Sustainable Food

carrots and radishes in a box

The food we all consume on campus comes with some real environmental impacts and it is the will of the University that we continue to work in reducing these impacts by continuing to maintain our attention to the food that is prepared and offered to our students, staff and visitors.

Making the food we consume on campus more sustainable is a long-term goal of the University of Bedfordshire.

It is a responsibility that we take very seriously, and to this end, the University has pledged to reduce various environmental impacts associated with operating campus food outlets

The six issues affecting the sustainability of food:

  • Food waste: At every stage of the food chain there are vast quantities of avoidable food waste being generated.
  • Use of pesticides and fertilizers: Artificial fertilizers and pesticides used in global farming are causing significant damage to local environments.
  • Food transportation and seasonality: 25% of the haulage on British motorways is transporting food products.
  • Fairtrade: Fairtrade guarantees fair prices for farmers to grow commodities such as coffee, cotton and sugar cane, the Fairtrade supplement is plowed back into the local community often providing education and preventing child labour.
  • Protecting fragile fish stocks: Fish stocks in UK and International waters are in real threat of overfishing, procuring MSC fish protects these fragile fish stocks.
  • Processed foods: The over-processing of food is a real health threat to our nation, overly processed foods should be replaced with, fresh, local, seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Green Impact Students' Unions 2022-23 Fair Trade logo We are A Fair Trade University 2019 Eco Campus Platinum Award for Environmental Management SystemPeople and Planet 1st award class 2021 - 2022 University League