Major universities in the UK have promoted plant-based diets, which have become mainstream diets on campus!
More and more universities in the UK are joining the ranks of promoting plant-based diets to help protect the environment. Not long ago, PA News published a new survey of food choices at different universities across the UK.
The results are surprising—plant-based diets have become mainstream in colleges and universities:
Survey results
- 51%of the UK’s 144 universities have hosted events promoting plant-based diets, such as Meatless Mondays.
- Forty-four of them (31%) already have restaurants or snack bars dedicated to serving plant-based diets, while another 18 say they are planning to build.
- A handful of universities have even outlawed animal-based protein with plant-based protein at some restaurants, events and conferences.
- At least 11 schools have begun restricting the sale and supply of animal meat, including Goldsmiths, University of London, King’s College London, and the University of Cambridge— — They took beef off the menu as early as last month.
Vanessa Gouws, director of business services at Goldsmiths, University of London, said teachers and students had responded positively to adding plant-based options and removing beef from menus. Gouws said: “Plant-based eating is the trend now, and people know that eating less meat is good for the environment. There have been many teachers and people asking us to increase plant-based options, and now we have opened a restaurant dedicated to plant-based food. They love it. This coffee shop is even better than other food stores.”
The positive response of various universities in the UK to plant-based diets is inseparable from the continuous research that confirms that plant-based diets are beneficial to the environment. A 2018 study by Oxford University pointed out that meat and dairy products account for up to 73% of a person’s carbon footprint; if animal protein is replaced by plant protein, the global demand for agricultural land will also be reduced by 75% – an area of the same size in the United States, China, Australia, and Europe combined.