This week marked the start of “Veguary,” an effort that originated at Middlebury College with the aim of encouraging less meat consumption.
Samantha Garvey ’16 says that vegetarianism isn’t the only stated goal for students: there are “also options for being a vegan, which is no meat or dairy, or pescatarian which means no meat but fish.” Die-hard meat eaters can choose to be “flexitarians,” which is merely reduced red meat consumption. The average American, said Garvey, eats “about 100 pounds of meat a year,” which is “too much” to be environmentally sustainable.
Bowdoin students are also being encouraged to participate in “Recylemania,” a North American college-level tournament to reduce campus waste. This year is the first year Bowdoin has participated in the challenge, a decision made by the College’s Eco Reps.
In the spirit of competition, multiple efforts are being launched to boost recycling output. A banner at Smith Union will be updated weekly with Bowdoin’s recycling ranking, which Burns hopes might inspire students to get “a little competitive against the other NESCAC schools.”
In addition, “all the freshmen bricks have a compost bucket in their basement right now,” said Garvey. “That’s going to be a temporary experiment.” Organizers at Bowdoin hope that the focus on composting, which now also includes College Houses, will cut down on food waste. Currently, the average student produces .75 pounds of waste per meal.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article mistakenly identified Samantha Garvey '16 as Samantha Burns '13. The online article has been modified to correct this inaccuracy.