


The day began with a tour of KSU's brand new LEED Gold Certified Dining Hall, the largest facility of its kind to be certified at this level in the United States. We learned about the design of the dining hall with respect to energy and water conservation, as well as improved usability for employees. KSU's dining manager then treated all 44 of us to a free all you care to eat meal, where we sampled the delicious cuisine from a variety of different serving stations. Vegetarian foods, including vegetarian protein sources, were plentiful and many healthy dishes were offered. There was also very visible labeling of all locally sourced ingredients, which helps students make more sustainable food choices.

I followed with a brief presentation about reducing the environmental, social and health impacts associated with eating large quantities of factory farm meat and animal products. In addition to offering more vegan and vegetarian options in dining halls and food courts, campuses can choose to provide more sustainable animal products like organic, free-range eggs and wild game. While vegetarianism may not be for everyone, by decreasing our consumption of unsustainable meat and animal products we can reduce: land and water consumption, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, world hunger, unnecessary use of antibiotics, the cost of health care, and the rates of heart disease, obesity, cancer and swine flu, among other ailments. Just some food for thought.
Nell Fry, Georgia Institute of Technology's Sustainable Dining Coordinator, made a presentation about cost-neutral sustainable dining initiatives. These include energy and water conservation efforts, waste reduction through composting and recycling, local purchasing, substituting vegetarian protein options for meat, employee education, and several other simple steps that any campus can take to reduce their environmental impact.

If you are interested in learning more about the network or possibly getting involved, contact Carly Queen at queenc@nwf.org .
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