Dining Services

This past week I spent two days in all day workshops offered by the university on a pressing university matter. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the meetings went. They had the potential for tedium and division, but they did not surface. This is an unusual thing for faculty to say about a summer meeting.

These kinds of conferences usually feed people. I think they do it so there is something to look forward to and so people will come back after lunch. Both mornings started with coffee and pastry from the University catering service. The coffee was from a local grower, although it was not possible to tell if it was one of their fair trade, organic varieties, I drank it anyway. I needed a little caffeine boost. I think that is ok. I know that the bringing in of the local coffee roaster was in part because students had an interest in making sure there was fair trade coffee on campus. (Kudos, students!)

Lunch however was a different thing altogether for eating ethically. Still from the University caterer, which is not the best at this, but by far not the worst either. Each day there was a buffet dominated by a salad, which is at least a healthier option. On the first day there was grilled salmon as the protein available, which I skipped. I don't really like it and have no idea if it was wild or farmed. Even in the northwest there is no guarantee. Heck, there is no guarantee if unless you catch it yourself or take it to a lab to test for the dye they use to make farmed salmon pink. If Dean and De Luca got duped, I am sure others have been, too. The fresh fruit salad included things that were clearly not season or local (watermelon and pineapple) but I had some of that too. There were a couple more hours of meetings and then class for me to teach before getting home to eat something else.

Second day may have even been more questionable than the first. Also, a buffet featuring a salad, but airline cut chicken stuffed with crab meat. When I sat down at the table without any chicken a friend asked if I was skipping it because it was unethical. Well, yes, at least in part. I am not crazy about crab meat either (I am not crazy about fish or seafood generally). I told her the chicken was no more questionable than the crab meat. But that I wasn't going to talk about why. It seemed inappropriate when the menu was limited and people had food on their plates.

For lots of folks who travel for work and attend conferences, it is an excuse to eat food one wouldn't normally or to eat out for every meal. For some it is a minefield because of health concerns. For me, it has become a minefield because of ethics concerns. But this workshop at the University got me to thinking--I should know more about where the food comes from that is served on campus. I don't eat campus food every day, but often enough so I should know in order to make better choices. I know a little about it, but not a lot. Oddly enough, having dinner with a friend and colleague last night after the workshop the conversation turned to food and ethics (I love eating with people who share my food values--it is so much easier) and she mentioned working with the University dining services on a project a few years back and found it challenging because each side was using language differently--language like "local" and "sustainable."

A new project emerges.