Activists to protest bad food canteens

The 1960s was a time of non-violent political protest and events known as ‘sit-ins.’ This Friday, 10 December two German Erasmus students, Manuel Hilscher and Dusha Manoharan will stage another type of protest at the Faculty of Life Sciences.

The ‘Eat-in’. Manoharan and Hilscher, along with other international students, hope to change the way students look at their food, by making the eating of each others food an event in itself.

All students are invited to bring a local, organic or seasonal dish to share. In order to cut the waste, participants are asked to bring their own plates and utensils.

New life to traditional foods

So what is it all about?

10 December is significant in many ways. Firstly, it is the birthday of the Slow Food, a movement encouraging traditional and regional cuisine, as well as sustainable food systems. It also symbolizes International Human Rights Day. And food is a basic human right.

The slow food movement believes in preserving traditional foods, like Quinoa, a crop that has, among others, one of its greatest exponents in the Copenhagen plant scientist Sven-Erik Jacobsen.

Changing the Canteen

In 2008, Hilscher and Manoharan, along with other University of Hohenheim students came together to form the Food Revitalisation & Eco-Gastronomic Society of Hohenheim (FRESH.)

»There was something missing,« reflects Hiller.

»The university is supposed to be sustainable and internationally minded, but we didn’t see this concept being displayed,« adds Manoharan.

Food Fight

A series of conferences were held, which in turn helped the students to develop a course on the ethics of food and food security. They created an edible garden managed by students, incorporated organic food into the canteen menu and held cooking events to raise student awareness.

So are the cafeterias at the University of Copenhagen better in the eyes of the German Erasmus students?

»Our first impression is that it is even worse than our canteen in Hohenheim. So many plastic utensils and disposable plates! It’s wasteful. We try to avoid the food,« announce Manoharan and Hilscher while shaking their heads disapprovingly. They refuse to eat in their ‘Gimle’ canteen at the Faculty of Life Sciences.

Interested in healthy food off campus? See our top ten healthy food spots here.

Could be big

The Eat-in is a demonstration of what they think good food looks and feels like. And, although they will return back to their native Germany in February they hope to inspire other Life Science students to demand better options at the university.

All students are invited to bring a local, organic or seasonal dish to share. In order to cut the waste, participants are asked to bring their own plates and utensils.

On the facebook group for the event, there were 27 attending members, when the University Post published this article.

Uni-avis@adm.ku.dk

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