A vote on a bill that would require Babcock Dairy remove beef gelatin from all its ice cream flavors in an effort to be more inclusive to students with dietary and religious restrictions could be postponed, after having originally been scheduled the same night as Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews.
Babcock ice cream contains beef gelatin, which gives the ice cream its silky texture. The proposed “Ice Cream for All” would make all Babcock Dairy products available for Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and vegetarian students by swapping gelatin for another stabilizer.
Since several of the students who proposed and would be affected by the legislation are planning to attend religious services instead of the Student Council meeting Wednesday, the council decided to postpone the vote.
The decision to postpone the vote in recognition of the Jewish holiday comes a little after a year since the council voted to divest from Israel the same night as Passover, when Jewish representatives had missed the meeting to attend services. The ensuing internal lawsuits brought Associate Student of Madison proceedings to a near standstill for much of the remaining spring semester.
When gelatin was introduced as a Babcock ingredient 25 years ago, the dairy responded to concerned students by creating additional flavors that did not contain it. Still, 19 out of 25 Babcock flavors contain gelatin.
“I, personally, would rather have all our students feel included and have the taste like Chocolate Shoppe ice cream than to have the exact same thing that it is now and not have everyone be able to eat it,” said Vice Chair Yogev Ben-Yitschak.
The “Ice Cream for All” initiative has gained traction in the media since Student Council representatives introduced the legislation last week.
Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, wrote about the bill on her blog in a piece titled “TRIGGERED: University Students Claim They Are Being Marginalized By Ice Cream Flavors” over the weekend.
“These students say because the university-owned ice creamery makes some of their flavors using a beef gelatin, some students who cannot eat beef for dietary or religious reasons are left without an option to eat the flavor,” the author of the piece wrote. “How oppressing.”
Update Sept. 18: An earlier version of this story said that Student Council had already voted to postpone the "Ice Cream for all" vote in recognition of Yom Kippur. The council will vote on postponement this Wednesday — or Yom Kippur. If the delay is not approved, the legislation may still be brought to a vote.
