Smart Meetings

Heathly Meetings

Author: Julie Keller
March 2008

Columns

According to a recent poll by the Vegetarian Resource Group, 2.3 percent of adults in the U.S. are vegetarians.

Since the U.S. Census Bureau reports that there are more than 300 million people living in America, that means there are nearly seven million people today living the vegetarian lifestyle, a rather staggering statistic and most certainly something you should be reminded of during the meal- and break-planning stages for your next event.

The Vegetarian Society defines the practice they espouse as a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, plus slaughter by-products. Many vegetarians make exceptions for such things as eggs and dairy, but, strictly speaking, most vegetarian diets are entirely plant-based. While living a vegetarian lifestyle can create complications when it comes to dining out and business travel, the benefits are countless. The American Dietetic Association has found that vegetarian diets completely satisfy nutritional needs for all stages of life, and large-scale studies have proven that vegetarians tend to live longer, have improved health and have significantly lower risks for cancer and other fatal diseases. Plus, there are countless delicious options available for vegetarian meals that appeal to meat lovers and veggie-philes alike. For these reasons and more, incorporating vegetarian meals and snacks into meetings is a great way to keep all of your attendees happy, healthy and satisfied.

“To give the best conference-going experience to as many attendees as possible, you want to take into consideration as many needs of the participants as you can,” says Alan L. Kleinfeld, CMP, owner of MET-C Meeting, Travel & Concierge Management in Arlington, Va. “Food and beverage can leave a very positive or a very negative impact. The better the options to serve the largest number of attendees means more positive experiences. Don’t you want all of your attendees to have a good experience?”

Joan Eisenstodt, chief strategist for Eisenstodt Associates, LLC in Washington, D.C., agrees. “Our job is to ensure the safety and comfort of all those who attend meetings,” she says. “Vegetarians, vegans and others with any [dietary] needs must be accommodated—either under the ADA or, more importantly, because it is the right thing to do.”

Nowadays, it’s not hard to meet those needs. In fact, many great vegetarian options are ideal choices for all meeting-goers. Fresh fruit for breakfasts; fruits, vegetables, popcorn, pretzels, granola and nuts for mid-meeting snacks; and pizza and pasta with vegetables are great options for vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike. If you know your next meeting will include vegetarians, talk to the chef at the host property. You may find that you can come up with one menu that is suitable for all. “Pizza of different kinds can be fabulous,” Eisenstodt says. “I'm a frittata fan for breakfast and lunch, salads can be magnificent and an appetizer featuring a martini glass filled with pieces of different kinds of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella can be delicious.” Additionally, since vegetarian eating is generally a healthier way to go, the added benefit of eating that way is that attendees may have more energy, and thus be more productive during the event.

Still, offering vegetarian-only options at every meal is probably not entirely feasible, but there are some steps you as planners can take. For larger events, Kleinfeld says that a buffet option with meat and vegetarian choices is probably the best bet. For seated events, offering different colored meal tickets or badges for vegetarian guests to pass along to their servers is probably the easiest. Also, be sure to talk to the chef about how a meal is prepared. “One cannot assume that something is not cooked in fish or chicken stock,” Eisenstodt says.

Catering to vegetarians is not prohibitively expensive, according to many planners. Kleinfeld says he finds that vegetarian meals tend to be cheaper than those with meat, and Eisenstodt says she has noted the same trend as well. In the end, good preparation and pre-planning should make accommodating vegetarian guests easy for you and delicious for them. “It’s part of the RFP when one begins to search for properties—even for restaurants—and it helps to ask what experience they have in catering to vegetarians and vegans or others with food allergies and special needs,” Eisenstodt says. “Never assume they know how to do more than a veggie plate that may have been cooked in fish or chicken broth. The labor may be a factor in plating up different meals, yet the cost of the meal may be the same or less, so it all works out. I’ve not had a property say they would not do it or would charge more.”

Countless resources offer a range of delicious vegetarian recipes (see list below). Peruse the options at some of these sites, and pass along some ideas to the chef at your next event.

Recipe Roundup
vegweb.com
ivu.org/recipes
vrg.org/recipes
chooseveg.com/vegan-recipes.asp
vegcooking.com