(Photo Credit: Ejaugsburg, Pixabay)The University of Cambridge reports that removing beef and lamb from dining menus contributed to lower carbon emissions while raising profits for the University Catering Service (UCS).
UCS is currently responsible for providing food at 14 outlets across the University of Cambridge as well as serving more than 1,500 hospitality events annually. In October 2016, UCS adopted a new policy that removed ruminant meat — beef and lamb — as well as unsustainable fish from menus.
At the same time, UCS increased the quality and number of vegetarian and vegan options, and focused on reducing food waste. A typical menu at the main dining hall on campus would be curried eggplant, butternut squash lasagne, roast chicken, and breaded pork.
Since that policy was implemented, the University of Cambridge’s Environment and Energy team found that overall carbon emissions across UCS went down by 10.5%, even though the total amount of food UCS purchased went up during that time. In addition, the team discovered a 33% reduction in carbon emissions per kilogram of food purchased, and a 28% reduction in land use per kilogram of food purchased.
The policy also influenced the bottom line. Despite rising food costs, gross profits increased by 2% from 2014/2015 to 2017/2018, the university reported.
Turning policy into action meant securing support from the catering service staff first.
“Catering staff were briefed on the environmental benefits of the sustainable food policy and why the UCS wanted to implement it,” according to the university. “As cooking with meat is a key part of most chef’s training, the UCS provided chefs with vegan cookery classes and a trip to Borough Market to get inspiration for plant-based menus.”
The University Catering Service also adopted strategies to change customer behavior, including nudges like placing the vegetarian and vegan options in front of meat options.
UCS changed their food labels as well. “If you go to most restaurants, they’ll put a ‘V’ for vegetarian or label something as vegan,” catering manager Paula White explained. “We didn’t do that, we just put what’s in it. You use your eyes, your nose. If you look at something and think ‘Wow, that looks good’, you’re not first of all thinking ‘Is there beef in that?’”
