Photo: Shutterstock The University of Delft’s Faculty of Architecture is banning meat from its canteen in the interests of making the campus sustainable. Delft aims to be completely CO2 neutral by 2030. That includes food, of course, which is currently still the third biggest source of emissions on the Delft campus. Whether WUR is going to follow Delft’s example is not clear.
New vision
Head of Location Facilities Annet de Haas is keeping her cards close to her chest. WUR has been working on a new Food & Beverage vision for some time. The first draft is now ready, says De Haas. ‘But I can’t give anything away about the content, except to say that the protein transition is a very important element. But whether we’ll go as far as Delft is the question.’
Whether we’ll go as far as Delft is the question
Annet de Haas, head of Location Facilities
Every day, the caterers on the campus offer the choice of a hot meal with or without meat. Since May 2016, Monday has been the one day when only vegetarian food was on offer. The introduction of ‘meatless Monday’ led to heated discussions and even protest. The opponents of a meatless Monday thought it was being imposed on them.
Discussion
The Delft initiative has caused a stir now too. Supporters and opponents are at each other’s throats on the Wageningen Student Plaza Facebook page. ‘We go for veggie food here in Wageningen too,’ says Luc VB. ‘But luckily, we have freedom of choice here. 5 May is about not letting anyone else decide what you are or are not allowed.’
De Haas expects that the new Food & Beverage plan can be submitted to the Executive Board before the summer vacation. It will be clearer then what form the protein transition is going to take in WUR catering outlets.
