Cheering for the Most Vegan-Friendly Colleges and Universities

I'll never forget the glory of winning the March madness bracket pool. I was in the 8th grade, and I knew nothing about college basketball.

I still don't know much about college hoops, and I've yet to repeat that one victory. But this month, I can fill out a bracket on something I'm knowledgeable about: Veganism. PETA is running a March Madness-style bracket in order to crown the most vegan-friendly colleges and universities.

This is the fifth year that PETA has evaluated universities to determine which ones have the most vegan friendly dining options, and then put it to a vote on their site. There are three bracket categories: Large U.S. Schools, Small U.S. Schools, and Canadian Schools.  There will be four rounds of voting, and winners will be announced November 19.

Last year, Wesleyan University came away with the U.S. vegan crown, and McMaster University has walked away with the Canadian title twice in the past four years.

Having vegan options in a college dining hall is important, as more students than ever are going meatless. Bon Appétit Management Co., a company that manages many college and university dining services, has surveyed the eating habits of college students. They found that numbers of vegetarian and vegan students have risen dramatically in the past few years. The 2010 survey reported that 12 percent of college students identified themselves as vegetarian and 2 percent said that they follow a vegan diet.

I decided to go vegan back when I was a college freshman, after having been vegetarian for over a decade. My own college was under the management of Bon Appétit, and while my alma mater didn't make PETA's list, I must say that I ate very well in college. I fondly remember noshing on veggie chili, grilled tofu and vegetable sandwiches, and vegan chocolate pudding for desert.

There's a movement to bring vegan food into high schools as well. Students are starting vegetarian clubs, writing letters to their school's food-service director, and some lucky kids are even receiving free vegan lunches handed out by pseudo-celebrities. Taran Smith, who played Mark Taylor on the show Home Improvement as a child, distributes vegan lunches from his own food truck in Oregon.

Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign is designed to make school lunches healthier, but we're hoping the campaign steps it up a little more to promote vegetarianism and veganism on their website. Sign our petition to tell Michelle Obama that students of all ages should have the chance to veg out.

Photo Credit: jmrosenfeld