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Change your food choice

While recycling and refillable water bottles were once the most popular fad among the environmentally conscious, there is now a more pressing matter for humans to turn their attention to in order to slow global climate change: the animal industry.

When you navigate to the university website on campus sustainability, you find a list of all of the ways the University is making an effort to “go green”.

A plan to increase levels of recycling on campus? Great! Printers that reduce paper waste? Fantastic! A garden to collect excess rainwater? Amazing! Let’s go one step farther.

If we’re not actively educating students about the immense ways our food choices influence the environment, then we’re not doing enough to really serve the causes we claim to support. It’s not only about giving students the option to eat less meat but telling them how these choices can influence the future of the environment and create sustainable change. The question of whether eating meat is bad for the environment is not a question anymore. And the issue isn’t that people are unwilling to try more plant-based foods or unaware of the perils the environment is currently in, but rather, it’s that people aren’t aware of the effects their demand for meat has on the earth.

Lean and Green, a student initiative that strives to promote sustainability on campus through environmentally friendly and healthy diet choices, conducted a study that showed students don’t fully understand the impact their eating habits have on the environment.

The livestock industry of chickens, cows and pigs produces more greenhouse gas emissions that all cars and trucks combined, according to Greenpeace. So as we eat more meat, the demand for meat likewise goes up and increases those gases. But when we eat more meat alternatives instead, like nuts or tofu, we can make a big difference. According to Walter, if a person went vegetarian for a year, they would produce three times less carbon than if they were to purchase a hybrid car.

And interestingly, more than 92 percent of responders said they would like to see more plant-based foods in the university dining halls. So it’s clear that students are willing to eat less meat and explore more veggie-friendly options. But what’s not clear for students is why these options are imperative for making choices that help our planet.

With the student population of about 34,000, the University has the capability to make significant changes for the future of the environment. Give the students want they want –

 which is more diverse plant-based options –

 but also tell them why they should want it. Informing students about why these options are environmentally favorable can only inspire students to choose them more often. Posters throughout the dining halls, informational email campaigns, programs in residence halls and even financial incentives can help inform students and shape their knowledge and decision-making.

In conjunction with offering more vegetarian options, letting non-vegetarian students know about the sustainable benefits that come from choosing these foods can encourage them to eat them more often.

The animal industry is only going to grow if people keep eating meat. If our university wants to have an impact and keep up its reputation as environmentally conscious, it should ensure its students know how they can do their part to help the earth.