Page 31 - BusinessWest May 30, 2022

Kathy Wicks says educating students on their food choices gives them the ability to take action to help the planet.
associated with their life cycle. Examples of low- carbon foods include nuts, soy products, local vegetables, and dairy alternatives; high- carbon foods include beef, lamb, cheese, chocolate, and coffee. To combat higher emissions UMass sources its high carbon foods locally, and all of
the low-carbon foods offered are grown locally and, in some cases, on campus.
“My team and I researched the issue and
we have partnered with MyEmissions,” said Kathy Wicks, director of Sustainability at UMass Amherst. “They analyze each recipe for its car- bon footprint. So we export our recipe, they analyze it, and then they send it back to us so we can put it on the menu identifiers and on the app.”
Elaborating, Wicks said that such analysis involves giving a rating — A through E, with
A being the highest, or best grade — to each individual recipe based on its carbon footprint. A carbon footprint, as it relates to food, is the amount of carbon emissions, methane, or car- bon dioxide involved in the food’s production. It takes into account the life cycle of whatever one is measuring, its land use, processing, transpor- tation, and packaging. UMass has been able to reduce some of its carbon emissions already by partnering with local farmers and facilities to feed their students.
MyEmissions has worked with European restaurants to help them reduce their carbon footprint, but UMass Amherst Dining is the first university program in the country to be intro- ducing an initiative like this. And as an anchor institution in the region and a recognized leader and innovator among dining programs, UMass is looking to tell a story others will follow.
“Yeah it’s delightful that we did it first, but it’s a better feeling knowing we can help our students make a better choice,” said Ken Toong, executive director of Auxiliary Enterprises at UMass Amherst, which oversees the dining program. “Food matters and I think this is an
“We’ve been working with our local partners for a long time, we also work closely with companies around their practices and how they relate to sustainability. And this is a way we can help students practice everyday climate action with every food choice that they make.”
important thing for the UMass community.” Wicks agreed, and noted that through this
new initiative, the university hopes to better inform students about foods and their impact on the planet and perhaps inspire them to con- sider options — like kelp.
“We started incorporating kelp on the menu — talk about a superfood; it’s a carbon sink, meaning it puts carbon back into the atmo- sphere,” she explained. “We partnered with a group in Maine that works with off-season lob- stermen to grow kelp, and it’s going really well. We’ve done research and development on it, and again, we’re educating students that not only is kelp a superfood for your health, but it’s also a climate superfood.”
Overall, plant-forward dining, and that includes kelp, helps to reduce the overall car- bon footprint. Low-carbon foods are able to be
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