Food consumption in restaurants, school cafeterias, and workplace canteens has dropped dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began. These effects can serve as motivation to lay out precisely what the system should be like as soon as the foodservice industry picks up again post-COVID.
Foodservice operators should seize this moment to ensure solid and engaging sustainability credentials in the future by transforming their menu. When diners return, they should see healthy and climate-friendly foods at the center of the meal offerings. Making more plant-rich options available is key to hitting climate targets because they are generally far less resource-intensive to produce.
People are already becoming increasingly mindful of the environmental impact of these lifestyles, from the foods they eat to the home they live in.
Agriculture and related land-use account for almost a quarter of international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But not all foodstuffs are created equal. Plant-based foods, generally speaking, contribute much less to the growing emission as they’re less resource-intensive to make than animal proteins. Take beef vs. beans, for example: per gram of protein, beef manufacturing generates 20 times the GHG emissions and uses 20 times the land as beans.
A great deal of attention is given to unusual sustainable food innovations to offer a wider assortment of food options with a smaller climate footprint — like algae protein or crackers created from insects. But it doesn’t have to be so complex and unusual.
Large institutions that strive to provide climate-friendly meals are finding that it’s more straightforward than expected, partly due to behavioral science research of late. These new studies suggest that creating delicious plant-centered dishes and presenting them through minor alterations in menu language can significantly increase the uptake of sustainable offerings.
New information from the Cool Food Pledge — a team of cities, companies, restaurants, and hospitals that have committed to cutting GHG emissions linked to the meals they serve by 25% by 2030 — reveals that its members were able to collectively reduce emissions by 4.6% overall and also by 12% per dish in only four years. Several members have reduced emissions even more quickly, showing significant changes are possible in just a short time.
Lessons from Cool Food Pledge members reveal that reaching a sustainable meal’s future is easy. It’s merely a matter of keeping the spotlight on what’s delicious, low-carbon, and cost-effective.
Just because it’s climate-friendly doesn’t mean it has to be dull. For example, The University of Cambridge’s University Catering (which provides 14 canteens and cafés and caters for 1,500 events annually) has phased out meat, replacing it with delicious Smoky Moroccan Chickpea Stew, Swedish-style Vegballs, and sweet potato burgers. Its emissions significantly dropped by over 30%, even as the college served 30% more food.
Climate-friendly food can reduce costs. For example, UCSF Health switching to a 70:30 beef/mushroom blended burger in 2017, and it not only tasted better and was healthier, but it cost less too. Meanwhile, UCSF Health’s main menu evolved from serving 20 beef entrees in 2017 to just three by 2020. This transformation led to total food-related GHG emissions dropped of 13% in only three years.
This richness of progress reflects the environments in which these organizations operate together with various diners they serve. The majority are cutting emissions even as the number of meals they serve grows.
The Cool Food Pledge provides guidance and structure to help the food industry lower the carbon footprint of meals in line with climate science. At the same time, every dining facility will have its very own unique operations. Any new member has to pledge to reduce emissions by 25% by 2030, but how they do it is singular to their business. It’s a beautiful program, especially since studies have shown that it’s imperative, we MUST eat less meat to cut global GHG emissions.
