Universities and big restaurant chains serve huge masses of people and claim to cater to everybody. They market themselves as if students and customers, respectively, will be amazed by the variety of options.

So then why are fast food places ahead of the game now?

Burger King just introduced the Impossible Whopper.

Subway introduced Beyond Meatball Heroes.

Taco Bell has a separate menu dedicated to recommended vegan and vegetarian options, or you can make almost any meal vegetarian or vegan if desired.

Even KFC is testing out vegan fried chicken in some locations.

I was so pumped to hear about all of these new exciting options. As someone who doesn't eat meat, it's difficult to find options at fast food places. As excited as I am, this made it more and more disappointing whenever I revisited actual restaurants and came to my own university.

Places like Outback Steakhouse, Applebee's, and even Tropical Smoothie Cafe are lacking options safe for meat-free and/or dairy-free people. And even if there are options, it's a miracle if a little green leaf is next to each one. And if it's your university that's the problem, email the dietician(s) to get your voice heard. If your campus truly cares, they will hear you out.

Fast food places taking notice of us should overall give us hope!

Businesses are taking notice, and we can help them notice even more. How? Reward these places by spending your money there. When the Impossible Whopper commercial came out on TV, I went to Burger King within the same week of seeing it, and I plan to go back. The more people that purchase the items, the more the businesses will see the demand. Even if you aren't vegan or vegetarian, give it a try!