Rethinking food and catering in cultural venues and events
Food in cultural places and events, whether by its origin, consumption, or waste, has a significant part in the ecological balance of an event. Solutions exist to change our practices.
The benefits of more sustainable and responsible food
Rethinking eating patterns and the type of food consumed can significantly reduce the ecological footprint of a cultural event or cultural structure on a daily basis.
The food represents 22% of our carbon footprint, that is the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after transportation (30%) and housing (23%).
An example :
Opt for the local and organic beer allows a festival to reduce associated emissions by 25 to the consumption of beer.
Changing our diet, for example by vegetating it further, also has other advantages: a better health, more variety of food, and savings.
However, the questions around food are numerous and the answers are complex What is the impact of our food on the environment? How can we become more conscious eaters, more committed to sustainable food? Can we eat more organic food? And if a third of the world’s food production is wasted or lost every year, what can we do on our own scale?
Given the importance of the issue and its transversality, legislation has evolved to encourage more sustainable food. The EGalim Act (An Act respecting the balance of trade relations in the agricultural and food sector and healthy, sustainable and accessible food for all) a 3 objectives that the cultural sector can keep in mind:
- Paying the right price to producers, to enable them to live with dignity from their work;
- Strengthen the health, environmental and nutritional quality of products, stressing on the one hand the sanitary and environmental conditions of production, and on the other the consideration of animal welfare;
- Promote healthy, safe and sustainable food for all, in particular by setting a mandatory threshold of 50% of sustainable products or under signs of origin and quality, including organic products, in public catering from 1 January 2022; fighting against food waste with, for example, the possibility of extending the use of plastic in the food sector to collective catering and the food industry.
As such, the Ministry of Culture is also committed : the provider chosen in 2019 for the administrative restaurant of the Bons-Enfants site made sure to offer more sustainable food. This approach was intensified during the renewal of the public collective catering market in 2023.
3 action levers to implement more sustainable food
Fight against food waste
Events are confronted with undeniable organizational and economic constraints, in the face of which the fight against food waste sometimes takes a back seat. Yet, progress can be made at all scales, and led by different actors:
- The organizer : it is the first to be able to limit waste, with upstream actions. In short: set reasonable quantities, with the help of the caterer, anticipate the conditions of conservation of products, and think of the logistics necessary to recover the surpluses.
- The caterer Above all, it must respect the proportions of the order and monitor the cold chain to avoid any loss. Whenever possible, he must prepare the dishes on site and give the surplus recovered. Finally, it must be aware of environmental issues, and must favour the short circuit.
- The place : the chosen place must encourage the choice of local service providers and must allow the management of bio-waste (identified bins, composting, collection service provider, etc.). The quality of the installations and connections must be a criterion in choosing the place, in order to avoid losses.
- The public : the public must be clearly informed of the event’s ecological and anti-waste approach through a communication campaign. He must be encouraged not to use more than his hunger and invited to make efforts for sustainable food, during and after the event.
Many external providers already offer to recover surplus events.
Food packaging and disposable dishes: do without, but how?
Food packaging (especially plastic) and disposable tableware are a considerable source of waste. As much as possible, reusable dishes should be preferred, single-use plastic should be eliminated… Recyclable packaging certainly has a lesser impact, but the best waste remains that which is not produced !
Since January 2020, the Ministry of Culture has been committed to removal of single-use plastic.
In Headquarters:
- Metal gourds were distributed to officers;
- Biodegradable cups with wooden grommets are now used in all hot drink dispensers;
- Still water bottles have been removed from dispensers;
- This deletion was also applied to the staff restaurant, and to service providers (catering, meal trays)
Reducing beef consumption: an accessible and very effective lever for action
Today, livestock accounts for about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in France, half of the emissions related to agriculture. It is the leading cause of emissions in France of methane (68% of the total) and nitrous oxide (89%), greenhouse gases much more powerful than CO2.
This is why the Government wants to encourage a more rational consumption of meat: eating meat less often, and better quality meat, is good for both individuals and the climate.
To remember:
Including clauses relating to the fight against waste, the reduction of waste or the greening of food in the calls for projects launched for your future events is a strong way to commit to sustainable food.
Examples of initiatives & best practices
In 2023, We Love Green, a music festival bringing together more than 100,000 spectators in the Île de France, embarked on a completely vegetarian restaurant. In addition, reusable dishes are returnable to avoid packaging. The main efforts of We Love Green concern the traceability of the products used, seasonal, organic and local, the disposal of disposable plastic, the reduction of waste and the implementation of unsold donations to NGOs. The approach was launched through a call for tenders to catering providers used to festivals and events for the general public.
Cabaret Vert organizes a music festival annually and follows 12 objectives. Inspired by the 17 sustainable development goals, these goals aim to involve all stakeholders (volunteers, employees, service providers, partners, media and the public).
This guide builds on the inspiring initiative of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) and the RAW Foundation in the UK. Inspired by a charter of 60 English festivals, the collective R2D2 (regional networks supporting sustainable development events) translated or recontextualized the content of the latter to disseminate knowledge and advice on the use of plastic.
Within the framework of'Green Alternatives, the association Mieux manger au ciné received funding to reduce the carbon footprint of the food supply in cinemas, creating an online platform that allows member cinemas to order selected eco-responsible products without intermediary: zero waste, distribution and short-circuit delivery, catering activities and point-of-call in cinemas.
Find out more about "Better food at the cinema" and High and Short
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