Vegetarian and vegan members of Oxford University are being invited to rank colleges according to the quality of their vegetarian food.

The initiative, based on the well-known Norrington Table for ranking colleges according to their examination results, is being pioneered by the Oxford University Animal Ethics Society.

President of the Society, Tobias Thornes of Oriel College, said “Many members of the Society have expressed concern about the varying provision of vegetarian and vegan food. We want to put the need for good quality vegetarian food on the agenda in Oxford.”

Voting is open to all members of the University from the beginning of Fresher’s Week until the end of 7^th Week (3^rd October – 26^th November 2016), and the results will be published in 8^th week (27^th November – 3^rd December).

College bursars will be invited to supply sample menus and indicate whether they have chefs trained in vegetarian and vegan food.

The Society’s Senior Member, the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, said “Oxford is known as a place of excellence, but its vegetarian fare is often barely adequate.” He continues, “We believe that the quality of provision of vegetarian food may influence prospective students’ choice of colleges.”

Details of the Vegetarian Norrington Table can be found at: www.veggienorringtontable.com.

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For more press information, please contact Dr Sam Calvert, SC Marketing Communications, [email protected] / +44 (0)1782 505430 / +44 (0)7967 042050.

Notes for Editors:

1.  The Oxford University Animal Ethics Society was founded in 2007 with the aim of providing a forum for the discussion of the moral status of animals. See http://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/who-we-are/animal-ethics-society/.

2. This initiative is being supported by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, which is an independent centre based in Oxford. It aims to pioneer ethical perspectives on animals through research, teaching, and publication. See www.oxfordanimalethics.com.

3. The officers of the Oxford University Animal Ethics Society (2016-2017) are:

President: Tobias Thornes (DPhil in Climate Physics, Oriel College)

Vice President: Adam Bridgen (DPhil in English, Linacre College)

Secretary: Rivers Gambrell (DPhil in History, Kellogg College)

Treasurer: Katie Javanaud (DPhil in Theology, Keble College)