As a lover of fish, fowl, and Fage greek yogurt with honey, I’m the last person most would expect to go vegan. But I recently became interested in the alternative diet. So, I committed myself to a weeklong vegan trial to see what the buzz was about. How hard could it be? The dining hall has a vegan station and soy milk. The Grill offers a vegan burger. I expected my week to be filled with all of the readily available vegan food Meriwether Godsey could provide me with.

Breakfast on the first day rolled around and the only hot vegan option was cream of rice. This dish has never appealed to me. Normally, I turn to a bowl of Cheerios.

Today was different. In preparation for my vegan trial, I had asked a member of the dining staff if the Cheerios were plain or honey. After staring at the cereal dispenser for a minute, she declared them to be honey because they looked shiny.

As the week progressed, I asked two other members of the dining hall staff about the Cheerios. One staff member preformed a taste test and declared them to be plain. The third person said the Cheerios were honey flavored, no inspection necessary.

That left the breakfast option of Rice Krispies, which I have never been fond of, and fruit with a side of peanut butter.

Lunch and dinner seemed to have more promise for me. I had the vegan station, salad bar, and some items from the regular hot line to choose from. For a day or two, those options worked perfectly.

And then, a few nights in, nothing at the vegan station looked appetizing. And, all the vegetables on the hot line were either baked in cheese or buttered. And, the only lettuce at the salad bar was iceberg. So, I was left eating cucumber slices, Rice Krispies, and an apple with peanut butter.

After a less than satisfactory dinner, or any dinner for that matter, I wanted nothing more than to eat a cookie. I was on the verge of getting one when I remembered that I couldn’t. It’s not like I had cut out cookies when I swore off cream and crustaceans, just cookies made with milk or butter or eggs.

As the week progressed, I realized that Meriwether Godsey wasn’t as vegan-friendly as I thought. Rather, they were just vegan-friendlier-than-most.

According to a 2008 poll conducted by Harris Interactive, a market research company, only about 0.5 percent of Americans considered themselves vegan. I realize that this is a miniscule number. Asking the food service company responsible for feeding the entire Guilford community to cater to the needs of such a small group may seem ridiculous.

But it’s not.

It’s no secret that plain broccoli is better for you than broccoli swimming in hollandaise sauce. A salad without cheese is obviously healthier than one covered in it – like the salads that are served in the Grill. It’s also not hard to substitute bananas and applesauce for the butter and eggs in cookies. I’ve done it. It’s easy.

I realize that when I’m not cooking the food, I’m not always going to be happy. And a lot of the time, I can find something I don’t mind eating.

I’m also not asking that Meriwether Godsey throw out their butter or brats and make vegan food the only eating option. I’m just asking that they use butter substitutes and figure out what kind of Cheerios they’re serving. Or, even that they just indicate which choices are vegan, so I don’t have to waste their time and mine by asking about every dish on the hot line.