Unlimited selection of fatty foods offered

Monday, February 2, 1998

Unlimited selection of fatty foods offered

FOOD UCLA neglects special dietary needs of Muslims, Jews,
vegetarians and health-conscious

Eating on campus is hardly exciting. But for those students who
are health-conscious or otherwise on a special diet, finding a good
place to eat may be nearly impossible. Because, as the many
students who frequent the various eateries on campus know, there’s
not much to chose from.

With the opening of Crunch Time at the Cooperage, which serves
up a menu of only fried foods, people who hope to maintain healthy
diets have yet another place where they can’t eat. That’s because
UCLA Restaurants ignores the wishes of the many health-conscious
customers and continues to offer fattening, high-calorie meals.

Granted, some of the restaurants on campus do offer one or two
vegetarian or otherwise "healthy" selections, but vegetarians
cannot live off salads and veggie burgers alone. UCLA Restaurants
should offer an extensive menu of items to encourage healthy eating
among its customers.

The current food lineup is full of fattening foods. This narrow
focus limits the number of selections to Jewish and Muslim students
whose religious beliefs restrict what they eat. Jewish students are
limited to Kosher diets, which require that if any meat is
consumed, the animal must have been killed painlessly; in addition,
the diet restricts pork and shellfish, and dairy and meat products
must not be consumed in the same meal. Muslim students’ selection
is limited because the only meat they are allowed to eat is "Halal"
meat, which is slaughtered in the name of God, and they must not
eat pork or lard.

The lack of Kosher food and Halal meat is problematic for many
Jewish and Muslim students on campus; it’s unfortunate that often
they are forced to purchase food from vending machines or bring
food from home. UCLA Restaurants is neglecting to serve a portion
of the population.

In order to be able to serve everyone on campus, UCLA
Restaurants should consider purchasing Kosher foods , working to
maintain Kosher kitchen standards and purchasing Halal meat. Such
an effort would allow students to enjoy a larger variety of what’s
offered, and other students would not be affected by the
changes.

These new choices would satisfy the demands of customers.
According to ASUCLA Business Development Director Terence Hsiao, a
survey of 700 students conducted by UCLA Restaurants last spring
revealed students had four primary suggestions about improving food
sold at UCLA.

Among the suggestions were "fresh Mexican food," more chicken,
more pasta and more healthy food. UCLA Restaurants is planning to
introduce a new Mexican restaurant and another Italian restaurant;
there are already plenty of chicken dishes, Mexican and Italian
food on campus. But where’s the food for those students who need to
watch what they eat?

Besides the lack of variety of restaurants, the cost, value and
quality of the food offered is questionable. A two-item combo at
Panda Express and small drink costs over $5.

Expanding the menus to better reflect the demand for healthier,
quality food should be a priority. Serving better food doesn’t
necessarily mean UCLA Restaurants has to sacrifice food taste.
Plenty of students, faculty and staff on campus wish to maintain
better diets – if only it was possible.