After seeing Jamie Oliver's TED talk and walking straight over to the campus cafe to buy a slice of pizza and a pop, my brain started sending out signals suggesting that something might not be as it should be.
Camosun College is a learning institution, and as most colleges they include a cafe for the students convenience. Chips, chocolate, and pop vending machine is spread all over the school. The Bookshop offer a wide range of chocolate, chips and salty nuts, and of course a wide range of pop. The Camosun cafe offer healthy salads, yoghurt, fruit, fresh sandwhiches and soup, but also regular less healthy burgers, fries and pizza. Doughnuts have its own section, and so do pop and chocolate. Lemonande and sugar drinks can be bought in cups.
But back to the idea of most colleges having a campus cafe for students convenience. The only reason a college has to have a cafe at all, is because nutrition and vitamins are needed for students to stay at the college for a long period of time. Without having to bring their own food or having to go home to eat, that is.
So why is unhealthy food and pop drinks served, when nutrition and vitamins are what is needed?
The reason they do it is of course because unhealthy food is what is most popular, and it is what brings in most money. This, however, do not in any way relate to the goals of Camosun as a learning institution. The college should offer food and drinks that gives the students what they need while studying, not just offer whatever the students wants most.
If they same should be done with education, Camosun should start offering classes in hockey, weed, and videogames. Hopefully, that will not be the case. There are many things students want, and to drink coke or play videogames is not something I think is morally wrong, I just don't see why the college should offer this to their students.
Bottled Water
On a related note, I want to comment on the debate that has been going on at campus on banning bottled water on campus. I tried asking question at the Facebook group, but apparently no one seemed interesting in discussing it. The arguement is anyway pretty much that water should be free and that students should choose to drink tap water instead. Another arguement is that bottled water may not have as high quality as tap water because of chemicals in the bottle.
As this is true and a fair arguements, is it a total miss on seeing the big picture.
Firstly, tap water is not available everywhere.* Sometimes having a bottle in the bag is just a lot more convenient. And sometimes we don't bring a bottle, so we need to buy one.
Secondly, the decision is often not tap water vs. bottled water, but pop vs. bottled water. As pop without doubt is several times less healthy than water, I don't really see the arguements as to why pop should be sold on campus, and water should not. It is a lot better for both the environment and for the health of students if all the students bought bottled water rather than pop bottles.
I believe it would be best to focus on getting more visible taps at campus, to raise awareness about it, and get other students to use the taps. In addition, focus should be on banning the least healthy of the bottled products like pop and energy drinks. If that ever happen, a discussion can be made if bottled water should or should not be sold on campus.
*I do know from class discussion that the students campaigning against bottled water do work to raise awareness on tap water and to get more visible taps too, which is good. Keep it up.
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