Coimbra university is taking beef off the menu in campus canteens.
Dean Amílcar Falcão made the announcement as he welcomed this year’s student intake saying it will be the first step towards transforming Coimbra into Portugal’s first carbon-neutral university by 2030.
“We are experiencing a period of climatic emergency and we have to put the brakes on looming environmental catastrophe”, he said.
The beef moratorium will begin in January 2020.
Explain reports, Coimbra university has a total of 14 canteens which serve around 20 tons of beef every year.
Said Dean Falcão, “other nutrients will be studied” to substitute this product of an industry that produces more CO2 than any other in the sector.
To journalists, the dean stressed that the greatest impact of this change is the way it will make people “aware of the problem”.
“What is more dramatic is to see world leaders not understanding that the future of the planet and younger generations is at risk”, he said, adding that every plastic item in the reception ‘kit’ for new students is to be replaced by metal objects.
Wooden implements and paper straws will substitute plastic cutlery and plastic straws – while food-waste will be cut to a minimum via a “rigorous policy”.
Recycling bins also are to be sited across the campus, while students will be invited to take part in reforesting campaigns for areas “devastated by forest fires or storms, as was the case with Hurricane Leslie”.
