Abstract
As Steve Burgess declared when he announced the Plant-Based Treaty in Glasgow in 2022, “Plant-based proteins have a much lower carbon footprint than meat and dairy . . . food systems are a main driver of the climate emergency . . . plant-based diets can go a huge way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” Cities and celebrities have endorsed this treaty: it is time for universities to join the movement. Inspired by UMKC Graduate Students from India and China, and connecting with work by Wendell Berry and the Land Institute in Lindsborg, Kansas, my study illustrates the gradualist approach we are using to change the culture of food consumption on campus by using Graduate Students as on-campus leaders. Connecting evidence about the climate effects of agricultural production with data about plant-based diets on health, the study uses surveys of food needs/wants by international graduate students, models of economic growth, and discussions of animal domestication, to engage audience members in a conversation about how institutions of Higher Education can become pioneers in changing eating habits and the impact of agriculture on climate change and human health.
Presenters
Stephen John DilksDean of School of Graduate Studies; Professor of Irish/British Literature, U of Missouri Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—The Future We Want: Socio-Environmental Challenges in Times of Climate Emergency
KEYWORDS
CLIMATE CHANGE, PLANT-BASED, FOOD, SUSTAINABILITY, HEALTH, ANIMALS
