How Plant-Based Food is More Sustainable

By: Rachel Blackburn

April 23, 2019

State College, PA – Recycling, reducing waste, and conserving energy are common examples
that people use to talk about steps toward living a more sustainable life, but there is another
effort that is often left out of the conversation – sustainable, plant-based foods.

Animal Husbandry requires a lot of natural resources to raise meat, especially beef. Space has to
be made for the animals to graze and they must be given food and water. To put this into
perspective, research at University of California speculates that to raise one pound of beef, it
takes between 2,000 and 8,000 gallons of water.

Penn State is taking multiple steps to show students how including more plant-based meals in
their diet can help them lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Vegetarian and vegan options are
offered at every dining hall, classes are offered where students can learn about sustainability, and
there are many demonstrations and events held on campus for students to learn about plant-based
foods.

In March, the MorningStar Solar Home, located on campus near Beaver stadium, held an event
where students learned about sustainable eating and food insecurity while enjoying a meal
catered by Taproot Kitchen, a company that specializes in local, sustainable food that is grown in
the area.

The MorningStar Solar Home itself is one of the most sustainable areas on campus, using solar
panels and a variety of other technologies to produce enough renewable energy to operate off of
Penn State’s energy grid. The home was created as part of a solar decathlon in 2007 and won
fourth place. It is now used for research projects, tours, and events.

At the sustainability event, Taproot Kitchen showed off the possibilities of plant-based food, and
how locally grown food is more sustainable than imported foods, as a large amount of carbon
emissions are released into the atmosphere by vehicles transporting produce across long
distances.

The MorningStar Solar Home also houses a small garden on the property of the home, where
vegetables can be grown to be used in sustainable recipes. If people local to State College are
looking for other places to get locally grown produce, they can visit the Student Farm or any
other nearby farms.

Anyone who is interested in learning recipes that involve sustainable, plant-based meals can visit
the MorningStar Solar Home and pick up a copy of their sustainable recipe cookbook, or can
view it digitally on their website.