4 ms·

introduced entire cafeterias that only serve fresh vegetarian dishes Except that humans didn't evolve to eat a vegetarian diet and it isn't healthy for us.

flashman 10y ago
If eating vegetarian is the worst thing that happens to you in hospital, it's been an OK visit.
artifaxx 10y ago
It can be healthy if done right http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/vegetarian-diet/art-20046446 http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-he... It is probably a huge improvement over the crap you find in many hospital cafeterias.
jonwachob91 10y ago
I'm sorry. I was unaware I said they restrict you to eating vegetarian. To service the entire system they have 10 cafeterias across the entire hospital, not including the independent providers that operate on the campus (such as the Wendy's that isn't allowed to serve bacon). The one vegetarian cafeteria is about making the option available to those whom desire it. The food quality is also much higher.
- reflexive 10y ago
  It would be great if they provided quality non-vegetarian food as well.
  - jonwachob91 10y ago
    That's the goal of the food court that they'll finish in the next few years.
    - reflexive 10y ago
      That makes sense, as offering a "vegetarian" menu is certainly cheaper and easier than actual high-quality balanced nutrition. It always amuses me to see "vegetarian" used as a Pavlovian trigger to subconsciously suggest healthfulness. In fact, vegetarian food is often just as laden with starch, sugar, and trans fats as any Wendy's bacon burger. There's a very similar phenomenon with "organic" - it automatically suggests "healthier", when in fact the pesticides used on organic crops may be even more harmful. More corporate green-washing. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to your Florida cafeteria until I have a chance to try it, though.
      - TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
        I'm fairly sure the giant piles of salad I eat regularly have very little starch, sugar, or trans fat. Of course it's possible to make and sell bad vegetarian food, but suggesting that it's "often" just as bad as non-vegetarian food is simply nonsense. People become vegetarians for all kinds of reasons. I became vegetarian when I learned enough about industrial meat processing to decide that I had absolutely no interest in eating anything that came out of it. It's much harder to fuck up a salad or a grain/rice/nut thing than it is to disguise the presence of pink slime or some other random body part slurry that most people wouldn't touch if they saw it being made.
        reflexive 10y ago
        It's much harder to fuck up a salad or a grain/rice/nut thing I suggest that the ideas of salad and grain have become normalized in our culture, and have taken a sheen of healthfulness beyond their nutritional efficacy. Some greens with a little oil and vinegar: sure. But I see people buy pre-packaged salads from Trader Joe's full of fried noodles, corn, croutons and sweet creamy dressing quite commmonly, apparently under the illusion this is more healthy than meat. And any kind of refined starch (wheat, rice) plays a huge role in diabetes and other modern diseases.

flashman 10y ago

If eating vegetarian is the worst thing that happens to you in hospital, it's been an OK visit.

artifaxx 10y ago

It can be healthy if done right http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/vegetarian-diet/art-20046446 http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-he... It is probably a huge improvement over the crap you find in many hospital cafeterias.

jonwachob91 10y ago

I'm sorry. I was unaware I said they restrict you to eating vegetarian. To service the entire system they have 10 cafeterias across the entire hospital, not including the independent providers that operate on the campus (such as the Wendy's that isn't allowed to serve bacon). The one vegetarian cafeteria is about making the option available to those whom desire it. The food quality is also much higher.

reflexive 10y ago
It would be great if they provided quality non-vegetarian food as well.
- jonwachob91 10y ago
  That's the goal of the food court that they'll finish in the next few years.
  - reflexive 10y ago
    That makes sense, as offering a "vegetarian" menu is certainly cheaper and easier than actual high-quality balanced nutrition. It always amuses me to see "vegetarian" used as a Pavlovian trigger to subconsciously suggest healthfulness. In fact, vegetarian food is often just as laden with starch, sugar, and trans fats as any Wendy's bacon burger. There's a very similar phenomenon with "organic" - it automatically suggests "healthier", when in fact the pesticides used on organic crops may be even more harmful. More corporate green-washing. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to your Florida cafeteria until I have a chance to try it, though.
    - TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
      I'm fairly sure the giant piles of salad I eat regularly have very little starch, sugar, or trans fat. Of course it's possible to make and sell bad vegetarian food, but suggesting that it's "often" just as bad as non-vegetarian food is simply nonsense. People become vegetarians for all kinds of reasons. I became vegetarian when I learned enough about industrial meat processing to decide that I had absolutely no interest in eating anything that came out of it. It's much harder to fuck up a salad or a grain/rice/nut thing than it is to disguise the presence of pink slime or some other random body part slurry that most people wouldn't touch if they saw it being made.
      - reflexive 10y ago
        It's much harder to fuck up a salad or a grain/rice/nut thing I suggest that the ideas of salad and grain have become normalized in our culture, and have taken a sheen of healthfulness beyond their nutritional efficacy. Some greens with a little oil and vinegar: sure. But I see people buy pre-packaged salads from Trader Joe's full of fried noodles, corn, croutons and sweet creamy dressing quite commmonly, apparently under the illusion this is more healthy than meat. And any kind of refined starch (wheat, rice) plays a huge role in diabetes and other modern diseases.