No meat ban in UT canteen, but reduce its impact

| Jari Dokter

Meat-free canteens are increasingly becoming part of sustainability goals at Dutch universities, the NOS recently reported. The University of Twente has one meat-free canteen in its ranks: Ravelijn. Will there be more in the future and what does the UT think about this at all?

'It is important that there is something for everyone at our university', says UT contract manager Anouk van der Wal. 'That's why the menu on campus varies from plant-based to fish and meat products. We stand for diversity and that is reflected in the canteens. The food supply must fit within the limits of what our planet can handle.'

Plant-based foods

Birgit Dragtstra is a sustainability policy advisor at the UT and works closely with Van der Wal. Both agree that UT canteens can be more sustainable. 'It's about achieving our sustainability goals. We are exploring various options. For example, we are investigating adding plant-based and vegan dishes to the menu. It is also possible to replace meat proteins with vegetable proteins,' says Dragtstra. 'The aim is to reduce the impact – of CO2 emissions, among other things. Switching partially, or completely, to plant-based food is a means to achieve that goal. But it is not an end in itself to completely replace meat products,' she explains.

CO2 value per sandwich

With a new project, Dragtstra and Van der Wal want students and staff to become more aware of their order. That is why there will soon be a sign with the CO2 impact next to each sandwich. 'We are joining forces with UT start-up MiSt Sustainable Solutions for this. He makes the calculation for us per sandwich. Canteen visitors can then see what CO2 value the chosen sandwich has. The aim is for people to take into account the impact of their sandwich on CO2 emissions, land and water use when making their choice. In any case, the pilot with five types of sandwiches in the Waaiercanteen turned out to have a positive effect on that choice.'

Example

Dragtstra sees an important role and task for the UT to become more sustainable. 'Our university has an exemplary role and can take the lead. You can make a difference with that in the canteens.' The policy advisor says that the UT aims to reduce emissions and land and water consumption of food and drink on campus by 50% by 2030. 'The most sustainable way is to offer more plant-based food. That does not mean that meat will be banned. But it is important that there is a broader and different offer at the UT.'

Dragtstra reports that the first dishes are already on the menu. 'A pilot with spaghetti bolognese - in which half of the minced meat was replaced by lentils - turned out to be a success and has now been introduced. If you make sure that the food is tasty and tasty, no one will notice that it is plant-based.'

Poll and research

The fact that the enthusiasm for more plant-based products still has to grow among canteen visitors was shown by a poll that U-Today recently held among its followers on Instagram and LinkedIn. There the question was asked: 'Should the UT ban meat from its canteens?' Although the result is not representative of the UT population, 80 percent of the 276 Instagram voters indicate that they do not support this idea. On LinkedIn, the majority of people (60 percent of the 188 voters) do not want to completely ban meat from the canteens.

Van der Wal is not surprised by the outcome. 'With all due respect, but we are a university in Twente. You can't compare us to universities in the west of the country. We think it's important that everyone feels good, including in the canteens.'

In the meantime, Dragtstra and Van der Wal want to start an investigation into the wishes of staff and students. 'We hope that a facility management student at a university of applied sciences will carry out the research in September. We take the results into account when setting goals, because support within the UT community is important. It is of no use to us if it turns out that many people go to the Coop for their lunch, because the offer in the canteens is not appropriate.'

Whatever changes will follow, it will take some time before UT employees can expect a new menu. The current contract with caterer Appèl runs until 2028. 

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