Shifting Campus Food Norms

The college years: a time for innovation, experimentation, and imagination. On-campus living presents an exceptional opportunity to reimagine systems and pilot novel ideas. One of the most powerful solutions colleges have adopted is shifting to a plant-based default in dining halls, coffee shops, and other areas where food is served on campus.

Working with foodservice providers, students can influence changes in food service to reflect their campus values, promoting sustainable, inclusive, plant-forward dining on campuses and beyond.

All-you-care-to-eat settings offer a particularly ripe opportunity for plant-based defaults.

Our research suggests that shifting to a plant-based default more than doubles the amount of plant-based food eaten, while maintaining high diner satisfaction. Across three different universities, we found that while only 26.9 percent of dishes served were plant-based on control days (meat default), on plant-based default days, 57.6 percent of dishes were. Our recent overview of research addressing the effectiveness of nudges further supports the promise of plant-based defaults in these settings.

Plant-based defaults are ideal in many campus food settings.

The promise of plant-based defaults on college campuses extends beyond dining halls, too. Campus coffee shops can serve oat milk as the default for a more sustainable choice and to cater to the 65% of lactose-intolerant adults.  Faculty can implement Plant-Based Default policies for ordering catering, and student groups can also host Plant-Based Default events.

What universities are already doing this?

• In 2022, Northwestern University’s student government passed legislation that includes a 70 percent plant-based requirement and relies on proven behavioral nudges such as opting in to animal-based products at catered gatherings and presenting animal-based products last at buffet-style events.
• New York University has also welcomed DefaultVeg with open arms, adopting plant-based defaults in its student government and in the Office of the Provost. Both students and administrators recognize the transformative potential of plant-based defaults. NYU’s Office of Sustainability also went DefaultVeg, curbing the school’s emissions through plant power, following in the footsteps of Harvard’s Office of Sustainability.
• On the West Coast, Western Washington University’s College of the Environment has adopted plant-based by default for its campus.
• University of San Diego, Pitzer College, and Pomona College all opted to focus on coffee, making lattes and cappuccinos with oat milk by default, thanks to the work of student fellows with New Roots Institute. Cornell University also eliminated its dairy default, along with the upcharge on plant milk, across campus.

In addition to progress led by student ambassadors, more than 400 schools have begun incorporating plant-based nudges into their dining halls as a result of a collaboration between DefaultVeg and Sodexo, one of the largest university foodservice providers.

The plant-forward dining wave doesn’t stop at U.S. borders.

Oxford, Copenhagen, and the University of Victoria have all adopted plant-based defaults in one way or another, as they should: movements are built on community, and we all share the same planet. With just a few simple changes to our cafeterias and dinner plates, we can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Transforming our food system is a collaborative effort, but fortunately, plant-based food benefits—and includes—everyone.

How can students get involved?

BFF’s DefaultVeg Internship Program offers students a structured approach to advocating for plant-based defaults on campus. Students enhance their research, communication, advocacy, negotiation, project management, and leadership skills throughout the program, all while working towards a more sustainable and plant-forward food system.