The University of Turku's Sustainable Campus Life Working Group, together with the university's nutrition and food researchers, the Student Union of the University of Turku and campus restaurant operators, will organise a responsible food week from 30 September to 4 October 2024.
Responsible Food on Campus -week
Sustainable campus meals is one of the focus areas of the University of Turku's vision for a sustainable campus life. Unica and Kårkaféerna, the most prominent players in the campus area, will participate in the campaign week with several restaurants. Also Juvenes, which recently opened a restaurant in the student village takes part in the campaign. The aims of the campaign week are to raise awareness of responsible and sustainable food options, reduce the climate and nature footprint of campus restaurants and increase the promotion of vegetarian food.
The campaign week will include science-based facts about the impact of different choices and responsible lunch options will be highlighted in the restaurants. See below to see the participating restaurants and lunch menus.
Unica-restaurants:
Kårkaféerna restaurants:
Juvenes restaurant
Responsible food for everyone - means balancing people’s needs with the well-being of nature.
A growing human population needs more food, but current food production already consumes too many natural resources and threatens biodiversity. Sustainable food considers not only people’s needs but also the well-being of nature. It maintains biodiversity, mitigates climate change, and secures essential ecosystem services for food production, such as clean water and pollinators.
More responsible food provides security for all life on the planet. Responsibility can be practiced in all diets and food choices.
Steps towards more nature-friendly eating:
Increase Vegetables
Adding more vegetables to your diet reduces the strain on nature. Start with small steps, like making one meal a week meat-free. Also, pay attention to the supply of your environment and demand better vegetarian options.
Choose Organic
Buy foods that are part of a certified environmental system, like organic products. Organic farming supports biodiversity. Food produced with regenerative farming principles is also a good choice. Opt for domestic lake fish and prefer MSC- or ASC-certified seafood.
Value Small Farms
Favor locally produced food, especially from small farms where animals graze. Small-scale farming supports biodiversity and sustainable production. Ask your retailer about local food and take advantage of Reko rings.
How can you reduce your environmental impact in lunch restaurants?
Choose more sustainable protein sources for your plate. The best option for nature is plant proteins, followed by fish, dairy products, and chicken.
Eat less but better red meat. Red meat has the highest environmental impact according to current knowledge, but you can reduce this by choosing pasture-raised or organic meat.
By favoring plant-based products, you reduce the ecological footprint of your meal.
Choosing potatoes over rice saves biodiversity for many reasons. For example, only a tenth of the clean water is used, and the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions are released. Plus, you get to support domestic produce.
Take only as much as you can eat. Waste burdens nature.
If you skip the tray, you reduce dishwashing and thus lower electricity and water consumption.
