasn’t used in the menu that day. Schobel stated that if the produce from the garden is to be used in Southside he needs advance notice of produce available from the garden that he can use in the next week or two. He also suggested that the Organic Garden Association consider using the garden produce in other dining facilities that have more flexibility in their menus since they are dealing with a lesser volume of customers.
The group will be meeting again in two weeks to discuss their progress and further areas where they can work together. Some members of the Sustainable Foods Working Group seemed optimistic after their meeting. Danielle Wyman, Office of Sustainability Projects Specialist, expressed her excitement after the meeting. “I feel very excited and encouraged that Sodexo seems ready to really move forward with what we all are asking for!” Others have chosen to wait until after some results have been seen to call the meeting a success. Von Kundra of the EAG had this to add. “At the 2010 Longwood Sustainability Conference I was impressed with all the sustainable initiatives Aramark, one of Sodexo’s biggest competitors, is doing at Longwood University. I was even more impressed when I learned that Longwood does not have any environmental group. At GMU, our environmental group has presented the issue and the ball is the hands of Mason Dining and Sodexo to make changes here on campus. I can’t consider [the meeting] a success until we see some changes made.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Sustainable Foods Campaign please contact the Environmental Action Group at gmueag@gmail.com
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Exciting Gardening Events This Weekend
By Nya Jackson, Senior Staff Writer
This weekend GMU’s Organic Garden Association (GOGA) will be celebrating the season with two exciting garden-themed events. On Saturday October 16th the group will be hosting a permaculture workshop from 10am-4pm in Research Building 1, Room 161. On Sunday October 17th from 4:30pm-8pm they will be hosting their first-ever Fall Harvest Festival in the Art and Design Building.
In an effort to teach the Mason community about sustainable agriculture GOGA is offering a permaculture workshop lead by expert Cassa Von Kundra. Permaculture is an approach to gardening that designs agriculture systems that minimize work, turns “wastes” into resources, increases productivity and yields, and restores natural environments.
Danielle Wyman, Sustainability Projects Specialist in Mason’s Office of Sustainability expressed her excitement about the upcoming workshop. “I am really looking forward to Mason's first-ever permaculture workshop! This will truly give Mason's community a full-circle understanding of the pillars and practical applications of sustainable agriculture." The workshop will include a discussion about sustainable agriculture lead by Von Kundra and a hands-on component to give participants a chance to get their hands dirty. If you are interested in attending this free event please register at http://tinyurl.com/gmu-permaculture-workshop. Lunch will be provided to event attendees.
To celebrate its fall harvest the Organic Garden Association will host its first ever Fall Harvest Festival on Sunday. The festival will feature dishes prepared by Mason’s own Café-GMU made from fresh produce from the garden. There will also be live music and a garden tour at 5pm. The extra food harvested from the garden this fall will be donated to Food for Others.
Amanda Wall, GOGA President, is excited about having this informal partnership with Food for Others.“ The garden crew and Food for Others both have similar missions of providing our community with nutritional food during their time of need. The garden crew is excited to be able to donate fresh food to go with the other food given to clients”. In addition to the food the Organic Garden Association is donating from their fall harvest they are asking those who attend the event to bring a can of food to donate to Food for Others. A representative from Food for Others will be at the event to collect the donations. If you are interested in attending this event the Organic Garden Association is asking everyone to register at http://tinyurl.com/gmu-harvest-fest.
This weekend GMU’s Organic Garden Association (GOGA) will be celebrating the season with two exciting garden-themed events. On Saturday October 16th the group will be hosting a permaculture workshop from 10am-4pm in Research Building 1, Room 161. On Sunday October 17th from 4:30pm-8pm they will be hosting their first-ever Fall Harvest Festival in the Art and Design Building.
In an effort to teach the Mason community about sustainable agriculture GOGA is offering a permaculture workshop lead by expert Cassa Von Kundra. Permaculture is an approach to gardening that designs agriculture systems that minimize work, turns “wastes” into resources, increases productivity and yields, and restores natural environments.
Danielle Wyman, Sustainability Projects Specialist in Mason’s Office of Sustainability expressed her excitement about the upcoming workshop. “I am really looking forward to Mason's first-ever permaculture workshop! This will truly give Mason's community a full-circle understanding of the pillars and practical applications of sustainable agriculture." The workshop will include a discussion about sustainable agriculture lead by Von Kundra and a hands-on component to give participants a chance to get their hands dirty. If you are interested in attending this free event please register at http://tinyurl.com/gmu-permaculture-workshop. Lunch will be provided to event attendees.
To celebrate its fall harvest the Organic Garden Association will host its first ever Fall Harvest Festival on Sunday. The festival will feature dishes prepared by Mason’s own Café-GMU made from fresh produce from the garden. There will also be live music and a garden tour at 5pm. The extra food harvested from the garden this fall will be donated to Food for Others.
Amanda Wall, GOGA President, is excited about having this informal partnership with Food for Others.“ The garden crew and Food for Others both have similar missions of providing our community with nutritional food during their time of need. The garden crew is excited to be able to donate fresh food to go with the other food given to clients”. In addition to the food the Organic Garden Association is donating from their fall harvest they are asking those who attend the event to bring a can of food to donate to Food for Others. A representative from Food for Others will be at the event to collect the donations. If you are interested in attending this event the Organic Garden Association is asking everyone to register at http://tinyurl.com/gmu-harvest-fest.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Mason to Visit Appalachia
This weekend people from Mason will be joining other folks from the Capitol region on a trip to central Appalachia. Specifically they will be traveling to Kayford, West Virginia, in the heart of the Appalachian coalfields. The purpose of the trip is twofold: to learn about and see the devastation caused by mountaintop removal firsthand and to celebrate Appalachian culture that is under siege from it.
The plan is to travel west on Friday afternoon, stopping at the Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg for dinner. From there, the group will head into West Virginia and camp on Friday night. Saturday morning they will tour mountaintop removal sites and hear stories from coalfield residents that have been directly impacted by it. Saturday afternoon and evening will be spent at the Changing of the Leaves Festival on Kayford Mountain. The event, hosted by well-known anti-mountaintop removal crusader Larry Gibson, promises live music, a potluck dinner, and new friendships.
According to the website for Keepers of the Mountains Foundation Larry’s family has been living on Kayford mountain since the 1700's. Coal companies began stripping the mountain in 1986 and Larry has been fighting for his land ever since. Mason’s Environmental Action Group has been active in the struggle against mountaintop removal, educating the Mason community about the
On Sunday morning the group will head back to suburbia but not before stopping at Virginia Safari Park for some fun with animals.
All-in-all, the weekend promises to be a great time for all that attend. Although this is not an official Mason trip, anyone interested in attending is encouraged to send an email to gmueag@gmail.com for more information or check out the Facebook event: Awesome Appalachia Weekend. For people that would like to learn more about mountaintop removal and how to join the fight against it but already have plans for this weekend, there is another, similar event on October 22nd through 24th also on Kayford Mountain: Mountain Justice Fall Summit. Mason will definitely have a presence at this event as well so be on the lookout for more information which will be coming soon.
See a video of Larry Gibson from the recent Voices of the Mountains conference (which was part of Appalachia Rising):
The plan is to travel west on Friday afternoon, stopping at the Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg for dinner. From there, the group will head into West Virginia and camp on Friday night. Saturday morning they will tour mountaintop removal sites and hear stories from coalfield residents that have been directly impacted by it. Saturday afternoon and evening will be spent at the Changing of the Leaves Festival on Kayford Mountain. The event, hosted by well-known anti-mountaintop removal crusader Larry Gibson, promises live music, a potluck dinner, and new friendships.
According to the website for Keepers of the Mountains Foundation Larry’s family has been living on Kayford mountain since the 1700's. Coal companies began stripping the mountain in 1986 and Larry has been fighting for his land ever since. Mason’s Environmental Action Group has been active in the struggle against mountaintop removal, educating the Mason community about the
On Sunday morning the group will head back to suburbia but not before stopping at Virginia Safari Park for some fun with animals.
All-in-all, the weekend promises to be a great time for all that attend. Although this is not an official Mason trip, anyone interested in attending is encouraged to send an email to gmueag@gmail.com for more information or check out the Facebook event: Awesome Appalachia Weekend. For people that would like to learn more about mountaintop removal and how to join the fight against it but already have plans for this weekend, there is another, similar event on October 22nd through 24th also on Kayford Mountain: Mountain Justice Fall Summit. Mason will definitely have a presence at this event as well so be on the lookout for more information which will be coming soon.
See a video of Larry Gibson from the recent Voices of the Mountains conference (which was part of Appalachia Rising):
Obama Does the Right Thing: Solar Power to Return to White House
EaEarly Tuesday morning news broke that solar power will be returning to the White House. According to the AP, the panels will provide both hot water and electricity for the most famous residence in the country. This is good news for environmentalists and clean energy advocates that have been pushing Obama to reinstall the solar panels that were put on the White House by Jimmy Carter and subsequently taken down by Reagan.
Last month, organizers led by environmental author and activist Bill McKibben (who spoke at this year’s Fall for the Book) brought one of the original panels that graced the White House roof some 30 years ago to Washington with the request that Obama led the way in creating a clean energy economy by reinstalling the panel. At the time, officials from the White House denied the request.
This news comes on the heels of an announcement made last week by the White House that, “a company called BrightSource plans to break ground this month on a new, revolutionary type of solar power plant [in California]. This will put about 1,000 people to work building the facility. And once completed, it will power up to 140,000 homes, making it the largest such plant in the world.” Obama takes credit for this step toward creating a clean energy economy claiming that his administration’s clean energy incentives made this project possible.
The AP reports that “the plans will be formally announced later Tuesday by White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and Energy Secretary Steven Chu."
See a video of the announcement: See"
See
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Last month, organizers led by environmental author and activist Bill McKibben (who spoke at this year’s Fall for the Book) brought one of the original panels that graced the White House roof some 30 years ago to Washington with the request that Obama led the way in creating a clean energy economy by reinstalling the panel. At the time, officials from the White House denied the request.
This news comes on the heels of an announcement made last week by the White House that, “a company called BrightSource plans to break ground this month on a new, revolutionary type of solar power plant [in California]. This will put about 1,000 people to work building the facility. And once completed, it will power up to 140,000 homes, making it the largest such plant in the world.” Obama takes credit for this step toward creating a clean energy economy claiming that his administration’s clean energy incentives made this project possible.
The AP reports that “the plans will be formally announced later Tuesday by White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and Energy Secretary Steven Chu."
See a video of the announcement: See"
See
r
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