If someone asked for vegan food up until about five years ago, they would be met with surprised faces. Fast forward to 2019, the statistics show how times have changed.
According to the Vegan Society, veganism by definition, is a way of living which seeks to exclude as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
The number of U.S. consumers identifying as vegan grew from 1% to 6% between 2014 and 2017, a 600% increase, according to GlobalData.
Sales of plant-based alternatives to foods including meat, cheese, milk and eggs grew 17% in 2018, while overall U.S. food sales rose only 2%, according to data from the Good Food Institute. The market for such foods totaled more than $3.7 billion.
Oswego State has seen a growth in vegan students as well. The registered dietitian on campus, Kathryn Szklany, reports that in the 2014-2015 academic year, 10% of students with dietary needs, food allergies or dietary restrictions were self-identified as vegetarian or vegan. Now that percentage is up to 20% of Oswego students self-identifying as vegetarian or vegan.
Due to the increasing number of students adopting the diet, Szklany works with the dining hall to add more options. These options included Beyond Meat products, a plant-based meat alternative that gained popularity for its similarities to meat.
“We have continued to increase our vegan options. We now have vegan chia seed pudding in the gluten free coolers daily, vegan oatmeal on at all breakfasts and brunches,” Szklany said. “Last year we added the Beyond Burger and it went over so well that this semester we added the Beyond Sausage to the menu. Our bakeshop continues to work on adding vegan desserts such as the new vegan magic cookie bar.”
According to Szklany, the dining halls continued to improve vegan recipes and meal options over the summer, such as vegetable cassoulet, guacadillas, sofritas, vegetable paella, oat milk and vegan ranch dressing, with plans to introduce plant-based egg alternatives.
Another witness to the changes in the Oswego State dining halls was Lakeside Dining Hall manager, Shannon Brooks. Brooks has been working for Oswego Dining for 19 years and sees a huge increase in students who choose to lead a vegan lifestyle.
“Several years ago we only offered vegan items a few times a week with a separate menu [that] could be ordered to be made to order,” Brooks said. “But now on our menus you will find vegan entrees every single meal—fresh, hot and ready on our serving lines—and oftentimes offer vegan sides and we also offer daily vegan salads.”
Brooks anticipates there will be more vegan options added in the coming years.
This rising trend makes veganism more accessible for students who have been living a vegan lifestyle before it was on the rise.
Nicole Ratliff, a student at Oswego State, has been vegan since November of 2016 and said she has only seen it grow, not only in the dining halls, but in her everyday life. Instead of her diet being a joke to her peers, they now come to her with questions and to get help on switching to a plant-based diet.
Although veganism has become more mainstream, Ratliff believes it will only continue to grow as new recipes and products attract meat-eaters or what she refers to as “carnists.”
“There’ll always be naysayers, of course, as there is with any movement, but I see veganism on the upswing instead of decline,” Ratliff said. “More major celebrities are adopting a plant-based lifestyle, marketing it as trendy and fun instead of extreme and crazy. More products are coming out that actually taste good, convincing carnists to, at the very least, try them.”
Photo by Olivia Bailey | The Oswegonian
