Last week you may have seen headlines about a World Health Organization study that suggests red meat increases risk of cancer. Earlier this year, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a scientific review committee that reports to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, released recommendations that food sustainability should play an integral role in this year’s USDA health guidelines. Maybe you too have fallen victim to accepting one of the infamous flyers featuring bloodied cows and pigs clustered in cages. Why is there so much meat hype?
If you were in Newcomb’s Fresh Food Co. last Thursday, Oct. 29 between 5 and 8 p.m. you likely noticed there was no meat on the menu. In place of the typical array of chicken patty sandwiches and pepperoni pizza, there were tomato quesadillas and apple cheddar pizzas with caramelized onions and walnuts. People were buzzing around the dining hall, lining up for a nutella peanut butter panini and whispering, “It’s fake chicken” by the stir-fry station.
Most university dining services like our own inevitably get flack just for being an institution-level food service, and the potential of not offering meat makes dining even more susceptible for criticisms of being “cheap” or offering low quality food.
Meat is so intertwined in our culture and daily lives people become downright defensive if access to it is threatened. It’s understandable — we’ve grown up in a country where bacon is practically worshipped and burgers rival George Washington in terms of American-ness. But we’re coming to a point where sacrificing the familiarity and comfort of our daily eating habits for one day out of the week (if not more) isn’t just a responsible decision, but the inevitable lifestyle for a sustainable world.
Now let us don our environmentalist hats and speak to the impacts of meat production. A 1.5 acre plot of land can grow 37,000 pounds of vegetables or 375 pounds of meat. A study from the Food and Agriculture Organization suggests meat production causes one fifth of the world’s carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions per year. Big numbers, right? For you, that means when you eat a half-pound hamburger (a patty the size of two decks of cards), the greenhouse gas emissions are the same as driving a 3,000 pound car 10 miles.
Let’s address the world hunger argument: 795 million people, one in nine in the world, do not have sufficient food to lead a healthy lifestyle. As the globe rapidly approaches a human population of 8 billion, consider the exorbitant amounts of land, water and feed that are required to meet the respective increase in demand for meat.
In discussing our meat-hungry world, we can’t possibly overlook exactly where all this meat we eat is coming from. The product packaging tells a story of cows grazing happily in green pastures, but the reality is confined animal feeding operations where animals shoved into compact quarters create localized air pollution levels that rival the top polluted cities in the world. Antibiotics are administered regularly to fight infection among the closely packed animals and a typical diet consists of genetically modified corn and soy rather than grass and forage as their ruminant stomach is designed for. Appetizing, ethical and sustainable? Not quite.
Across the country, colleges and universities stand proudly at the forefront of sustainability efforts, by recycling, composting, reducing energy consumption and increasing renewables in the energy mix. In 2014, the University’s dining halls composted over 250 tons of food and donated over 1,400 pounds of food. In the bathroom, we see stickers stamped on paper towel dispensers suggesting to “Try just one,” and in classrooms, there are reminders near light switches to turn them off when not needed. Where can we go next?
What are other universities doing to stay at the front of the sustainability movement? Duke, Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill promote “Meatless Mondays,” “Less-Meat Mondays” and education on health and environmental benefits of choosing to eat more vegetarian or vegan meals. Note that our own dining halls also promote “Meat Free Monday,” but the truly impressive feat is to insure there is no meat.
Our University has additional incentives to take these environmental implications of meat to heat. The Board of Visitors passed a resolution for a carbon reduction goal in 2009, and in June 2011, the University became the first university to set a reactive nitrogen goal. These footprint goals seek to reduce the University’s carbon and nitrogen footprint by 25 percent by 2025. These goals are aggressive but realistic as we accept change to all impactful sectors of our university, including energy, transportation and food.
Kudos and praise to University Dining for tackling a controversial task: taking meat off the menu. The efforts are a massive success for challenging the taboo of a meat-free dining hall and for celebrating the environmental and health benefits of vegetarianism. There’s power in the culture change of a meat-free dining hall and real potential for the environmental footprint of our University.
And for you reader, note that University Dining does actually read your tweets. While you’re at it, give due respect and appreciation to University Dining employees who are passionate about their jobs and the food they make. Recognize that you have purchasing power as a consumer. Care about your environmental impact (prove that more than 60 percent of our generation cares), and know that your food choices are a huge contributor. Reconsider the pasta before you pick up a burger next time you’re at the dining hall.
Lauren Bredar and Jennifer Natyzak are fourth-years in the College.
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