In revising our food system, we cannot look past the extreme effects of nonsustainable agriculture. Last week, Washington University’s Office of Sustainability hosted Food Week 2016: Know Your Foodprint, which highlighted these concerns and how we can address them.

Green Monday, Washington University’s newest sustainability initiative, encourages students, faculty and community members to take a pledge to eat vegetarian on Mondays.

Natalie Villalon’s excellent article outlined the general arguments for refraining from eating meat. As far as theoretical ethics are concerned, I think that the arguments presented are sound. But I don’t think the article will change anyone else’s minds. Why? Because meat is delicious. Ultimately, the choice to eat meat could be regarded as an ethical issue, but it is undoubtedly, among other things, an aesthetic issue.

Casually commenting that a baby burger would be a tasty accompaniment to your french fries would instigate squirming in most people, with the possible exception of Hannibal Lecter. But when my friends smack their lips over a still-red slab of steak, I’m the protesting minority, the outraged vegetarian. I don’t eat cows, pigs, chickens, fish or humans.

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.

Whether you’re undergoing some stress relief with a vat of ice cream, overfeeding yourself for that biology test or just sharing some chips with friends, food, we can agree, is key to the college experience. People appreciate having the food that they like and want at their disposal.