At some universities, half of the meals offered now are vegetarian
College dining halls across the country are increasingly embracing meatless menus with administrators and researchers pointing to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions as a key reason. But some scientists say the environmental benefits are being overstated.
A report this month by Inside Higher Ed describes how “dozens” of higher education institutions have been expanding plant based options and reducing meat consumption in campus dining facilities. The shift is framed as a way to promote “sustainability” and reduce carbon footprints.
For example, in November, the University of California Riverside announced plans to further expand its meatless dining options, according to the report. Currently, about 45 percent of its campus dining meals are meatless, but the university has promised to increase that to 50 percent by 2027 as part of its sustainability goals.
Other universities have announced similar goals including the University of North Texas, which promised to make 50 percent of its meals plant-based by the end of last year, according to a news release.
Matthew Ward, executive chef of residential dining at UNT, described the vegetarian move as “eco-friendly.”
Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins University’s Center for a Livable Future encourages students to participate in “Meatless Monday,” which it says is “good for your health and the health of the planet.”
Behind much of the push is the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, a Stanford University initiative founded in 2012 that now includes about 85 colleges and universities.
The collaborative promotes what it calls “plant forward eating patterns,” encouraging institutions to serve less meat while increasing vegetarian meals.
According to the collaborative’s website, the project brings together researchers, dining professionals, and food service providers to promote research-based “sustainability” efforts in campus dining.
The collaborative aims to “promote healthy, sustainable, delicious food choices and cultivate the long-term well-being of all people and the planet,” a “Values Proposition” for prospective schools states.
Another goal is to “reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions from protein purchases by 40% by 2030.”
“In 2019, we set a collective target to reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of food across the MCURC by 25% by 2030. In 2023, we extended this target to a 40% reduction per kilogram by 2030, to align more closely with the global recommendation to shift toward the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet,” the collaborative website states.
The collaborative also emphasizes reducing food waste as a way to help the environment and lower costs.
However, the project’s central environmental claims have drawn scrutiny.
Frank Mitloehner, a professor and air quality specialist at the University of California Davis, says the relationship between meat consumption and climate change is more complex than it is often presented on college campuses.
“Animal agriculture is a relatively small part of U.S. greenhouse gases at around 4 percent of direct emissions,” Mitloehner told The College Fix in a recent interview. “If we’re really interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions quickly and effectively from livestock, we need to look at interventions that reduce emissions within the supply chain.”
What’s more, he said universities often overlook the nutritional role animal sourced foods play for students.
“Reducing consumption of meat on college campuses because of climate is not considering the full picture of why we serve animal sourced foods in the first place,” Mitloehner said. “They’re a nutrient dense food that provides a great source of protein and essential nutrients.”
He added that some student populations are already deficient in nutrients such as protein and iron, making food choice an important consideration.
From an environmental perspective, Mitloehner said emissions reductions within agriculture itself may offer more immediate results.
“We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in animal agriculture today,” he said, pointing to California’s dairy industry which is on track to reduce methane emissions by 40 percent by 2030. “A glass of milk in California today has a smaller climate footprint than it did less than a decade ago.”
Meanwhile, H. Sterling Burnett, director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at the Heartland Institute, offered stronger criticism of campus meat reduction efforts.
“There is no climate crisis that merits giving up meat consumption,” Burnett told The College Fix.
Universities promoting meatless dining are trying to “guilt” students into giving up meat for what he described as a flawed and unscientific cause.
Burnett cited data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency indicating that livestock accounts for less than 4 percent of domestic greenhouse gas emissions with cattle responsible for about 2 percent.
“Even if humans were driving climate change, meat consumption plays, at best, a marginal role in emissions,” Burnett said.
The Menus of Change University Research Collaborative maintains that its approach is not about eliminating meat altogether but rebalancing diets while improving sustainability and reducing waste. Its resource materials emphasize flexibility, cultural considerations and gradual change rather than mandates.
The Fix reached out to the collaborative through MCURC Co-Director Sophie Egan, as well as Stanford University media relations for comment twice, but neither responded.
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