Hamburgers, lasagna and spaghetti bolognese for students at Goldsmiths University in London will be banned from beef to combat climate change. The ban on the sale of all products containing it will come into effect in campus shops in September, announced the university in the south-east of the British capital in a statement, the cattle farm being accused of to be a heavy consumer of water and a source of deforestation.
With the objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2025, it will also apply a penalty of 10 pence (about 10 euro cents) on plastic bottles and non-reusable cups. "The global call for more and more insistence that organizations take seriously their responsibilities to stop climate change is impossible to ignore," said the new director of Goldsmiths, who took office in August. "Staff and students [...] are determined to contribute to the radical change needed to drastically reduce our carbon footprint as quickly as possible," she added.
The carbon footprint of beef
A report from the Giec (UN panel of experts on climate) released Thursday highlights that changing consumption and food production habits is one of the levers to act against global warming, without advocating to move to a vegetarian or vegan diet.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has denounced Goldsmiths' "overly simplistic approach" and encouraged private or public organizations, including universities, to support British agriculture and buy locally. "The main problem is the lack [...] of distinction between British beef and beef produced elsewhere," added Vice President Stuart Roberts.
The carbon footprint of British beef is "2.5 times lower than the world average," according to him, thanks to extensive farming. Other UK universities have already taken initiatives to reduce meat consumption, including Cambridge.