What does it mean to "go green?"...When someone says "go green," common associations that come to mind are issues , such as global warming or the energy crisis. Yet, at its heart the Green Movement's main objective is the maintenance of the human health and condition; including taking better care of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.
Consider your average meal. The typical American meal has traveled an average of 1500 miles before getting to your plate and is usually grown by industrial agriculture corporations. This plate of food emits tonnes of fossil fuels and is likely injected with steroids and peppered with pesticides while depriving your neighbor and local grower out of viable business. Sustainable foods, in contrast are grown seasonally, locally, and are organic. Food should be sustainable post-consumption as well; uneaten food comprises over 7% of the National Average waste stream. Food prep scraps, post-consumer food residuals, waxed cardboard, paper towels, napkins, and food prep waste comprise 70% of a college's food waste; all are completely compostable and are the major sources of methane released into the atmosphere from landfills. Recognizing the predicament they have caused, over 200 universities have jumped onto the eating sustainable bandwagon.
Universities Making a Difference:
Inherently rebellious, college students always seem to be on the forefront of change. Student-run organizations across the nation have single- handedly changed the ways their campuses operate. Like most schools, the University of Portland received its meals from giant food providers like Sysco and Aramark. The first step taken was the removal of the Pepsi Vending Machines and Hunts Ketchup bottles. Then in 2005, under pressure from its students, the University transformed its food consumption to over 40% from local farms and growers in Oregon. The shrimp and chicken they used to offer students grown and shipped in from different countries like Thailand, was now grown in the adjacent county of Clackamas.
The Sustainability Integration Office (SIO) at Middlebury College pushed the school to award over ⅓ of its four million dollar budget to Burlington Foodservice Company, which consists of over 47 Vermont-based growers. The percentage rises each year as the dining halls work directly with the farmers. The SIO also started The Middlebury College Organic Garden a trend soon followed by over 45 colleges across the nation. This program grew more local and organic food and taught experiment learning along with agriculture production. The SIO didn't just stop there; they took all the leftovers and food prep waste, ran them through a pulp to remove water and then composted over 300 tonnes of would be waste. The Ski Team also uses the vegetable oil waste ot power their biodiesel truck and the excess oil is sold off campus.
A major success story tells the tale of the students of the University of California Santa Cruz. Students for Sustainable Agriculture forced Sodexho (a food service giant) out of contract in favor of a local food grower and distributor. The movement began to grow and spread and soon the SSA started Local and Real Food Week annually across UCal campuses throughout the state.
In 2003 Alice Waters head chef at Chez Panisse (winner of best restaurant in America 2001 by Gourmet Magazine) visited her daughter at Yale. Disgusted by the food her daughter was forced to eat, Waters went to the President to solve the problem. After a couple months of fundraising, Waters converted the Berkeley College dining hall into an entirely seasonal and local eatery. The menu threw out hot dogs and fries and only served food that was in season around campus. As lettuce and tomato disappeared from the Connecticut fields so did the selection from the menu. Surprisingly to President Levin-but not to Waters, Berkeley College was soon the most popular dining hall on campus. Even the school chefs took pleasure to this change, ridding themselves of the traditional monotony of lunch lines. Students went to the extreme as making fake IDs to enter the dining hall and chow down on the chef’s squash gratin and beet slaw. Waters was later inducted into the California Hall of Fame (2008), Co-Recipient with Kofi Annan of the Environmental Citizens Award (2008), won a Lifetime Achievement Award (2007), Chez Panisse was recognized as one of “Best 50 Restaurants Worldwide,” and founded the Sustainable Food Program at the American Academy in Rome. Even campuses overseas were getting a hint that sustainable foods were the way to go.
Over 200 colleges across the nation are now investing in sustainable foods. Some are starting new recycling programs others are eating local, each are making a difference to the students and community.
"Go green" in your own way, several colleges and universities offer sustainability studies online.
Learn more at Sustainability Programs on eLearners.com