by Aiden Olsen (’24) | March 1, 2024
While the Bay Area may be stereotyped by ten-dollar overpriced organic superfood smoothies, it is continuing to emerge as a hotspot for plant-based food of all cuisines. Silicon Valley is witnessing more plant-based foods in cafeterias, the workplace, and even schools because of rising health and environmental concerns.
Situated near California’s Central Valley, the Bay Area has easy access to fresh, organic produce. For example, there are farm-to-table partnerships and school lunch programs that can incorporate these foods into dishes. The Santa Clara Unified School District Farm provides school menus with produce like cauliflower, which can be used as a common meat alternative. Cities in the Bay Area are also spearheading initiatives for the Meatless Monday Campaign, which encourages citizens to go plant-based every Monday. The campaign even offers special plant-based menus at schools and restaurants, raising awareness about the benefits of reducing meat consumption.
As the technological capital of the world, the Valley extends its culture of innovation to the food industry, competing to create food that is similar to animal meat in both taste and texture. Impossible Foods, the largest meat substitute company, is situated in Redwood City along with plant-based startups like Good Catch and New Wave Foods. Having a variety of vegan options opens doors to people who may feel limited or even tired of the same vegan alternatives.
From a more localized standpoint, Saint Francis students created a Vegantarian Club, which hopes to cultivate a greater vegan and vegetarian community within the school through vegan food challenges, speaker panels, and a vegan food stand on March 15. The Vegantarian Club board also pushed for greater vegan lunch options. Shrila Esturi (’24), the founder of the club, notes, “There are [plant-based] options integrated in with a lot of different cultures and cuisines… Indian food is predominantly plant-based. African cuisine is predominantly plant-based.”
Plant-based food may be more common in Silicon Valley, but that doesn’t mean it is more accessible. “The price of vegan foods needs to be significantly lower. This trend that vegan food should be more expensive is just going toward a niche community of rich socialites. Vegan food is relatively cheaper to make than meat. When you are buying a cow, the cow has to eat plants so we can take out the middleman of the cow,” explains Esturi.
Whether through more grassroots local efforts or greater community initiatives, plant-based initiatives are sprouting across our community. Ultimately, the diverse options available here should not just be limited to the Bay Area, but instead should reflect a permanent trend of growth for the greater global community to follow.
