![](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Germany-school-kitchens-800x400.png\" "\\"Germany")
<\/span><\/div>School lunches in Germany are changing. From traditional meat-heavy meals, students are being served a more expansive selection of vegetarian options. The idea is simple: getting kids eat healthier and more sustainable meals while reducing carbon footprints of the schools\u2019 food services.<\/p>\n<\/div>
In Germany, a country that is facing increased child obesity, selling the new diet to children was a challenge. But the results\u00a0have been\u00a0impressive.\u00a0So far,\u00a023,000 students across Germany\u00a0are receiving \u201csustainable\u201d meals through\u00a0the\u00a0Aktion\u00a0Pflanzen-Power (Plant-Powered Pupils) and KEEKS (Climate and Energy Efficient Kitchens in Schools) projects.<\/p>\n
Driving this program are\u00a0vegan nonprofit\u00a0ProVeg\u00a0International and IZT (Institute for Future Studies and Technology Assessment),\u00a0which\u00a0are working together\u00a0\u201cto provide healthy, climate-friendly meals\u201d\u00a0in\u00a0schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe promote individual health by teaching children how to prepare sustainable and healthy meals,\u201d\u00a0Sebastian Joy, Chief Executive Officer of\u00a0Proveg\u00a0International, said, adding that:\u00a0\u201cWe also work on planetary health by training chefs and cooks in school canteens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organizations estimate that by serving plant-based\u00a0lunches\u00a0once a week for a year in schools, children can potentially reduce\u00a0their combined\u00a0carbon footprint\u00a0by\u00a01,076,400 kg.\u00a0By reducing climate inefficient food\u00a0and\u00a0promoting energy efficient behavior in kitchens, greenhouse gases could be reduced by as much as 40 per cent.<\/p>\n
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change<\/a> (UNFCCC), the global food system\u00a0contributes\u00a0up to 30 per cent of the world’s carbon footprint. Half of it comes from meat production and animal agriculture,\u00a0surpassing\u00a0CO2 emissions from the\u00a0entire global transport sector, including cars, ships and planes combined.<\/p>\n The shift to vegetarian school lunches is part of a broader effort to help the\u00a0government meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40\u00a0per cent\u00a0by 2020.\u00a0The project\u00a0has analyzed and quantified 22 different measures that could reduce greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n The projects\u00a0provide trainings to kitchen staff and caterers so that they can prepare sustainable, low-cost, and healthy meals in public schools.<\/p>\n Dr. Michael\u00a0Scharp, Head of Research and\u00a0Sustainability\u00a0at IZT, said: \u201cWe have shown how\u00a0emissions\u00a0could be reduced by several measures to serve healthy and inexpensive and climate-efficient meals.\u201d<\/p>\n The Paris Agreement calls for food consumption based on less meat and more plant. Similarly, researchers at the University of Oxford stress that switching to diets that rely on fruits and vegetables could lead to significant results in the fight against climate change.<\/p>\n Selected\u00a0from\u00a0a pool of over 560 applications, KEEKS and\u00a0Aktion\u00a0Pflanzen-Power\u00a0were recognized as winners of the United Nations \u2018Momentum for Change<\/a>\u201d climate action award.<\/p>\n<\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Germany-school-kitchens2.jpg\")
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