NYU’s Office of Sustainability partnered with two student organizations to host the university’s second Plant-Based Food Festival in the Kimmel Center for University Life on Sept. 24. The festival featured plant-based foods and merchandise from more than 15 vegan vendors, recipe demonstrations in a teaching kitchen and live music from NYU students. The event also served as a way for NYU to announce its participation in the Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge, an initiative supported by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy.
The plant-based food movement is gaining traction — and NYU wants a stake in it. As a carbon challenge signatory, the university has pledged to make a 25% reduction to its food-related carbon footprint by 2030. Partnering with the Greener by Default Coalition at NYU and the Animal Rights Collective, the university offered innovative vegan snacks and drinks to hundreds of students at the festival, including Fable Food’s shiitake mushroom-based “meat,” Fabalish’s dairy-free tzatziki sauce, Mezcla’s pea protein crisp bars and Bored Cow’s pumpkin spice milk alternative. The festival’s teaching kitchen featured two recipe demos: vegetable summer rolls with a peanut-free dipping sauce and vegan banana bread in a mug.
Neeti Jain, a strategic partnerships advisor for the Plant-Power Carbon Challenge, discussed the importance of taking a systematic approach to reducing carbon emissions from food. However, she also emphasized that seeking greener food options can still be a source of enjoyment for consumers.
“Food should be joyful, and plant-based food can add even more joy by also being climate friendly,” Jain said in an interview with WSN.
Following the success of the first Plant-Based Food Festival in April, the university aims to highlight its growing commitment to plant-based, carbon-neutral food options on campus. In 2022, nearly half of the university’s food-related emissions came from beef, followed by poultry, pork and dairy, according to NYU Chief Sustainability Officer Cecil Scheib, who spoke at the festival.
Alongside Greener by Default, Animal Rights Collective sought to spread its plant-based message in a way that would excite a wide range of students. The answer? Free food for everyone.
“We wanted to make this event fun and accessible while also still informing the public on what we stand for, merging both activism and art,” Co-president Nora Teter said.
Tisch sophomore Rosa Sandoval-Carlsten, was pleasantly surprised with the food at the festival.
“I had yet to have a good vegan cheese — until today,” Sandoval-Carlsten said.
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