On Monday, March 11th Plant Based Pace and Spoon University co-sponsored for their first ever Meatless Monday dinner event at 9:15pm in Gottesman.
What is Meatless Monday?
Well it’s a global movement created to encourage people to go meatless once a week.
Why do people do this?
People go meatless for a multitude of reasons such as lowering their health risks to preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Environmentally it can help limit your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuels.
Plant Based Pace is a new organization on the Pleasantville campus. Their mission statement is to advocate for animals, health, and the environment. They also raise awareness and provide support for vegans, vegetarians, gluten free diets and or anyone interested in these lifestyle choices.
Let me clarify what these choices are:
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Gluten-free means they exclude the protein gluten from their diet.Gluten is found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye, and a cross between wheat and rye called triticale.
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Vegetarianism is the practice of not eating meat or fish, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons.
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Veganism is simply someone who does not eat or use animal products.
Spoon University is also a relatively new organization to the Pace Pleasantville campus. They are a national organization that is working towards giving students the opportunity to publish their observations and findings about the food industry through different media exposure. The organization utilizes social media platforms to display their writing and photography.
This Meatless Monday was a pretty successful event for these up and coming organizations with almost forty people in attendance. Sedona Trellevik, President of Plant Based Pace said, “ I talked to everyone at the event and it was great to see that not everyone there was vegan or vegetarian. There were people who just wanted to try something new.” It’s nice to see that the interest around new diet lifestyles and cuisine is growing on college campuses. The event was filled with a diverse crowd enjoying a healthy cuisine and engaging in lively discussions regarding their food choices.
Now, what everyone has been waiting to hear about, is what was offered at this Meatless Monday dinner. The spread consisted of all vegan and gluten free dishes. They had an assortment of stuffing, pizzas, and mac and cheese. The best part of the meal was the dessert, which was a vegan halo top ice cream. Talk about a delicious way to end the meal! Everyone left with their bellies full and their minds content knowing that they were contributing to healthier lifestyles, even if only for one night.
These organizations strive to bring awareness to people’s food choices and expose all the wonderful options available to them. If you missed out on this event make sure to check out the next one! Plant Based Pace will be showing a viewing of “What The Health” on April 10th, where they will also be serving vegan chipotle burritos.
Remember their motto, “It’s good for you, good for us, good for the planet!”
Follow these organizations on Instagram for updates & upcoming events.
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