Students at the Brody Hall’s cafeteria had an organic experience Wednesday night.
The cafeteria featured a dinner with organic and locally grown foods for the first time. From burgers to potatoes to chocolate-chip cheesecake, the menu offered an additive-free evening. The foods will also be served from 4-7 p.m. today in Holmes Hall.
Five local organic food producers came to educate students on their products. The producers set up displays and handed out literature on organic and locally-grown food.
John Clark, owner of Roseland Organic Farms in Cassopolis, has been producing organic beef for 22 years. Brody Hall’s cafeteria served 550 pounds of his beef with the dinner.
“Organic beef tastes beautiful,” Clark said. “There is a lot of reluctance to try it because it is more expensive. The cost are higher because it takes more time to raise the cattle naturally.”
Food service coordinator Bruce Haskell said organic food is often misconstrued as being only vegetarian.
“In it’s simplest form organic food is just chemical free,” Haskell said. “Animals are fed grain that has not been treated with pesticides, and the beef has not been injected with hormones.”
One reason the university hasn’t served organic food in the past is because it’s too costly, Haskell said.
Many of the suppliers are small diversified producers, which makes it difficult for MSU to buy the food in bulk.
“It is two to three times more expensive to serve an organic meal compared to a normal dinner,” Haskell said.
“Being fiscally responsible, we can’t afford to keep this as a staple.”
Laura Delind, chairperson of the subcommittee for campus food and agriculture, said there has been a lot of support for local and organic food producers.
“This is an attempt to bring another part of the food system into the dining hall,” Delind said. “By using local farmers we are helping the local economy.”
Kinesiology junior Tim Ferguson agreed with Clark about the taste of the meat.
“The burger actually tastes better than expected,” he said.
Other students welcomed the organic food because it fits into their vegetarian regimen.
“This is not new to me,” theater sophomore Anastacia Kaiser said. “I am a vegetarian so I eat organic products. There is not many things that I like to eat, but I like vegetarian and all natural products. I hope this continues.”
Food service coordinators may not be able to serve organic meals every day, but the they are working on making organic meals a staple in the menu.
“The state of Washington sells organic apples and Ohio State University serves organic potatoes,” Haskell said. “Hopefully, we can do something like that.”
Haskell said the cafeterias will continue to serve national food brands such as Kellogg’s, General Mills and Hunts. Haskell emphasized that the food currently served in cafeterias is safe, and organic food is just another approach to food production.
“This is a different approach to conventional chemical farming,” Haskell said. “This is just one side of the story.”
