That one can sometimes skip meat is a known fact. Following the positive response to the extended meat-free offer during the European Sustainable Development Week, the university canteens will therefore offer one new plant-based and one meat-free meal every day throughout November. Enriching the menu with plant-based food is an opportunity to explore new flavours and help nature and health. You can give feedback in a short survey during the month.
The new food offer was created in cooperation between the Accomodation and dining and the Sustainable University, which has included a healthy lifestyle in one of the priority areas of the Sustainable Development Strategy of UP and has already organized several trainings for chefs from the university canteens in the preparation of meat-free meals. In November, the UP canteens will offer both tried and popular dishes such as Indian red lentil curry or mushroom risotto with cream, as well as new dishes such as green curry with tofu and rice noodles, vegan stuffed potato dumplings, katsu curry or stuffed Portobello mushrooms.
In addition to sufficient exercise or sleep, a healthy and balanced diet plays a very important role in a person's health. A plant-based diet based on a reduction in the consumption of animal products has many benefits. It is rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, which improves digestion. It also takes the familiar trio of sugars, fats and proteins to a higher level. It contains complex carbohydrates that provide energy longer than simple sugars. The fats in a plant-based diet contain unsaturated fatty acids important for the proper functioning of the body. Last but not least, it is a source of protein essential for building muscle mass.
In addition, a balanced diet with a limited amount of meat is usually more environmentally friendly. In particular, the increasing consumption and production of meat and the associated production of livestock feed is a problem. In particular, the encroachment of large amounts of land for agricultural purposes at the expense of natural ecosystems and the associated deforestation and loss of biodiversity is a problem for nature. Animal husbandry and meat production are also a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and consume huge amounts of water.
"The way we eat can affect land use, water use and the climate itself more than we might think. Try some of the new plant-based and meat-free dishes and see for yourself that even a meat-free diet can be full of flavour and good for our health and nature. Then let us know how you liked it in the mini-questionnaire," urges Miroslava Zavadil, Sustainable Development Officer at UP.