We should have the right to choose what we buy. Like milk in your morning coffee? Don’t let them take the best coffee on campus away from you. If the SU went 100% plant based, the price of your latte (with no dairy milk option) in The Kitchen may increase from £2.45 to £3.80. Students already face financial hardship and deserve to choose how they spend their money. Vote ‘no’ and keep prices low.

There is minimal demand for vegan products on campus and the income from these products would not sustain outlets. Sales figures of plant based products are low - only 2% of our products sold in the Greenhouse Cafe are vegan and only 1.5% of our products sold in The Kitchen are vegan. 

This would also mean less food and drink choices on campus, losing favourites like Tequila Rose, Baileys, Pringles. The Greenhouse Cafe food supplier sells 60 different lines which includes different fillings, they sell 8 different vegan lines. 

Currently, the stocking of meat products keeps the cost of plant based options lower. Take the Derby Day BBQ for example, we were able to sell both vegan and meat burgers for £4.50.  But, keeping the profit margins the same, we would sell a meat burger for £4.50, where as a vegan burger would need to be £9. We are able to keep the price of the vegan burgers low, because we averaged out the profit between the two. If we did not sell the meat option, to make budgeted GP, we would need to charge £9 for a vegan burger alone. So, prices would double if we were plant based only. Increasing plant based and the selection on offer is always good but free choice should always win, and right now, the plant based products aren’t selling enough to sustain outlets.

There are better ways the Students Union can work towards net-zero without harming student choice and raising pricing even more. It would be more impactful to deliver education & awareness, while cutting down on excessive print material, banner and decoration wastage from events. Another initiatives like tackling the lack of thermostatic heating and automatic lighting would help cut down energy wastage, as well as tackling food wastage.

Other SUs have had similar motions, which have been overturned by Trustee Boards because they are not financially viable

Source: Bar and Catering Operations Manager.