An Update on Gelatin Top Restaurant Chains for Vegetarians

VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP AWARDSTWO $5,000 COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPSIt’s that time of year again, when VRG announces thewinners of its annual $5,000 college scholarships forgraduating high school seniors. Thank you to Sonja,Avi, Lauri, Jenny, and Melanie for helping us respondto all of this year’s entrants.As in previous years, applicants for this year’s two$5,000 college scholarships encompassed a wide spectrumin terms of their social or economic status andtheir belief systems. Applicants ranged from those whogrew up in conservative cattle country and had beenmembers of 4H to those who are vegetarian for religiousreasons (such as Hindu, Seventh-day Adventist,or Jain) to those who are members of punk rock bands.Some students came from relatively privileged backgrounds,while others were forced to live with relativesbecause their parents couldn’t care for them. Some hadparents who were struggling with second jobs to bringin $20,000 per year or parents who have passed awayafter painful illnesses. Much of what these kids havegone through makes you stop and think. It’s amazinghow resilient they are, and that they can still feelempathy for others and find time to volunteer.One factor that most of the teens who appliedfor these scholarships did have in common is that,even today, their beliefs and behaviors tend to makethem feel different and in the minority. Of course, theywould like the scholarship award, but it does have animpact on their lives to know that others care aboutbeing vegetarian and promoting meatless diets.THE WINNERSRandon Martin fromClearwater, Florida, sayshe is a “17-year-old seniorin high school, animalrights activist, andproud vegan.” When hewas younger and livedin upstate New York on15 acres, Randon states,“In those years, the chickens, turkeys, ducks, and dogwere my playmates, for at that time I did not come tothe realization that what I consumed for sustenancewas the same as our animals. I can recall one specificwinter in which my father was going outside with anaxe in hand. Upon noticing him make his way to thefront door, I began to weep. Startled, he inquired as towhy I was crying, to which I replied that I didn’t wanthim to kill our animals for food… Upon informingmy dad of my conscientious decision to become vegetarianeight years later, he reminded me of this storyand my genuine concern of our animal friends.”Randon said that he and some close friends startedand played in a predominantly vegetarian punk band.Through the local music scene, they met enough vegetariansto organize two vegetarian potlucks at whichmany attendees were musicians and fans.“My thirst for justice for thevoiceless cannot be satiateduntil the animals finally receivethe liberation they deserve.”In his junior year, Randon founded his high school’sfirst animal rights club (S.C.A.R.). They hosted an allvegetarianpicnic and a vegan Thanksgiving gathering,did a vegan fundraiser for a seabird sanctuary, gave awayPETA and Vegan Outreach stickers and brochures, andset up a table on campus during lunch so they couldgive away brochures on meat consumption and environmentaldegradation. Randon said his biggest success wasintroducing more vegetarian options into the cafeteria.He reported, “The vegetarian options wereacquired through multiple conferences I had with theCafeteria Manager and a few phone calls to the Headof Food Supply for Pinellas County. Now, we havevegan burgers, bean burritos, and chocolate soymilkavailable daily. There was little resistance for the introductionof these items. It was just a matter of choosing/ordering foods and assuring the staff that there is anactive demographic who would purchase the food everyday. The veggie burgers are available daily, while thebean burritos are offered a few times a week. (Thereare also peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, whichhave the most sales daily but were preexisting.) Thesoymilk is selling really well; I often see students26 Issue Four 2008 VEGETARIAN JOURNAL