Northwestern has earned the title of Most Vegan-Friendly College in America for the second year in a row in a competition sponsored by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Students voted online at www.peta2.com, the organization’s youth website. NU was able to defend its reign through four rounds against 32 other colleges and universities in the small school category.
“This year’s competition was definitely the fiercest yet and it says a lot about Northwestern that they took the top honors two years in a row,” peta2 Division Manager Marta Holmberg said. “It shows that the other schools need to step up in order to beat Northwestern next year. They have a huge following behind them because they have a lot of great options. That’s a really great sign for schools that they are keeping up with student demands.”
Holmberg said when the competition began six years ago, peta2 saw only “basic options” offered at schools across the country. Because NU offers options such as tofu french toast, country-fried seitan steak and vegan mashed potatoes, she said, the University adapted to the needs of students.
She added NU’s own dining halls report that over half of the students choose these alternative options every day.
“Students don’t want to contribute to animal cruelty and they want to help improve the environment,” Holmberg said. “There are so many great reasons to eat vegan and vegetarian, and Northwestern understands that.”
NU was automatically placed in the running after taking the top honor in the competition last year.
Peta2 also surveyed the University’s menus to see how the options had improved and adapted to student requests. NU first won the peta2 contest in 2007.
Peta2 will send NU framed certificates to display in all the dining halls, according to a peta2 press release.
