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UT Veggie Fair promotes meatless diet with free food More than 500 students visited the Texas Union Showroom Wednesday for a fair dedicated to vegetarians, proving that free food draws a crowd, even when it's meatless. The Union Environmental Committee held its second annual Veggie Fair in the showroom, where area and campus restaurants joined with grassroots organizations to boast a commitment to vegetarianism. Texas Union vendors such as Tortilla Flats and Union Catering as well as the Wheatsville Food Co-op and Thai Noodles, etc. House, ran out of the meatless samples that they offered long before the fair ended at 2 p.m. Laurie Lyons, American studies sophomore and Veggie Fair chair, said the fair had a two-fold purpose. "Mostly it was education about vegetarianism," Lyons said. "But also it was a way to let students who are vegetarians know what their options are on campus and in the community." Lyons, who has been planning the event since late January, said she was pleased with the turnout and the surge of interest. "If one person is affected by it, I think it is definitely worth it," Lyons said. Erin Snell, chair of the Environmental Committee, said the Veggie Fair also worked to combat misconceptions that vegetarians have a limited diet. "A lot of people think of vegetarianism, and they think 'oh, yuck, vegetables,'" said Snell, a history senior. Jim Ellinger, public relations and membership director at the Wheatsville Food Co-op, said he feels vegetarianism is becoming more mainstream, adding that vegetarian-friendly products are big sellers at Wheatsville. Ellinger brought samples of tempe pasta salad and southern-fried tofu, which he said "went instantly." Monica Krygowski, health education coordinator in nutrition at the University Health Services' Health Promotion Resource Center, said about one-fifth of the students that visit her weekly are vegetarians. According to a survey by the American Council on Science and Health, 2 percent to 7 percent of Americans regard themselves as vegetarians, but less than 1 percent completely exclude beef, poultry, fish and shellfish from their diets. Krygowski said she feels people are beginning to show more respect for vegetarianism. "The more educated a population, the more wary people tend to be about what they are putting into their bodies," Krygowski said. Mindy Zapata, international business sophomore, has been a vegetarian for more than two years because she said she feels strongly about issues such as animal cruelty. "I don't miss [meat] at all," Zapata said. "It's just a way of life now." |