University Housing and Dining pledged to reduce carbon emissions by serving more plant-based foods in dining halls. 

In April, UHD joined the Cool Food Pledge, an aim by member organizations to reduce their food-based carbon emissions from 2015  25%  by 2030. They will do so by shifting to more carbon-friendly foods, which tend to be plant-based, said Edwina Hughes, head of the Cool Food Pledge.

Twenty-five percent of greenhouse gasses come from the food and agricultural sector — and  animals make up two-thirds of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, according to Cool Food. 

“There’s a huge amount of people who just don’t even know that the choice they’re making for their meals is driving a whole system that we can’t maintain,” Hughes said. 

The Cool Food Pledge is an initiative of the World Resources Institute, a research organization focused on developing solutions to help sustainability.

Alejandra Marquez, sustainability coordinator for UHD, said they are focusing their sustainability efforts on carbon emissions because climate change is a “very prominent concern.” 

Marquez said a third-party institute like Cool Food would help provide an in-depth research plan suited to universities. UHD is creating a specific action plan to cut down on food-based carbon emissions with the help of Cool Food, but Marquez did not disclose current emission levels. She said the extent of their actions will depend on their current emissions.

Caroline Gamble, a member of the Campus Environmental Center, said she thinks it is good to focus sustainability efforts in the dining halls given how many students eat there. Marquez said the dining halls serve about 1.8 million meals in an academic year. 

“I know that it’s really worth it for vegans and vegetarians and people as a whole who want to watch what they eat when it comes to the environment,” Gamble, a sustainability and economics sophomore, said. “It’s really good to get that introduction on campus as a freshman.” 

To effectively shift to more plant-based food, the World Resources Institute developed a list of strategies, such as using positive language when describing plant-rich dishes and increasing the number of plant-rich dishes available in public spaces, Hughes said. 

“Sometimes the perception is that it’s banning particular kinds of foods,” Hughes said. “It’s simply thinking about rebalancing some of the things you eat, … so we can live within our means.” 

Because University students often crave comforting food items, Marquez said they plan to make more plant-based versions of food like hamburgers. 

“There’s going to be a lot of work to do around nudging our food choice architecture so that the students see plant-based foods as being enticing,” Marquez said. 

Gamble said she is glad the University will focus on providing sustainable options and educating students. 

“It is a privilege,” Gamble said. “Sometimes it’s just more expensive to make the sustainable option. That’s why it’s really important for the University, (which) has the money, to help students who may want to pursue sustainability.” 

While Hughes said she is optimistic about the impact Cool Food has had so far, she wishes more organizations would commit to reducing their emissions. 

“I’m really hopeful, but I’m also kind of impatient,” Hughes said. “I think we all are. If you care about this stuff, … it needs to happen now.”