When Bridgette Bannick transferred to the University of Montana from the University of Puget Sound, she wasn't expecting many options would be available for her vegan diet. But when she first stepped into the Food Zoo, she was pleasantly surprised.

Bannick, a 19-year-old wildlife biology major, said she enjoys the extensive salad bar in the Food Zoo and almost always finds something to eat, despite fewer options in Montana than Washington.

"I was happy to see any options at all here," she said. "I've learned not to be too picky, especially when going out, so when there are actually vegan options you're like, ‘Yay!'"

Bannick first explored the vegan lifestyle when she joined a club at UPS in 2010. Until then, she had been a vegetarian because she thought milk was the only way to get calcium. But after a little research, she found other ways to get enough calcium in her diet.

"At first I told myself that I could cut out yogurt and other dairy items, but I kept drinking milk," Bannick said. "After that, I just decided to cut milk, and it wasn't that bad. Plain dry cereal is great."

Despite the recent increase in interest about vegan ideas, veganism is not a new concept. The term "vegan" was coined by Donald Watson in 1944, in Leicester, England, according to the Vegan Source website. He, along with other members of the Vegetarian Society, wished to form a collection of non-dairy vegetarians as a subgroup of the society. His proposal was rejected and he later created his own organization, in which members stayed away from flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey and animals' milk.

Jay Dinshah, a former environmental magazine editor, founded the American Vegan Society in 1960. The American society held the same standards as its British predecessor and advocated for harmonious living with the planet.

Rebecca Wade, the director of Heath and Nutrition Safety through UM Dining Services, said Dining Services tries to accommodate for many dietary needs, and if the needs of vegans increase, they will rise to meet those needs.

So far they have increased their selection in the Food Zoo to include a 100-percent vegan salad bar, soy yogurts, vegan butter and breads, vegetarian chili (that is actually vegan), and a rotating selection of vegan entrees.

"Either lunch or dinner will rotate as a vegan entree," Wade said. "So far there hasn't been a demand for an all-vegan entree every meal."

Wade said when they plan vegan meals, they try to appeal to a wider variety of students and dietary needs.

"We're trying to take into consideration not only vegan, but food allergies as well," she said. "So if we can not only make it vegan, but also for a food allergy, it has more appeal."

Unfortunately, sometimes widening the appeal of a meal to students who are not vegan involves adding cheese or milk. Bannick said she has noticed this with many meals at the Food Zoo.

"There are a lot of things I look at on the vegetarian line that look good, and could be vegan, but they have added things that cause it not to be," Bannick said.

Bannick considers herself lucky that there are vegan choices at all, though. She said, given the part of the country, Dining Services is doing a good job providing for vegans.

"They still have some things, but the actual meals that they cook aren't as substantial," she said.

Last year the University Center Food Court added the Patty Shack, which offers vegan burgers and buns and gluten-free burgers and buns, and Ui Chai.

Wade also mentioned changes in the Country Store.

"We try to offer the balance between convenience foods, things that are health-promoting and what people will actually buy," Wade said.

Bannick said the few options at the Country Store don't appeal to her.

"The country store has a lot of vegan junk food, but I don't buy it because I don't eat it," Bannick said.

Wade said prices are the main barriers to getting vegan products on the shelves for students.

"We're not Wal-Mart and we can't offer at Wal-Mart prices," she said.

Although the cost of pre-made vegan food is high, Wade said the vegan dishes made in the Food Zoo and throughout the rest of the campus tend to cost less because the meals are made from grains and vegetables.

However, it's difficult to justify adding new venues for vegan diets since the population is small, and the population on campus that depends on Dining Services for meals is even smaller, Wade said. Despite that, she feels there should be a few more options open to the diet.

"I feel like the Food Zoo has a good balance of vegan options," she said. "But I do personally feel that there should be a food cart that caters to vegans as well."

Bannick said she never goes hungry at UM, despite her limited options.

"I really like the substantial salad bar and if I'm ever still hungry, I just go and get a big bowl of banana chips to fill me up," Bannick said.

candace.rojo@umontana.edu

Living Vegan by the Numbers

$4.40

average cost of beef per pound,

according to the USDA

$2

average cost per pound for tofu

10.1

grams of protein in 4 oz of tofu

26

grams of protein in 4 oz of beef

18

grams of protein in one cup of lintels, cooked

7.3 million

vegetarians estimated to live in the U.S. in 2008, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group

1 million

of those were vegans.

7,417

listed vegetarian/vegan restaurants and health food stores in America.

There are 26 in Montana, five in Missoula

1 cup of almonds

has 380 milligrams of Calcium

1 cup of milk has 300.

1 cup of tofu 516 .

1 cup of Broccoli has 178.

6

percent of the population has at least one meal per week without meat in it

Accidentally

vegan foods:

Fritos

Oreos

Strawberry Poptarts without frosting

Clif bars

Cracker Jacks

Dots

Dumdums

Fruit by the Foot

Teddy Grams (Chocolate)

Ritz Crackers

Swedish Fish

Kool-Aid

Life Cereal

Heinz Ketchup

Hershey's Chocolate syrup

Ragu Pizza Sauce