Agriculture has existed for roughly 12,000 years — long enough for most people to have lost perception of how ecologically costly the production of food is. As the fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the United States, agriculture was responsible for about 10% of total U.S. GHG emissions last year and the leading source of pollution in many countries. Despite this, few sustainability initiatives have attempted to remedy the unsustainable methods of the agriculture industry that, tucked in the most rural parts of the country, have flourished to disastrous extents.
NYU champions its culture of sustainability. The university vowed to be carbon neutral by 2040, boasting numerous environmentalism courses and ranking No. 15 in the 2025 Top Green Colleges. However, GHG emissions from NYU’s food purchases were largely overlooked until 2020, when it promised to reduce 25% of food-related emissions by 2030. As of last October, NYU reduced food-based emissions by 17% on a per-calorie basis and became a major signatory on the Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge — a mayoral initiative to provide plant-based meals to students. However, it’s now critical that the university hones in on the most environmentally consequential food group — ruminant meats.
Ruminant meats come from animals with a four-compartment stomach, such as cattle, sheep, goats, bison, deer and elk. While they only comprise 2.5% of the total weight of NYU’s food purchases, they’re responsible for 41% of its food-related emissions. Comparatively, plant-based foods make up 57% of NYU’s food purchases while only comprising 11% of its food-related emissions. Due to their unique digestive processes, ruminant animals produce methane, a greenhouse gas that is 28 to 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide — and beef is particularly resource-intensive because those animals require more feed per unit of meat produced. Cattle farming alone was responsible for 35% of all GHG emissions from agriculture in 2024, producing more than double the amount of carbon dioxide per kilogram than any other food group.
Sustainability isn’t just another benchmark accomplishment to brag about, but an initiative that extends to the health and quality of life of students who attend NYU. Studies have shown that 75% of the U.S. population fails to eat enough fruit, and more than 80% fails to eat enough vegetables — leading to deficiencies in fiber, potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin C across the nation. Research has also shown that high amounts of red or processed meat increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and premature death. By reducing red meat in dining halls, NYU not only encourages students to rethink their nutritional choices in the moment, but cultivates healthy eating habits that could last a lifetime.
Dr. Frank Hu, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, stated that red meat is not necessary to fulfill dietary requirements, and that its high levels of protein, zinc and iron can be replaced by food such as poultry, fish and nuts. Ruminant meats, particularly beef, cause an outsized level of environmental impact for the relatively obsolete health effects they provide. By deprioritizing them from students’ diets and introducing more plant-based meals, NYU can bridge the nutritional gaps in the typical American meat-based diet while taking steps to minimize harmful agricultural practices involved in meat production.
NYU has shown great commitment to its sustainability initiatives in the past, and the reduction of beef products in dining halls would be a crucial step in the right direction towards carbon neutrality. Not only will it be beneficial environmentally, but by minimizing nutritional deficiencies in students’ dietary choices, it will lead to a more sustainable and healthier student population.
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