In reaction to the decision to replace Holy Cow with Laughing Planet in the EMU food court, allegations and hyperbole have overwhelmed rational discussion. The supporters of Holy Cow, in their anguish over the impending loss of their beloved café, have portrayed this situation as one pitting evil administrators against the will of the students, when in reality their interests are much more closely aligned.
The EMU is owned and funded by students. Its operating budget is made up of earned revenue (primarily from food sales) and student fees. This revenue currently isn’t cutting it. Even though the EMU plans to pay off its existing debt later this year, it will then have to contend with more than $10 million of deferred maintenance. For example, two out of the three motors that are supposed to power the building’s heating system broke over winter break.
At the same time, the EMU has reached its capacity for bringing in earned revenue. That means that the EMU cannot squeeze more money out of the spaces it has, unless it replaces what is there.
Holy Cow’s owner says it should stay because it is more vegetarian, more organic and more local than Laughing Planet.
Laughing Planet serves chicken, but it has plenty of vegetarian items and close to everything on its menu is vegan-friendly. All of its sauces and salad dressings are vegan, and it has vegan cheese and sour cream. Also, Laughing Planet was awarded “best vegetarian” by Eugene Weekly.
Even though Laughing Planet was founded in Indiana, it is now based in Portland, which makes it only slightly less local than Holy Cow.
Holy Cow is more organic than Laughing Planet, and boasts that 98 percent of its ingredients are organic. However, Laughing Planet prefers to focus on locally grown food. The owner says it doesn’t calculate the percentage of its food that is organic because it varies by the season, and because organic isn’t necessarily best for the planet. Laughing Planet instead prefers Food Alliance certified ingredients. Food Alliance standards include safe and fair conditions for workers and reduced pesticide usage, in addition to the conservation of soil, water and wildlife habitats.
Allegations that Laughing Planet is greenwashed are ludicrous. Beyond its food, it offers – like Holy Cow – non-disposable dishes and silverware for people eating in. Its disposable dishes and silverware are all biodegradable. Laughing Planet fits the EMU’s criteria for its organic, locally supplied, vegan and vegetarian restaurant. The decision to replace a food vendor is an unpalatable decision. There is an intrinsic value in a place like Holy Cow, which only exists on campus. It created the space it now inhabits in the food court, and is active in the University community. Nevertheless, the EMU needs to make more money, and Laughing Planet will allow them to do that, primarily by accepting debit and credit cards and offering some menu items that include meat.
Since the EMU chose Laughing Planet, Holy Cow has ordered a credit card machine, but it is too late to affect the lease decision.
Food vendors pay the EMU 8 percent of their sales, so more business for the vendors translates to higher revenues for the EMU.
The one other way it can raise revenue is to raise student fees.
In the end, what will serve students the best is having a place that won’t further wreck the planet and offers healthy food to vegans, vegetarians and omnivores alike. At the same time, it will help the EMU need less money from students. This is what Laughing Planet will give students, and it’s more than Holy Cow can offer. Although it may be a hard pill to swallow, the EMU made the right choice. Sometimes, change is a good thing.