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The Mac Weekly - October 21, 2005 Café Mac Brings Responsible Eating to Macalester By Kao Lee, Contributing Writer
This year, Café Mac has launched new awareness campaigns endorsed by its parent company, Bon Appétit, whose motto is "Food services for a sustainable future." Programs like the recent Eat Local Challenge and the Save Seafood Tour have been implemented to educate students about the importance of sustainable food resources. Many students seem to appreciate the campaigns, as they speak to common values. But others have failed to make a connection, and are greeting the campaigns with ambivalence. "It doesn't affect me a whole lot," David Lawrence '09 said about the campaigns. "I'm not very interested or excited about it." The Save Seafood Tour included the documentary "Can the Oceans Keep Up With the Hunt?" which details the state of the seas and the problems of over-fishing, showcased in the John B. Davis Lecture Hall courtesy of Bon Appétit. Afterwards, advocates from the tour were in the cafeteria, handing out information and answering questions about their cause. Bon Appétit serves only seafood that is in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Guidelines, which are general recommendations for the ethical approach to purchasing seafood. The guidelines were created as an effort to curtail the growing problem of seafood depletion, Hartzell said. The other major event this year was the Eat Local Challenge. It was launched on Sept. 25 by 190 Bon Appétit accounts across the nation including Café Mac, during which food products (excluding salt) were to be from within a 150 mile radius. Its purpose was to bring awareness to the importance of sustaining local farmers and artisans. "All of the South [side of the cafeteria] was local," Hartzell said about the campaign. "It was a big challenge because the Midwest doesn't have as much variety as other regions, like the West. The chefs were very creative and they did a very good job. Not only was everything locally grown, but everything was picked up by the chef himself, except the chicken. A lot of the ingredients were from MULCH." Hartzell said Café Mac tries to maximize its local buying. The apples, for example, are local in the fall but harder to purchase in the winter. At that point, she said, Café Mac will focus on other products like beef, pork and turkey. In preparation for the challenge, Hartzell approached the student gardening organization MULCH early in the summer of 2005, according to MULCH member Julia Eagles '06. MULCH was commissioned to grow squash, leeks, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, pumpkin, and other produce for the event. "I wish it had been more than just one station," Eagles said. "But it was a good symbolic move on their part." True to its ethos about locality of food, Bon Appétit is collaborating with MULCH to create a more stable food exchange relationship with them in the future, according to Eagles. David Boehnke '07 noticed the events that were going on, but said Bon Appetit's efforts were weak. "I'm not particularly impressed," he said. "For the local challenge, it was one meal at one station. That's not a particularly ambitious or amazing thing. It's nice that they're doing something, but they never did it again. However, I do think it's good that they're telling you to do something." Outside groups recognizing Bon Appétit's environmentally conscious efforts include the Ecological Society of America, an ecologically minded non-profit organization that awarded Bon Appétit with its Corporate Award in August. According to the group's press release, "The award honors Bon Appétit's incorporation of sound ecological concepts, knowledge, and practices into planning and operating procedures." "ESA commends Bon Appétit for its work leading to this award," said Dr. Kate Lathja, ESA member and Chair of the Corporate Award Subcommittee, in the press release. "The company has incorporated many programs aimed at incorporating socially and environmentally responsible practices." |
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