Your Ecological 'Food'print

It is inevitable – any college student loves to eat. At UCLA, we are presented with a plethora of food options daily. From the Italian bistro at Café 1919 to the sandwich bar in De Neve, Bruins have no excuse to be left with an empty stomach at the end of the day. Beyond the organic salad bar in Hedrick Hall, UCLA has taken many steps towards having sustainable dining halls.

As most students have noticed, trays have slowly started to disappear from certain dining halls. Going trayless not only helps conserve the water and energy that would have otherwise been used to wash the trays, but also benefits the students. Without a tray, a student will be more compelled to eat what he can carry and not overeat. With less food wasted, too, less waste travels to landfills. The effects of going trayless have proved exceedingly successful; in January 2009, over 6,300 gallons of water were saved because of such green initiatives. Within the dining halls too, the chefs separate food waste from other waste. The food waste is then sent to a composting site in Los Angeles.

As we have learned from Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma and from our lectures and readings last fall and winter, the higher up on the food chain we eat, the less eco-friendly our options become. Cows are not the most eco-friendly animal to consume and raise, as they release methane gas, one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Beef also requires thousands of gallons of water to produce. UCLA is aware of this fact and initiated “Beef-less Thursdays” in all of the dining halls on campus beginning last spring. Through voting with their dollars and restraining against purchasing and consuming beef, Bruins are showing how taking small steps, such as cutting beef out of one’s diet once a week, can work towards a more sustainable future.

Out of the dining hall and into the cafeterias and restaurants on campus, UCLA has also made eco-friendly efforts within the past few years. ASUCLA offers many organic food options on campus, including organic teas in the coffee houses on campus. During the past year especially, the E3 club on campus has worked with these same coffee houses to increase the amount of fair trade coffee offered to customers. The hospital cafeterias at UCLA have all done away with Styrofoam; these cafeterias now offer biodegradable, paper insulated cups and eco-friendly utensils to their customers. Also during the past month, ASUCLA has presented new trash cans and recycling cans on campus. With only two cans – one for trash with food waste and one for recyclables of any other material – it is now easier for students to dispose of their waste properly as the separation process will happen on behalf of UCLA’s facilities services.

Although UCLA as an institution has done their part to choose options for the dining halls that are more eco-friendly, students also must make extra efforts to utilize these choices. As for the future, UC-wide policy calls for 100% of food waste to be diverted by 2020 and projects are being implemented that will increase the amount of organic and locally grown food (from within a 100 mile radius of UCLA campus). UCLA is becoming greener, one plate at a time.


What can you do?
1.Don’t waste your food. Try and take what you can only eat from the dining halls. This will ultimately save how much is carried to these composting sites and how much waste UCLA generates. It does take much energy to rid of the waste accumulated from such a large campus, so reduce the amount of waste you produce to be greener.
2.Eat lower on the food chain. As I just explained, eating higher on the food chain not only causes more energy and water to be wasted but also gives you less energy since you are eating a higher tropic level. If you don’t feel comfortable cutting meat out of your diet completely like myself, at least try to take this beyond just “Beefless Thursdays” – try to eat meat only every other day. This will open up healthier options to you too!
3.Don’t buy products that come in plastic wrapping. You may be a Trader Joe-aholic, however this store and many other markets sell their produce in packaging. Refrain from buying produce with such extra packaging and bring your own reusable shopping bags when you go on your grocery store runs.