Cambridge University accused of ‘skewing sales data’ to end vegan menu trial

A student activist group has launched a petition calling for Cambridge University to reverse its decision to end a plant-based menu trial at a lecture-site café.

The student group Plant Based Cambridge (PBC) accuses the university of using “wrong sales data” to cancel a vegan menu after a one month trial.

The trial, which ran from October to November 2024, implemented a completely plant-based menu in the Whale Café. This followed the Student Union’s vote to support the removal of meat products from the university’s catering services.

Six months after the trial, the Estates Technical Sub-Committee recommended the menu changes be reversed. According to Varsity, the sub-committee’s report showed a £1,100 fall in sales when comparing October 2023 and October 2024.

The report also claimed there was “insufficient financial data” to ascertain whether a vegan menu would be financially viable in the long term, but PBC pointed out the committee cited “sales data and survey responses” as justification for the trial’s discontinuation.

Following the sub-committee’s decision, PBC submitted a Freedom of Information request for the data behind the report.

Based on the response, the group alleged the report relied on “skewed data” due to an incorrect use of time frames. It said “the university reached the wrong conclusion because it analysed the wrong dates”, arguing there was in fact a rise in sales during the one month trial.

In an Instagram post, the group said: “The university missed off the week with the highest sales and included a week when the café was closed, skewing sales data that proved the success of the café.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Museum of Zoology Cambridge (@museumofzoology)

Most Read

Everything else John Davidson shouted at the BAFTAs, as racial slur causes Tourette’s debate

Bonnie Blue gives feral pregnancy update, two weeks after 400 man ‘breeding’ stunt

Omg, Bonnie Blue reveals she’s actually pregnant after 400-man no protection challenge

PBC also emphasised the positive response of visitors to the new plant-based menu. It said “despite the university’s claims”, “most respondents preferred” the new menu.

According to survey data, out of 173 respondents, 58 per cent liked the menu, 36 per cent did not, and 6 per cent couldn’t tell the difference.

The group contacted the Director of Estates, Graham Matthews, “expecting the university to be concerned about its data failings”.

According to the activists, Matthews said: “The decision has been made” and “we will not be opening this up for further discussion”.

The group has since created a petition titled “Urge University of Cambridge to Correct Decision on Plant-Based Catering”. The petition, which was launched in November, has amassed over 2,400 signatures.

“Transitioning to plant-based catering can massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as decreasing land use for food production. For a major institution like Cambridge to ignore the best scientific evidence of food is a dangerous denial of the climate emergency.”

Cambridge University has been contacted for comment.

For more of the latest news, guides, gossip and memes, follow The Cambridge Tab on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. 

Featured image via Instagram @museumofzoology and @plantbased_cam