Vegan at West Point

VJ.Chinook

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I am going to apply to West Point and the Naval Academy but i am also a vegan. Does these service academies have vegan food for all three meals/ at all? Are the vegan offerings nutritionally acceptable and if not how can I get around this (bring my own food?) because I don’t want to give up being a vegan if I get in. Thanks
 
I am going to apply to West Point and the Naval Academy but i am also a vegan. Does these service academies have vegan food for all three meals/ at all? Are the vegan offerings nutritionally acceptable and if not how can I get around this (bring my own food?) because I don’t want to give up being a vegan if I get in. Thanks

This information may be helpful:

https://www.usna.edu/MDC/Nutrition/nutrition-info.php

https://vegnews.com/2016/12/i-was-v...deployment-and-you-wont-believe-what-happened

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/vegetarian-during-bct.49419/

http://www.bitesizevegan.org/vegan-...in-the-military-sergeant-alexander-contreras/

https://www.academyadmissions.com/what-to-expect/at-the-academy/on-campus/

https://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/comments/7fovo1/vegans_in_the_military/
 
At USNA, and I am sure the other SAs, there is a dietician on staff and accommodations for special diets. How creative and tasty those are, I can’t attest to. It can be done, but to get the right amount of calories for the high-energy lifestyle and balanced nutrition, it’s a daily challenge. When deployed, there aren’t that many options, but there are some offered, because many have chosen or must observe certain diets.

I found the links below by googling “USNA vegan diet.”



https://www.usna.edu/MDC/Nutrition/nutrition-info.php

Please note the comments about food for USNA Summer Seminar.
https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/_files/documents/InstructionsandPackingList.pdf

Several of the midshipmen we have sponsored over the years have followed vegetarian or vegan diets. One of them goes vegan when ashore and she can get the variety she needs, but adds in fish and eggs when deployed.
 
As of a few years ago, there were not vegan MREs. Anyone know if they came out with some recently? Sure there are vegan items in MREs, but probably have to some trading to get items you want. Like I will trade my cheese spread for your peanut butter kind of stuff. I mean a week in the field you could pack out enough other options to supplement, but hard to do probably during the summer when you don’t have access to shop.
 
DD had a "vegetarian card" while at the AFA which gave her the option to choose from that menu.
 
Vegetarian is doable. Pure vegan might be tough during field environments.
 
At WP they are currently experimenting with some soy options for the mess hall. My son has mentioned having these options on the table and they have asked the cadets to offer feedback on these entrees.
My son is not vegan and has used colorful language to describe some of these entrees to me.
Maybe you would actually enjoy them.
 
I have to ask are you vegan due to thinking it is healthier or because the treatment to animals?

I am just curious.
 
Halal, kosher, and humanitarian MREs are in the system, surely vegan ones are as well.

I don’t know for sure. I enjoy tasty animals.
 
I looked to see if they did and asked a buddy... he hadn’t seen them and looking at things, didn’t appear to have them yet. Wouldn’t be surprised if they do though or have them soon. I used to eat the vegetarian ones all the time. I liked them better.
 
As a person who grew up assisting at the slaughter of countless chickens (with my dear sweet grandma no less!), hogs, cows, even a bear or two thrown in, we never treated our animals inhumanely, though, yes, they died. And we didn't waste them, we ate them. As a person now on the All-Meat (Carnivore) diet, I can categorically state that no other foods are actually necessary to the human body other than meat. :)

My DH for years designed slaughter houses and food preparation factories - not glamorous work but did it pay the bills! - and he attests that animals since the mid 1970s are indeed treated humanely IN THE UNITED STATES, BY AMERICANS. He refused Mexican work, and work in South and Latin America, because they did maintain cruel practices.

Leather bags, leather car seats, leather steering wheel covers, leather shoes, boots, coats... suede, bone buttons.... all come from slaughtered animals (which are generally tasty).

OK, I get it (not really but I put my nice hat on):

If there is a medical condition which would require eating NO animal products - no meat, dairy, fish, eggs, JELLO - what would you be planning to eat in Afghanistan when Sgt Bob throws you a sandwich and that's all there is till the next shipment drops? You're going to walk 15-20 miles up and down mountains in a day - do you think a fig newton is going to suffice? A nice slice of lentil loaf? (which contains both cheese and eggs, so never mind)

Fencersmother has not much tolerance for people who want or demand special anything.

But things have changed since the founding fathers set up that Constitution.

Just another humble offering. :)
 
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Lots of judgement for the OP who simply asked if vegan options were available. Not every dietary or mundane question needs to have their choices judged. Those in or were in tend to recognize these questions are easy to answer and the military makes quite a few accommodations for dietary restrictions or preference.
 
@hornetguy yep, a question easily answered. It’s been awhile since I ripped into a tasty chili Mac so I did an Internet search. Even went to the DLA site which didn’t show where dot gov has vegan MREs in the inventory. I do know, though, the ingenuity of the American Sailor and Marine. From frying hotdogs on a HumV motor to fantail wine ginned up in the HT shop, acquiring nutrition is not just the job of the S-4 or food service officer.
 
@hornetguy yep, a question easily answered. It’s been awhile since I ripped into a tasty chili Mac so I did an Internet search. Even went to the DLA site which didn’t show where dot gov has vegan MREs in the inventory. I do know, though, the ingenuity of the American Sailor and Marine. From frying hotdogs on a HumV motor to fantail wine ginned up in the HT shop, acquiring nutrition is not just the job of the S-4 or food service officer.

Ain't that the truth! Many a cold day at USAFA with a clothes iron grill cheese! :) (don't forget to put foil on the iron first, for the n00bs)
 
@hornetguy yep, a question easily answered. It’s been awhile since I ripped into a tasty chili Mac so I did an Internet search. Even went to the DLA site which didn’t show where dot gov has vegan MREs in the inventory. I do know, though, the ingenuity of the American Sailor and Marine. From frying hotdogs on a HumV motor to fantail wine ginned up in the HT shop, acquiring nutrition is not just the job of the S-4 or food service officer.

Ain't that the truth! Many a cold day at USAFA with a clothes iron grill cheese! :) (don't forget to put foil on the iron first, for the n00bs)

I've been waiting for someone to report if using the new toaster grilled cheese bags with a clothes iron produces a satisfactory no-mess clothes iron grilled cheese.
 
A ship’s Sick Bay is off-limits for eating and smoking (also remember to uncover upon entering) but is well equipped for cooking with an incubator, autoclave, and Bunsen burner. I cooked many an after-midnight meal after enjoying the local culture of a gracious host nation.
 
In the end this is not 4 yrs of your life, but 9.
~ 4 at the SA and 5 AD

I am guessing you want to fly helo's due to your moniker, VJ Chinook.

I personally need to know why vegan? It is medical? Is it bc you think it is unethically humane to treat animals that way? Is it because you believe in a plant based diet?

I don't think we should move forward until V.J. Chinook replies
 
In the end this is not 4 yrs of your life, but 9.
~ 4 at the SA and 5 AD

I am guessing you want to fly helo's due to your moniker, VJ Chinook.

I personally need to know why vegan? It is medical? Is it bc you think it is unethically humane to treat animals that way? Is it because you believe in a plant based diet?

I don't think we should move forward until V.J. Chinook replies

Uh...what exactly are we "moving forward" on?
 
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