Submitted by Grainne Kennedy on Mon, 2016-12-19 16:22
In the first few weeks of 2017, food will probably be the last thing on many people’s minds but that is exactly what we want to focus on or more precisely we want to focus attention on the environmental impact of food. The impact of food production is vast; from greenhouse gas emissions (almost a third of total emissions) to water use to biodiversity and ecosystem health (Source: Tara Garnett 2014. What is a Sustainable Healthy Diet. Food Climate Research Network, April 2014). February is Spotlight on Food month and there will be events and competitions, discussions and demonstrations that will look at how we can eat in a way that is less harmful to the environment.
The University Catering Service (UCS) has been working hard over the last 18 months to improve the environmental credentials of the food they sell and they want to encourage other catering operations to follow suit. E&E and UCS will therefore be hosting an event to launch their Sustainable Food Policy and will discuss how the policy was developed and the opportunities for other catering providers to incorporate sustainability into their operations.
We are encouraging individuals and groups from all departments to dig out their aprons and get cooking great food that won’t cost the earth! If you would like to get involved but don’t know where to start, there are plenty of fun ideas for you to try in our event guidance.
Details of events will be shared on our website once they become available and we would love to hear from any departments who intend to hold events. We hope you join us through what will be a very exciting and tasty month.
If you have any food ideas you would like to share or would like to tell us about an event you are planning, we can be contacted by email or through our Facebook page.