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Press Release: Veggies to Rate Oxford Colleges
2nd May 2019
Vegetarian and vegan members of Oxford University are being invited to rank colleges according to the quality of their veggie food.
Voting online officially opens on Monday 6th May and closes on 30th November 2019: www.veggienorringtontable.com.
The initiative, based on the well-known Norrington Table for ranking colleges according to their examination results, is being pioneered by the Oxford University Animal Ethics Society.
President of the Society, Felix Taylor of St Hugh’s College, said “Many members of the Society have expressed concern about the varying provision of vegetarian and vegan food. We want to put the need for good quality veggie food on the agenda in Oxford.” Felix is a second year DPhil student in English and has been vegan for three years.
College bursars will be invited to state whether their colleges routinely supply veggie food, have chefs trained in vegetarian and vegan food, and provide sample menus.
The Society’s Emeritus Senior Member, the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, said “Oxford is known as a place of excellence, but its vegetarian fare is often barely adequate.” He continued, “We believe that the quality of provision of veggie food influences prospective students’ choice of colleges.”
“Since most students have no alternative but to pay for their meals at college, it seems only right that they should know whether the food served up will be adequate.”
A previous poll was launched in 2016. More than 200 members of the University voted, with Mansfield College topping the table: http://www.veggienorringtontable.com/the-ranking.
For more press information, please contact Karin Ridgers info@mad-promotions.com 07970 732668 / 01277 658755
Notes for Editors:
1. The Oxford University Animal Ethics Society was founded in 2007 with the aim of providing a forum for the discussion of the moral status of animals. See https://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/who-we-are/animal-ethics-society/.
2. This initiative is being supported by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, which is an independent centre based in Oxford. It aims to pioneer ethical perspectives on animals through research, teaching, and publication. See www.oxfordanimalethics.com.
3. The officers of the Oxford University Animal Ethics Society (2019-2020) are:
President: Felix Taylor (DPhil in English, St. Hugh’s College)
Vice President: Rivers Gambrell (DPhil in History, Kellogg College)
Vice President: Natalie Hill (DPhil in History, Balliol College)
Secretary: Sarah Robinson (DPhil Candidate in Systems Approaches to Biomedical Science, Wadham College)
Treasurer: Jan Steinebrunner (DPhil Candidate in Mathematics, St John’s College)
Emeritus Senior Member: Professor Andrew Linzey (St. Stephen’s House)