Last night, Boston College Dining hosted Meatless Monday in “an effort to reduce carbon emissions.” All stations in two dining halls served vegetarian entrees, much to the dismay of the student body save for a few flower children who were in support of the event. Delivery cars from local restaurants such as Roggie’s and New Hong Kong could be seen all over campus.
Why does BC Dining feel that taking away meat is an appropriate way to save the environment? The construction of Stokes Hall has lead to the destruction of numerous trees on campus, adding to carbon emissions. If BC is so concerned about carbon emissions that meat has been taken away from our dining halls then maybe it should have thought twice about that new building.
The other concern amongst students dealt with the prices of these vegetarian entrees. For the most part the prices of the meals did not reflect the absence of the ingredient that made the meal edible in the first place. Burritos that lacked beef cost the same as the ones that were normally served. Further more, entrees such as salmon cost close to twenty dollars. Was this a cost cutting move, or one to save the planet? I honestly don’t know. There was also a severe lack of gluten free options (not that there are usually good ones anyway), further showing that BC cares about going green, not about its students.
BC is a Catholic school yet it still serves meat on Fridays during Lent. This does not become a big deal until BC decided that an underground dirty hippie movement should merit the expulsion of meat related products while the crucifixion of our Savior does not.
If Al Gore and his cronies want to save the world one meatless meal at a time, that’s fine with me. But the minute I’m deprived of my overcooked cheeseburger it becomes a problem.
Ian Malone is the managing editor of the Boston College Observer. He is a contributor to the Student Free Press Association.
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