While animal rights and environmental groups are often pushing consumers to reduce or eliminate animal protein from their diets, there is also an increasing push from universities, said Eric Mittenthal, chief strategy officer, North American Meat Institute.
Mittenthal, while speaking at the Animal Agriculture Sustainability Summit, part of the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta on January 25, said that influence from universities is showing up in various ways.
Universities and the Cool Food Pledge
Some universities, along with some restaurants and health care organizations, have signed on with what is referred to as the Cool Food Pledge, an initiative in which people and organizations “reduce the climate impact of their food through shifting toward more plant-rich diets.”
Mittenthal indicated that many universities might not necessarily sign on with the Cool Food Pledge because it’s something they believe in, but rather they make the decision based on pressure from a vocal portion of the student body.
Tufts Food Compass
Meat reduction tactics are also being advanced by universities that may have not committed to the Cool Food Pledge.
For instance, Mittenthal pointed out the Tufts Food Compass, which was developed at Massachusetts-based Tufts University.
The Food Compass ranks various foods for how healthy they are. Mittenthal showed one page of the rankings, and he was skeptical of that. The compass alleged that marshmallow-laden breakfast cereal Healthy Charms is healthier than various animal protein products.
“It’s interesting with the ranking that they came up with. Lucky Charms rank higher than eggs, cheddar cheese and ground beef,” said Mittenthal. “Most people will probably agree that an egg is far more nutritious than Lucky Charms, for the most part. So, you have these systems that are out there that are really challenging to the animal protein sector and can be very influential.”