Joshua Ceballos/Staff Writer
The Plant Based Society at FIU is a group for vegan and vegetarian students and they want to let the University community know that there are vegan choices at MMC, though the options are not as obvious as they would like.
Erica Melamed, president of the Plant Based Society, said that Almazar and Jamba Juice are great options for students looking to avoid meat in their meals.
“All the places on campus are not exclusively vegan or vegetarian, they all have meat options and dairy options. Almazar is great because it’s Mediterranean. You can get a falafel platter with hummus and salad. There’s Jamba Juice, you can always ask for things with almond milk,” the junior history major said.
Almazar is located in the Graham Center food court between Chili’s and Pollo Tropical. This Mediterranean restaurant serves schwarma and falafel, which is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas or fava beans.
Jamba Juice is located next to the GC Piano Lounge near the bookstore.
Melamed also cited Starbucks as a location with vegan-friendly options, stating that their cranberry and blueberry scones are made vegan.
Although there are options, FIU vegans feel that they are not well advertised.
Senior environmental engineering major and founding member of the Plant Based Society, Sarah Bird, feels that vegan and vegetarian menu items are not advertised well enough at the University and that they should be more explicitly labeled so vegan students know what to look for.
“I think it would be awesome to have an all vegan place or an all vegetarian place on campus. That would be a major goal for us as the Plant Based Society,” said Bird.
She also feels that there is a wide variety of reasons why students should go vegan and why the campus should be supportive of that.
“There’s really no reason not to go vegan… It’s healthier for you, it’s better for the environment, it’s more sustainable and no animals get hurt,” said Bird.
Both Bird and Melamed feel that veganism is widely misunderstood on our campus and in general, and that the Plant Based Society is looking to educate students to reduce those misunderstandings.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about veganism. One of the main ones is that we don’t get enough protein or enough nutrients in general, and that is totally incorrect,” said Melamed.
The Plant Based Society is open to students from a variety of dietary walks and perspectives.
“Whatever your journey is, if you’re just looking to reduce your meat intake, we’re there to guide you and push you to do that,” said Melamed.
If students are struggling to maintain their plant based diet while staying on campus, groups like the Plant Based Society are open to support, and restaurants like Almazar, Jamba Juice, and the Fresh Food Co. are open to feed and help students regain healthy eating habits.
Image retrieved from Flickr.
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