YOU’VE PROBABLY PLAYED THE CARBON FOOTPRINT GAME AT A CONFERENCE. You know the one. You walk up to a computer and answer a few simple questions about your travel. The computer then magically calculates your carbon footprint, and of course, the high level of emissions makes you gasp in horror. You acknowledge that your attendance at the meeting has contributed to global warming. You make a mental note to do better, and you head to your next meeting—possibly even a lunch meeting at a local restaurant.
At lunch, you order a healthy salad with avocados, grapes and perhaps even grilled chicken, then you continue your healthy meal with mixed fruit for dessert. What you might not realize is that your simple, healthy meal may actually cost as much on the carbon footprint scale as your travel to the meeting. And what may be even more disturbing is that avocado or fruit in your salad might have more frequent flier miles than you do.
Sustainable meal planning is a vital component of any planner’s green initiative. The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) defines sustainability as “that which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” A quick look on Dictionary.com gives us a more commonplace definition of the word sustain: to uphold, support or withstand. In his book Food Matters, Mark Bittman has a chapter called “Sane Eating” about eliminating or limiting certain food groups for the health of a person and the environment. This is not a new concept, but the title of his chapter seemed to sum up my feelings about sustainable meal planning: sane eating. If you incorporate that idea with the dictionary definition and WCED’s explanation of sustainability, you come up with the basic idea behind planning a sustainable menu.
Sustainable menu planning is easy to remember if you keep two core components in mind: regional and seasonal. If you utilize regional and seasonal foods in your menu planning, you are creating a meal that has a lower environmental impact. Foods that have to travel less to reach their final destinations create smaller carbon footprints. In order to plan a sustainable menu for your meeting, it is advisable to first research what foods are available regionally and will be in season during the proposed time of your event. Once you have a clear idea of what is available, you can then approach the chef at your venue and discuss your menu options.
Do not let your budget deter you from planning a sustainable menu. Do not fall prey to the myth that planning a sustainable menu costs more—it doesn’t have to when planned carefully. There is the possibility that you may need to serve smaller portions, but let’s face it, we could all use smaller portions in our meals. Fieldtoplate.com offers a great seasonal food pocket guide. This guide is very similar to the sustainable seafood guide you can get at several aquariums. You can also search the U.S. Natural Resources Defense Council (www.nrdc.org) for a complete list of all vegetables and fruits that are in season. A handy tool on the site allows you to select the state of your event and the time period. Once you make those selections, you are given a complete list of what is available within the state and neighboring states.
When planning menus for your conferences, keep the following tips in mind.
• Use your meeting history to determine accurate food and beverage counts.
• Use sustainable seafood. (For a handy downloadable regional guide visit http://tinyurl.com/regionalseafood)
• Use regional and seasonal foods.
• Talk with venue chefs and get suggestions on what they can create, or perhaps ask if they have a local, special dish they would like to create.
• Ask questions: Where does the food come from? Do you use hormone- and steroid-free meats? How is the fish farmed? Where was it caught?
The bad news is that the healthy salad and fresh fruit you had for lunch is part of the global warming process. The good news is that there are many restaurants, venues and corporations that are making an effort to lower their carbon food footprints. There are “farm-to-table” restaurants around the U.S. that plan their menus based on regionally and seasonally available foods that have traveled no more than 200 miles. Many hotels, resorts and convention centers are updating and creating menus that offer local, seasonal and organic options. Yes, the menu they give you may be a little out of your initial budget range, but if you ask the right questions, more often than not they will work with you to create a sustainable and affordable menu for your attendees. One+
KATJA MORGENSTERN is a senior project manager for Meeting Consultants Inc. She is an active MPI member, speaker and industry veteran. She can be reached at kmorgenstern@meetingconsultants.com.