If you live on the South 40 and your morning class route takes you past the DUC, chances are you’ve been handed a pamphlet with grotesque pictures of factory farming by a vegan protester who seems to stop by our campus once or twice a week. The cover proclaims, “Even if you like meat…you can help end this cruelty.

When you think of the classic American food, you probably think of a hamburger. But with a growing vegetarian population, the classic American burger has taken on a variety of forms. That’s where the black bean burger comes in; it’s a meatless burger substitute that has become one of the main staples in the diets of vegetarian and vegan students alike at Washington University.