Low Carbon Diet Day

April 22, 2010 |

In celebration of Earth Day, Goucher’s food services provider, Bon Appétit Management Company, will hold Low Carbon Diet Day on Thursday, April 22.

The college’s dining facilities will serve foods that help illustrate key principles of how food production and consumption can help reduce climate change. In addition, results about Bon Appétit's food waste reduction efforts will be announced.

In the United States, food now travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles from farm to table, which is as much as 25 percent farther than two decades ago, according to the Worldwatch Institute. Shipping and warehousing food has become one of the major contributors to global warming and air and water pollution. Wasted food also generates significant greenhouse gasses. The food system as a whole is now responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Though it may seem like a small step, choosing seasonal foods that are grown locally and that are minimally processed can have an important cumulative effect on the environment.

Now in its third year, the Low Carbon Diet program is more than a one-day event. Bon Appétit has set measurable goals to reduce the carbon footprint of the highest impact areas of its business, including:

• Reducing beef by 25 percent 
• Reducing cheese by 10 percent
• Sourcing all meat and poultry from North America
• Reducing purchases of fresh tropical fruits by 50 percent
• Sourcing all vegetables and non-tropical fruits from North America
• Reducing food waste by 25 percent
• Reducing consumption of processed sweets, snacks, and chocolate by 10 percent
• Eliminating air-freighted seafood
• Reducing the use of water and energy by at least 20 percent
• Reducing the use of packaging by at least 10 percent.

Bon Appétit has 400 cafés in corporations, specialty venues, and colleges and universities — including at Goucher — and serves 80 million meals per year. The company has launched initiatives to raise awareness about where food comes from, the importance of local versus organic, and the impact of “food miles” — the distance food travels from the farm to the dining table.