il trovatore di Dio Generatico presenta: King's College green policy

Cutting carbon

Low Carbon Meals Scheme

The blue footprint symbol is used to show low-carbon meals

King's is part of the University's Low Carbon Meals Scheme, which aims to create a wider awareness of the carbon impact of producing and serving food. It encourages people to choose more carbon friendly meals.

In the UK, a fifth of people's annual carbon footprint comes from the food they eat. If we are to reduce global carbon emissions we need to understand the carbon impact of our food choices. King's Catering Department labels food so that it is easier to choose the meal with the lowest carbon footprint.

A low carbon meal is a meal whose ingredients produce lower greenhouse gas emissions from farming/feeding, processing, transport and storage. The foods with the lowest carbon footprints are local seasonal vegetables, cereals and fruit.

Food flown from across the world, or grown in heated greenhouses, produces considerably more carbon emissions. Animal products are generally higher in emissions, and the worst of all these are beef, lamb and hard cheese. In addition, frozen meals produce high emissions due to the power used to maintain them at low temperatures.

For more information see the Low Carbon Meals Scheme flyer.