Plant-based (vegetarian/vegan) diets are becoming increasingly popular for ethical and health reasons. At USyd this trend is shown by the award of Most Successful Large Club or Society (over 150 members) in 2017 to the USyd Vegetarian Society (Vegesoc), and strong student support of other societies with similar philosophy like the Food Co-op, Animal Welfare Society and Enviro Collective. But many university members find the veg food options at campus are inadequate.

We ask for a significant boost in plant-based foods at USyd and USU-operated outlets, catering services and events. We also ask for initiative in promotion of the benefits of plant-based diet, in line with actions by other institutions. 
Specifically: 
- A significant percentage target of main meal options at outlets to be plant-based 
- Increased diversity of affordable ethically sourced plant-based options at all outlets
- Better labelling of vegan food options 
- Removal of all extra charges on plant-based milks, and access to fortified options 
- All of the above should be in consultation with vegetarian/vegan university members and representatives

Background:

Because of greater information flow and activism a collective understanding has emerged on the inner workings of food production and its impacts on the environment. All around the world people are demanding products that are animal cruelty-free. For example since April last year there has been a public uproar over the suffering, luckily captured on video, inflicted on livestock exported from Australia [1] . The unnecessary harm of farm animals continues within industrialised countries [2]. The USU ought to recognise this fact and contribute to the movement to eliminate animal cruelty.

Furthermore, on the environmental side, we now know that it has been estimated 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than all of transport, comes from the livestock sector [3] . A plant-based food production system is far more efficient, to produce the same amount of food sufficient to feed a human population, than the livestock dependent system today which demands excessive water consumption [4] and is even linked to most of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest [5]. Consequently, spurred by these ethical reasons of sustainability and animal welfare, vegetarianism has boosted in popularity all around the world. In Australia itself [6] it rose from 2012 to 2016 “from 1.7 million people (or 9.7% of the population) to almost 2.1 million (11.2%)…most striking in New South Wales, where there has been a 30% growth in this kind of diet.” This trend implies that from 2019 and onwards it is the responsibility of institutions to support the public in this transition.

A vegetarian diet is also culturally important to a significant proportion of USyd students and staff. It is valued by members of Asian origin, in particular of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh communities [7], which form the majority of both domestic and international students as well as many staff. Furthermore it is fundamental to certain Christian sects including the Rastafari and Seventh Day Adventists. In recent years veganism has gained popularity in the Jewish community (especially in Israel [8]) and in Nordic countries (so much that McDonalds has launched a McVegan burger in Finland and Sweden [9]). Thus increasing vegan options on campus will benefit the diversity of USyd members.

At a personal level it can be expected that the health of students will be improved via promotion of a plant-based diet. The Charles Perkins Centre at USyd was founded to combat lifestyle diseases. But we know that processed meat, the form of meat sold at most uni outlets, has been correlated with several cancers [10] , diabetes and heart disease [11] . It should not be a privilege but a right for students to have easy access to a diet that is in their personal benefit. And of course parents and guardians of vegetarian students want to make sure their children eat healthy instead of having only a few low quality options.

All of these reasons, and more, imply that it is time to revolutionise the food availability in public institutions and the university is the natural starting point to initiate such change. At the University of Cambridge the Pembroke College has been trialling ‘Meat-Free Mondays’ from January 2018 [12] and several colleges in Oxford have had similar scheme for years [13]. Yale University in line with its Sustainability Plan has implemented several initiatives, like making close to 85% of its dining menu plant-based [14] and increasing options through its popular Plant-Based Protein Program [15].

The rise of vegetarianism shows that the students and staff at our university, independent of faculty, want to have access to broad number of affordable plant-based food options across all campuses. 
Both the USU and USyd should stand by their publicity campaigns as progressive modern institutions and make this move.

References

1. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-11/australias-history-of-animal-exports/9640502 
2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5773402/ 
3. http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html 
4. http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM 
5. https://theconversation.com/can-we-feed-the-world-and-stop-deforestation-depends-whats-for-dinner-58091 
6. http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/vegetarianisms-slow-but-steady-rise-in-australia-201608151105 
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism#Religion_and_diet 
8. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/middle-east/vegan-food-tel-aviv-best-restaurants-israel-vegetarian-friendly-port-capital-meshek-barzilay-orna-a8036081.html 
9. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/21/587406992/even-the-hamburglar-might-like-mcdonalds-new-mcvegan-burger-we-did 
10. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian 
11. http://www.aicr.org/reduce-your-cancer-risk/diet/red-and-processed-meat.html 
12. https://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0038177-pembroke-to-trial-meat-free-mondays.html 
13. https://www.meatfreemondays.com/oxford-college-test-drives-meat-free-wednesday/ 
14. https://news.yale.edu/2019/01/31/how-did-yale-hospitality-become-lean-green-leader-even-chinas-asking 
15. https://hospitality.yale.edu/plant-based-protein-program