Food

The University of Washington is announcing the steps it will take in this fiscal year, starting July 1, to reach the targets set in the UW’s Sustainability Action Plan.

The University of Washington adopted its Sustainability Action Plan, including 10 measurable targets, on July 1, 2020. The Plan will guide our sustainability efforts through 2025, with updated actions determined annual to help us work toward those targets.

The University of Washington has finalized its new Sustainability Action Plan, which will guide the university’s efforts during the next five years.

The Sustainability Action Plan includes five guiding principles and 10 measurable targets along with annual actions to reach those targets. Each year, the UW will evaluate the immediate actions needed over the next fiscal year to respond to changing realities and needs across our campuses.

Feedback from the University of Washington community on the UW’s draft Sustainability Strategy and proposed actions has been published.

The draft Sustainability Strategy was released on Earth Day, April 22. All members of the UW community were invited to take a survey to provide input on the draft - including the guiding principles and targets - and proposed actions.. Those survey results and comments have been compiled and are available as a PDF document.

April 16, 12 p.m. (Zoom event)

Jessica Holmes taught the first ever Vegan Studies course at UW this fall. Her talk "Vegan Studies: Teaching Equity, Justice and Sustainability through the Lens of Veganism" will discuss the emerging academic field of Vegan Studies – what is it, how might we situate it within current models of scholarship and activism, and how does it relate to issues of sustainability, ecofeminism and social justice? How might veganism serve as a potential basis for radical social resilience and coexistence on a planet in crisis?

The University of Washington is working to develop a comprehensive Sustainability Plan. Led by Executive Sponsor and UW Facilities Vice President Lou Cariello, the Sustainability Plan is on track for delivery on Earth Day, April 22, 2020. The team will be using several tools to identify gaps and the actions that will comprise the Plan, including UW's 2018 STARS submission (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System) and the Climate Action Inventory.

A efficient, clean-burning cookstove developed by the non-profit BURN Design Lab - collaborating with UW mechanical engineers - can reduce the amount of fuel needed by 55 percent while also cutting down on particulate pollution.

Such a stove can make a big difference for much of the world. Smoke from open cooking fires and stoves causes millions of deaths and illnesses, and gathering wood and other fuel can expose vulnerable populations to dangerous risks.

SEARCHING FOR a healthful, delicious lunch place in the University District? Look no farther than the bright, modern restaurant Cultivate (1218 N.E. Campus Parkway) where the wait staff are University of Washington students and the fresh, seasonal food is as local as it gets.

The ASUW has announced that the Student Food Cooperative (UWSFC), previously a Registered Student Organization (RSO) at the UW, will become an ASUW entity beginning in June.

UWSFC is an RSO that, for the past several years, has reached out to students at the UW to teach them about making better and more sustainable food choices.

“We’re really excited to be an entity of ASUW,” UWSFC director Matt Wildey said. “It’s a really great opportunity to reach out to a significant group of students that we weren’t able to reach out to before.”

Key crops eaten by a large portion of the world’s population have lower levels of zinc and iron when grown at the elevated carbon dioxide levels that scientists predict will occur by the middle of the century, according to a new study.