Marquette Needs to Step Up Their Food Game
Dietary restrictions have become a huge part of the American lifestyle, with the main groups being vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and lactose intolerant. Marquette prides itself in its six dining halls, ranging from diner-themed menu items to sandwiches to stir-fry. The university, however, is overlooking the fact that most of the food offered has some sort of gluten and/or dairy ingredient. I have been a vegetarian for ten years and I am currently trying to transition to a vegan diet, and I have found it near impossible to keep up a vegan diet on campus. Other people who are vegan and vegetarian find it difficult as well. It is ridiculous to think that I have spent an unnecessary amount of money buying foods that I can eat at grocery stores, when I should be getting a variety of fruits and vegetables from our dining halls.
As far as vegan and vegetarian options go, there is a small section in the McCormick dining hall that serves vegan and vegetarian food, but it does not have much variety and is usually sitting out all day. We do have access to salad bars, and a salad section in the AMU, but that is limited as well because students do not get to choose the ingredients that are available. Students who are gluten-free cannot eat the pizza, pasta, burgers, and most other foods in the dining hall. You do have the ability to ask for gluten-free pasta, but it is sometimes holds up a line of hungry college students. For the lactose-intolerant students, there are dairy free milks in the dining halls and most of the Brew Cafés, but there are not dairy free cream cheese, yogurt or cheese options.
Marquette is missing some key facts about the way people eat. First, vegan and vegetarian lifestyles have become more popular over the past decade; 25% of Americans are lactose-intolerant. Celiac disease is a serious condition, and mistreating your celiac can result in other medical complications. There are restaurants and bakeries specifically for vegans, vegetarians and gluten-free lifestyles, so it is only fair that more options are provided for students living at Marquette.
A solution to this lack of accommodation is to add more variety to the existing dining halls, and to consider opening a dining hall that caters specifically to the needs of those who have dietary restrictions. Many universities around the country have already hopped on this bandwagon. Many of my friends have vegan and gluten-free dining halls and they enjoy eating there even though they do not have restrictions to their diets. Marquette is building an entirely new residence hall, which means that there is a new dining hall included. This means that there is still time to accommodate to those who feel left out when it comes to eating.