Employees with Duke Dining Services will be dishing out Low Carbon Diet lunches Tuesday as part of a national campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by food production.
Take a Bite Out of Climate Change
Tuesday is Low-Carbon Diet Day in Great Hall and Marketplace
Saturday, April 19, 2008
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Durham, NC -- We’ve heard the pros and cons of a low-carbohydrate diet. But what about low-carbon food choices?
As part of Low Carbon Diet Day, Duke’s Great Hall on West Campus and the Marketplace on East Campus will offer special lunch menus on Tuesday with selections such as Carolina Crab Cakes, featuring regional seafood that reduces transportation fuel, and “eco-burgers” that replace cheese with grilled onions, which require less energy to produce than dairy products.
“The energy used to grow, store, transport and process food is responsible for about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions,” said Chef Michael Aquaro, who oversees Bon Appetit at Duke. “Plus, waste from half-eaten meals that rot in the garbage generates significant gasses.”
Tuesday’s event, sponsored by Bon Appétit, is part of a national campaign to promote the advantages of sustainable agriculture and raise awareness about the amount of fuel and natural resources used in food production. The event coincides with Duke’s Earth Day Sustainability Fair on Bryan Center Plaza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday.
At the Great Hall and Marketplace, chefs will transform each food station to highlight low-carbon options and to tackle questions such as: Does my sushi have more frequent flier miles than I do?
Want to try a low-carbon meal?
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As part of Low Carbon Diet Day, a national campaign to promote sustainable agricultural principles, special lunch menus will be offered Tuesday at the Great Hall on West Campus from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the Marketplace on East Campus from noon to 2:30 p.m. Entrees will range from $7.29 to $9.29.
Tally your meal’s carbon score with the Low-Carbon Diet online calculator by visiting www.eatlowcarbon.org.
For details about Low Carbon Diet Day, click here.
“As a chef, the last thing I’d ever want to do is harm the environment, as nature provides the abundance that inspires me in the kitchen,” Aquaro said. “Connecting food with global warming has made me aware of how I can tread lightly on the planet by offering low-carbon menu choices. And I still enjoy the occasional burger; I know it is high carbon, so I make appropriate adjustments such as using grilled onions instead of cheese and only using in-season lettuce and tomatoes.”
As part of Duke Dining Services’ motto of providing “More than a Meal,” both eateries will be stocked with educational materials and information about what diners can do to lower the carbon footprint of their food while shopping, at home and when dining out.
Aquaro said the national goal of Low Carbon Diet Day is to cut food production emissions by 25 percent.
To reach that goal, Bon Appétit’s 400 cafes across the country will focus on local and seasonal produce, purchase all meats and vegetables from North America, reduce the amount of beef and cheese served, eliminate air-freighted seafood, decrease purchases of tropical fruits, reduce packaging, limit use of disposable containers and minimize food waste.
