The traditional AID barbecue was, once again, (almost entirely) vegetarian this year. Photo Marieke Enter The scent of the grill and accompanying plumes of smoke must have had people far and wide yearning for a bite: the annual AID barbecue on Tuesday was impossible to ignore,
Last year’s barbecue was the scene of some commotion due to a tongue-in-cheek protest by the animal sector, which disagreed with the choice for an all-vegetarian AID. Despite the board’s decision to stick to fully vegetarian for this year’s edition, there were no protests.
Double purpose
However, that does not mean that the smoke and smells emitted by the grills were entirely vegetarian: a few grills had some meat cooking. Animal sciences, for example, offered its students meat options. The meat was produced sustainably and locally. The beef from the ice-cream farm IJsboerderij de Steenoven’s double-purpose cows, for example, and pulled pork from Sander’s Hof outdoor free-range pigs.
Our barbecue is truly inclusive, for meat-eaters also
Study AssociationHeeren XVII
Agrotechnology was also not entirely free of meat. Some “vacuum-packed per five” sausages were available, whose sustainability was untraceable. Heeren XVII’s grill masters said that serving meat was a logical choice in light of the programme’s domain. Moreover, the sausages served as a bit of a statement: ‘Our barbecue is truly inclusive, for meat-eaters also’, the jokingly said.
Hardly an issue
AID participants seemed unfazed by the barbecue’s vegetarian nature. They called it ‘tasty’ and ‘enjoyable’. The fact that a vegetarian AID is no longer an exception may contribute to the whole veggie/meat dispute no longer being an issue. In addition to Wageningen, the Owee (Delft), EL CID (Leiden), Eureka week (Rotterdam), UIT week (Utrecht) and the Intreeweek (Amsterdam, UvA) are also completely vegetarian.
