On Earth Day, eat, greet but no meat
Lisa Euker
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Campus
The fewer cars that drive down the street you live on, the more friends you are likely to have.
Statistics like this were presented at last night's "Eat and Greet (Minus the Meat)" event sponsored by NYU Earth Week and the Earth Matters club to promote sustainable living.
Starting off the discussion, GSP professor J. Ward Regan Regan said that eating meat in the United States has become a status symbol. He told the story of an immigrant living in America who said, "I wrote home telling my family that I ate meat three times today. I lied. I actually ate meat twice, but they wouldn't have believed me."
"If we are concerned about staying around for another couple of millennia, we need to stay better," Regan added. "People can change the patterns of consumption."
A group of six panelists spoke to the audience about sustainability in a local and global context after everybody helped themselves to the vegan buffet.
CAS sophomore and copresident of Earth Matters Maggie Craig said, "Food is a great way to engage people, and becoming vegan is a great way to help the environment. By serving delicious and healthy food tonight, maybe more people will consider becoming vegan."
Craig said the idea behind the whole event was to get people talking about environmental issues.
"At this event, we wanted to unify everybody, get collective action started now and get people to realize that we can't buy our way out of this problem," Craig said.
During the panel discussion, Cecil Sheib, NYU's director of energy and sustainability, said that it's necessary for students to become environmentally conscious.
"NYU spends $50 million on energy, which comes from tuition," Sheib said. "And one-fourth of the trash that students throw away could have been recycled."
Executive Director and founder of Transportation Alternatives Paul Steely White was the keynote speaker of the night. White talked about the effects of transportation on the environment, particularly in urban areas.
"The future of environmentalism is in the cities," White said. "You walk more, you don't need a car and you share walls with your neighbors."
He added: "We need to reclaim New York City streets from the automobiles and promote walking and bicycling as the best transportation alternatives."
CAS sophomore Chelsey Grygorcewicz said she rides a bike around the city because it is the most sustainable mode of transportation.
"I can get anywhere that I want to without having to pay, and riding a bike is a great way to experience the city," Grygorcewicz said.
Lisa Euker is a staff writer. E-mail her at campus@nyunews.com.
Statistics like this were presented at last night's "Eat and Greet (Minus the Meat)" event sponsored by NYU Earth Week and the Earth Matters club to promote sustainable living.
Starting off the discussion, GSP professor J. Ward Regan Regan said that eating meat in the United States has become a status symbol. He told the story of an immigrant living in America who said, "I wrote home telling my family that I ate meat three times today. I lied. I actually ate meat twice, but they wouldn't have believed me."
"If we are concerned about staying around for another couple of millennia, we need to stay better," Regan added. "People can change the patterns of consumption."
A group of six panelists spoke to the audience about sustainability in a local and global context after everybody helped themselves to the vegan buffet.
CAS sophomore and copresident of Earth Matters Maggie Craig said, "Food is a great way to engage people, and becoming vegan is a great way to help the environment. By serving delicious and healthy food tonight, maybe more people will consider becoming vegan."
Craig said the idea behind the whole event was to get people talking about environmental issues.
"At this event, we wanted to unify everybody, get collective action started now and get people to realize that we can't buy our way out of this problem," Craig said.
During the panel discussion, Cecil Sheib, NYU's director of energy and sustainability, said that it's necessary for students to become environmentally conscious.
"NYU spends $50 million on energy, which comes from tuition," Sheib said. "And one-fourth of the trash that students throw away could have been recycled."
Executive Director and founder of Transportation Alternatives Paul Steely White was the keynote speaker of the night. White talked about the effects of transportation on the environment, particularly in urban areas.
"The future of environmentalism is in the cities," White said. "You walk more, you don't need a car and you share walls with your neighbors."
He added: "We need to reclaim New York City streets from the automobiles and promote walking and bicycling as the best transportation alternatives."
CAS sophomore Chelsey Grygorcewicz said she rides a bike around the city because it is the most sustainable mode of transportation.
"I can get anywhere that I want to without having to pay, and riding a bike is a great way to experience the city," Grygorcewicz said.
Lisa Euker is a staff writer. E-mail her at campus@nyunews.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Aparna
posted 4/28/08 @ 1:37 PM EST
He told the story of an immigrant living in America who said, "I wrote home telling my family that I ate meat three times today. I lied. I actually ate meat twice, but they wouldn't have believed me. (Continued…)
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