The first Let’s Talk Sustainability: Vegan Campus event, organised by the EUR Sustainability Program and the Design Impact Transition (DIT) platform, touched upon a major issue for the sustainability of the EUR. It was a lively meeting, where various opinions were expressed. A true dialogue in the Erasmian sense, with room for differences.
Our first edition of ‘Let’s Talk Sustainability’ was a good first initiative to bring Erasmians together and knowing and strengthening our EUR community. The conversation was led by three speakers, each with different arguments and perspectives. More than thirty participants contributed to the discussion, with questions and suggestions on how to implement the protein transition of the EUR campus.
Jan Stoop: “The EUR is morally obliged to go fully vegan”
For Jan Stoop, behavioural economist and professor at the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), making the university campus vegan is a moral duty. Why? Because even freedom of choice has a limit, and that is when it violates the freedom of another being. Many guests agreed with his statements, claiming that there is no difference between human and animal rights.
Jan claimed that the argument of humans’ moral superiority is also inconsistent: “Is slaughtering a cow more acceptable than slaughtering a person, because the former has a lower level of intelligence? And who says that the cow is less intelligent than any individual? This proves why a vegetarian campus wouldn’t be enough as well. The production of eggs and milk products is in fact not free of violence. Therefore, claiming that the EUR campus shouldn’t or couldn’t be vegan would go against our university’s values."
Joachim Strzelecki: “The protein transition in EUR should be both top-down and bottom-up”
According to Joachim Strzelecki, EUC second-year student in International Law and Sustainability, both the university management and the EUR community must ‘lead the change’. How? By favouring a gradual but continuous transition in their spheres of action. However, some participants claimed that the first push towards a more sustainable path must come from the top, because they are the ones with the resources and connections to make things work.
“What about making vegan food the default option for official events? What about making meat more expensive to offer a wider variety of vegan products in every cafeteria and food court of the university? The EUR could also organise a series of events to favour a cultural exchange inside its own community, by making vegan individuals share their lifestyle with those who do not know about it but are curious to listen or learn. Promoting Meatless Mondays or meat free zones on campus would also be smart and fun ideas. There are countless possibilities, and the protein transition at the EUR doesn’t necessarily have to look like a sudden and strict imposition.”
Michel Flaton: “A completely vegan campus is idealistic, but practically not feasible”
Michel Flaton, catering manager of Vitam, gave us a more practical perspective of what happens and could happen in the food courts of EUR. A vegan campus would certainly be the most sustainable option but removing all non-vegan offers from the menus is not viable from a commercial perspective. Caterer contracts cannot be changed overnight, and vegan recipes are not as popular as we might think or would want, not even among students. Moving towards a vegetarian campus is certainly more feasible, and there are many interesting ideas that Vitam Catering is happy and willing to consider.
The event participants offered many suggestions: Meatless Mondays, partnerships with vegan food providers, new vegan recipes on the menus and so on. If possible, even changing existing contracts to widen the provision of vegan options. "However, there is one important aspect to consider: the catering management can contribute by making food more sustainable in cafeterias and restaurants of the university, but the EUR community must ask for this change”, Michel said.
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Sustainability is very much in the spotlight. Are you wondering how our university is committed to sustainability?
The Design Impact Transition (DIT) Platform at Erasmus University empowers radically new ways to do research, education and engagement for a just and sustainable future. Do you want to know how?
Send an email to sustainable@eur.nl
- If you missed the event and would like to see the recordings;
- If you’re excited about sustainable food at our campus and want to take action to push this sustainability further. We can connect you to other changemakers at our university!
Don’t forget to mark our upcoming events in your calendar!
- 3 March 2022: Mobility
- 7 April 2022: Green procurement
- 12 May 2022: Sustainability report 2021
- 9 June 2022: Energy use at campus