Vegetarian and vegan members of Oxford University are being invited to rank colleges according to the quality of their vegetarian food.
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, Tobias Thornes of Oriel 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 vegetarian food on the agenda in Oxford.”
Voting is open to all members of the University from the beginning of Fresher’s Week until the end of 7th Week (3 October - 26 November), and the results will be published in 8th week (27 November - 3 December).
College bursars will be invited to supply sample menus and indicate whether they have chefs trained in vegetarian and vegan food.
The Society’s Senior Member, the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, said, “Oxford is known as a place of excellence, but its vegetarian fare is often barely adequate. We believe that the quality of provision of vegetarian food may influence prospective students’ choice of colleges.”
