Can you please explain to me why the “Sandwich Week” sandwiches all contain meat or cheese? There are exactly zero vegan options? It’s curious, because I thought Santa Barbara folks traditionally pride themselves on being an “environmental community.”
This lack of vegan options seems to directly contradict what we were taught in my long-ago Environmental Studies class 101 at SBCC in 2011: “Becoming a plant-based eater is the single most important thing individuals can do to combat global warming.” Food choices matter. Even a meatless Monday would help.
This is a call to the creative chefs of Santa Barbara to use their creativity to step outside the box and create masterpieces of plant cookery that include flavorful, colorful, healthy high protein vegan options with veggies, spices, beans, seeds and nuts. Use tempeh, tofu, beans of all sorts, pickled veggies, Moroccan spices, layered, roasted veggies! Go wild! Don’t just remove the meat and cheese and call it vegan. Or make a standard American dish (SAD) with faux meat. That is boring and non-nutritious. Wow us plant-based eaters, please!
And Santa Barbara, consider stepping up to the plate and choosing the healthier, more fun options, for you and for the planet. Your reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and dementia on a whole food plant based diet is increasingly well-documented.
Think about it, please!
