Dining hall chefs continue to ease into the plant-based movement

Dining+Services+Chef+Matthew+Lasof+cooks+cajun-spiced+roasted+spring+vegetables+during+a+plant-based+cooking+demonstration+Wednesday+at+Southside+Dining+Hall

LUKE HOLLISTER | The Daily Evergreen

Dining Services Chef Matthew Lasof cooks cajun-spiced roasted spring vegetables during a plant-based cooking demonstration Wednesday at Southside Dining Hall

AILA IKUSE, Evergreen columnist

Food. Everybody loves and needs it, especially meat and animal products. That soon may change, as the demand increases for plant-based cooking, or food prepared without the use of meat, dairy or eggs.

One of the leaders of this movement, providing resources and training for plant-based cooking, is the National Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

These people are not your local humane society, posting cute pictures of dogs and cats begging to be adopted. These people are the future of how we eat. They champion for the underdog, or in this case, the under-cow, pig or chicken.

“Looking at all animals, a great deal of animals are used in our food production,” Amy Webster, food and nutrition coordinator of HSUS, said, “those animals are often left out of very important animal welfare laws and standards, so we work hard on that.”

The Humane Society tackles this problem in several ways, one of them being to encourage more plant-based cooking in institutions like WSU, Webster said.

WSU Dining Services hosted a networking event ran by Forward Food, the program through HSUS focused on plant-based cooking.

The event was targeted for food professionals, and included a catered plant-based breakfast and lunch prepared by WSU chefs.

The same group ran a two-day cooking intensive with WSU chefs back in January, where they demonstrated over 40 plant-based recipes, Webster said. The results of those two days have already been implemented in the dining halls, for example Hillside Cafe had Meatless Mondays.

“Here at WSU, [the chefs] are taking a really creative approach with this. They aren’t just saying, ‘Oh we’ll try this or that,’ they are really putting effort into it,” Webster said. “And when something doesn’t work, they try it again with a different method or substitution.”

Adam Koerner, assistant director of culinary operations, is a big supporter of this movement. Koerner attended a chef culinary workshop at the University of Massachusetts, where a large portion of the event emphasized plant-based foods.

“A major part of that conference was all about plant-based foods becoming more of the center of the plate, and animal-based proteins becoming more of a garnish,” Koerner said. “It opened my eyes up to a different world, a different way to look at how we can serve our student population here at WSU.”

Both Koerner and Webster noted how easy it can be to make a dish vegan with some simple replacements.

“Plant-based foods don’t have to be tofu. It doesn’t have to be just a steamed vegetable,” Koerner said. “It’s not just for our vegan eaters, it’s for everyone. We are not making vegan food, we are making great food that just happens to be plant-based.”

With all the reasons why plant-based cooking is becoming a more popular choice, whether it’s for environmental reasons, animal welfare or just being cheaper, it can be hard to start cutting down on animal products.

Koerner said he eats vegan once a week and eats vegetarian once a week. He does not consider himself a vegan or a vegetarian, but a “flexitarian,” and recommends that others do the same.

“I feel most people should develop a diet in that sense,” Koerner said. “The numbers on what you can do as a single person cutting down on meat one day a week is astronomical.”