On Feb. 3, some students were confused by the presence of vegetarian lasagna at the vegan section in the Marketplace at Usdan during lunch. While normally any type of food served at the vegan section would be free of any animal products, there were no non-egg noodles available on that day. Because of this, Bon Appétit chose to serve vegetarian lasagna instead, which was labeled appropriately.

“This was a one time thing,” said Bon Appétit Resident District Manager Michael Strumpf. “We simply got switched on a product.”

Reactions of the students who noticed the vegetarian lasagna varied. One student felt this occurrence was uneventful, referencing the presence of other options at the vegan station during lunch.

“They had other food in the vegan section that was vegan, and they noted very clearly that it was egg noodles,” said Lauren Javaly ’15. “I guess I could see if I were a vegan that I might be offended, but it wasn’t really a big deal.”

Another student acknowledged that vegan and vegetarian foods are often prepared near meat products, but was critical of the decision to offer vegetarian lasagna in the vegan section.

“Vegetarians can’t eat the French fries and onion rings and stuff because they cook the chicken in the same oil they use to cook the fries, so by the transitive property everything is kind of a little contaminated,” Bianca Marquez ’15. “If I were a vegan and one of the five choices I could eat was egg noodles, I’d be kind of pissed.”

Despite this criticism, Strumpf said that Bon Appétit continues to remain committed to offering good vegan food at the University.

“Vegans are a minority and often feel like they’re getting slighted,” Strumpf said. “But around here the vegan food is really good.”