What impact do the production and delivery processes of meals in university canteens have on the environment? Can the widespread change in eating habits together with certain preparation and administration criteria contribute to containing climate change?
These are some of the questions he will try to answer next Friday 17 May, “What the hell! – university catering that (de)fights for the environment”, national conference on the topic of sustainability of canteen services within universities. It was promoted by Dsu Toscana and the Italian association of organizations for the right to university education (Andisu), organizations that are increasingly aware that with a daily catchment area of over two million students, teachers, technical and administrative staff, Italian university canteens they can really make a difference in reducing the effect that a certain way of consuming food has on the ecosystem.
The day, which will see the participation of numerous experts and operators in the sector, is scheduled from 9am at the Santa Apollonia Auditorium, in via San Gallo 25 in Florence.
The interventions of researchers will be the setting for a session aimed at establishing a multidisciplinary technical working group responsible for drawing up national guidelines for the management of the entire process of providing meals, from the drafting of recipes to the control of procurement . The opportunities that certain choices can offer to make university canteens more environmentally friendly and attentive to the health of users will also be presented and shared with stakeholders, taking inspiration from the analysis of the existing scenario to formulate proposals and adopt shared good practices.
After the institutional greetings from the president of the Region, the president Andisu and the president of the DSU Toscana, it will be the turn of the interventions including that of the director of the Mediterranean Global Footprint Network program, Alessandro Galli, on the global ecological impact of nutrition, that of the researcher Ires Piemonte Federica Laudisa who will present the data on university catering in Italy and that of Professor Egidio Dansero of the University of Turin on the relationship between the institutions and the student as the fulcrum of food policies. In the afternoon session there will be space for the workshop with the discussion on positive experiences and critical issues to be shared together to offer food for thought to the national working group.
Representatives of bodies for the right to university education from all over Italy, universities, associations operating in the field of “sustainability” and private collective catering operators will participate.
The choice to hold the conference in Florence follows the investments made by DSU Toscana to reduce the impact on the environment of the entire supply chain through the development of menus and the serving of food. A commitment that has allowed the company to obtain important recognitions such as the special mention of the Buygreen 2023 Compraverde Award, Canteen Green 2023 section and the positioning in the first three positions of the university catering ranking in the Canteens for the Climate report – promoted by theessere animali association .
What the hell! – download the program
[In collaborazione con l’ufficio stampa dell’Azienda Dsu Toscana]
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