Veg Friendly Workplaces
Posted by plainsight on Mar 23, 2007 · Member since Jul 2005 · 1 posts
Hi All--I'm working on an article about Veg-Friendly workplaces--does anyone have a great work environment from a veg perspective?
i.e. -- great cafeteria, thoughtful employer, animal-friendly work space, or any other factors that contribute to veg friendliness?
I'd love to hear your comments and stories.
Thanks!
I work through a temp service. Most of the places they sent me to were NOT veg*n friendly. I threw a fit about the last job they sent me to. I'm vegan, and they made pre-packaging for meat! The cafeteria was even worse. No veg*n food in the vending machines what so ever. Not even orange juice! Most jobs that they sent me to had V8 juice, orange juice, ect. in the vending machines. But nothing as far as veggie food.
Well, even though I'm the only vegetarian (aspiring vegan!) in the office, I work for a very compassionate employer with staff who go out of their way to make sure there is something for me to eat when we have staff lunches and dinners and community events. One shared a vegetarian menudo recipe with me, pimps Soyrizo to the staff and takes me out to lunch at a vegetarian-friendly restaurants.
Their sensitivity is consistent with a lot of enviro/animal-friendly projects our office works on including securing funds to expand an animal shelter so dogs, cats and other critters can have more space, as well as other projects to improve water quality, restore natural habitat, and encourage public transportation in the City of Los Angeles.
I don't have a heart-warming tale or anything, but I work in a place where people are very considerate.
In the group of seven people in my unit and we go out to a group lunch for our birthdays. There is always a special effort made to make sure there will be choices for everyone. Of those seven people: four are meat eaters, one is Muslum so the only non-halal meat he can eat is fish, another co-worker is Jewish/Buddhist and can eat eggs and cheese but no garlic or onion (a Buddhist rule), there's me, the vegan... and one of the meat eater's digestive system reacts to Mexican food, so that's out. The meat eaters have never acted like they are the "normal" ones who have to work around the rest of us. It's a 'dietarily' level playing field.
Co-workers often bring food to share and we have group discussions on how to modify recipes (the on-going topic is what might substitute for garlic), so if we bring something everyone may share in it. They take extra time to be inclusive of everyone.
This is just a microcosm view of what the entire office of 80 people is like. It's a dedicated, blazingly intelligent, thoughtful family.
I have a great cafeteria in my office building. They have a great caterer that is extremely vegan and vegeterian friendly. They have tons of good food everyday, and they always have at least one vegan entree available. They also have veggie burgers, pasta, salad & vegan and veg soups. They even label the soups for what the base it...and it's usually vegetable or beet stock. Cool huh? I have to be careful not to gain weight....(and they serve breakfast!)