Beans instead of beef, Falafel instead of pork, hamburgers that explode with grains. These are just some of the changes found in some university dining rooms, where cafe workers are attending food with one side of menus sustainability that consider climate change next to the nutritional needs of students.
As the climate crisis worsens, with growing temperatures and water levels, universities are trying to develop sustainability initiatives to reduce their carbon footprints. And in some schools, that effort is playing on the students' dinner plates.
given the effects on the planet of meat production, which is not as harmful as the burning of fossil fuels, but it remains an important contributor to carbon. Emissions: Some universities are pressing more plant options and increasing red meat.
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These efforts are They combine with broader sustainability initiatives that consider the role played by the production and consumption of food in the generation of greenhouse gases and filling the sanitary landfills.
"The main way in which the cattle contributes to climate change. Methane emissions," Aaron Smith, agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis, explained. "Then, when the cattle eat the herbs and another type of fibrous foods that humans really could not digest, there are microbes in their stomach that they process those, and as they do, those microbes emit methane and methane of the cow. Erupted and manure ".
Considering the climate impact generated by livestock and other sources of red meat, some institutions have established specific objectives to reduce meat consumption, scalar the year after year. googleg.cmd.push (function () googleg.display ("dfp-ad-article_in_article"););
Specific reductions of red meat
University of Brown, for one, has objectives to reduce red meat consumption by 25 percent for 2025 and then 50 percent, or greater for 2030, as It is described in your sustainability plan.
Jessica Berry, Director of Sustainability in Brown, said that the university is on track to fulfill its objectives, although the data has been biased in the midst of a pandemic that saw the dining rooms.
"Ultimately, under the sustainability plan, part of the long-term thinking is to reach a 50 percent reduction by 2030," Berry said. "We will continue working with brown food services and chefs there to find creative ways to do so. One of the key components of this is the importance of educating students about the climate impact of their food options, and so they can take Informed decisions about your carbon footprint when it comes to food options. "
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berry Speak that "reduction does not mean elimination." Students, faculty and staff can still find a meat hamburger at Brown's gastronomic installations, although these offers may appear less frequently. In addition, they can see alternatives such as turkey hamburgers or other proteins. And the composition of beef burgers can also be altered, adding grains to use less meat.
Smith College aims to reduce red meat consumption by 15 percent for 2024, mark it by 5 percent each year. To meet that goal, the University plans to incorporate more plant options, said Andy Cox, Executive Director of Auxiliary Services in Smith.
"The creation of more options based on the plant is where we are
