The Carbon Footprint of Penn State Dining's Buffet Menus
Open Access
- Author:
- Szkutnik, Octavia
- Area of Honors:
- Earth Science and Policy
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Douglas R Goodstein, Thesis Supervisor
Timothy Bralower, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- carbon impact
carbon footprint
sustainability
sustainable dining
climate change
greenhouse gas emissions
penn state - Abstract:
- In the face of an escalating climate crisis, the urgency of sustainability has reached every corridor of Penn State University’s operations; Penn State's Dining operations will need to follow suit in sustainability efforts across campus. Food choices significantly contribute to environmental challenges through the production of greenhouse gas-intensive foods, like red meat and dairy, which result in large amounts of methane emissions and deforestation, amplifying the carbon footprint. Penn State's buffet menus become the focal point, as this thesis employs a carbon rating system---utilizing carbon footprints from CarbonCloud and recipe specific information from FoodPro---to quantify greenhouse gas emissions for each recipe and menu item and identify which recipes have higher or lower carbon footprints. Recipe information specific to Penn State is pulled from FoodPro, including serving sizes, and each ingredient is attributed a certain amount of kg CO2e, identified in CarbonCloud. Footprints are calculated in Excel, finding that steak is the most carbon heavy meal. However, it proves challenging to pinpoint strategies for reducing the carbon footprint without compromising student and customer satisfaction. Therefore, this study encourages Penn State to adjust its menus to offer less carbon heavy meat options (such as beef) and measure consumer satisfaction, and offers practical recommendations for sustainable dining practices. This thesis positions Penn State as a proactive institution, addressing the intersectionality of climate change and food choice and paving the way for a sustainable and environmentally conscious future for the University.