Field Note: The Humane Society Wants Us to Eat Less Meat

To: Bluedot Living

From: The Humane Society of the United States

Subject: HSUS Forward Food Collaborative

In a time where conversations, committees, and conferences are dominated by the planet’s climate crisis and what individuals can do to make a difference, we often find ourselves talking about paper straws, shorter showers, and electric vehicles. While every step towards living more sustainably has its merit, there is one part of our lives that is noticeably absent from the majority of these discussions: our diet.

Agriculture is an enormous contributor to many of the most devastating impacts on our climate, with the brunt of those impacts stemming from animal agriculture. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, over three-quarters of all arable land on Earth is used for animal agriculture, despite it only contributing about one-third of the world’s protein and less than one-quarter of overall calories. That inefficiency only becomes more staggering when you look at greenhouse gas emissions, with animal agriculture being responsible for nearly a fifth of all anthropogenic emissions worldwide.

A shift toward plant-based foods is the most impactful way institutions and individuals can reduce their carbon footprint, prevent deforestation, minimize demand for water and land resources, improve food security, and preserve natural habitats. There is an abundance of scientific findings that show replacing animal-sourced meats with plant-sourced foods provides more greenhouse gas savings than using lower-carbon animal meats. Beyond sustainability, there’s also a need to focus on plant-based foods to improve consumer health and to reduce the suffering of animals used for food.

This is why The Humane Society of the United States, as a part of the Forward Food Collaborative, is working with the top food service management companies around the country to increase plant-based options on institutional menus and reduce the amount of meat and animal products sold. By offering free culinary trainings, plant-based recipes, greenhouse gas assessments, marketing materials, educational webinars, and other resources to university, K-12, and healthcare foodservice operations, we hope to build a better future for people and animals everywhere. Check out our promo video to learn a bit more about our team.

Examples of our work include: 

• Our recent plant-based culinary training at the University of Michigan.
• Collaborating with Better Food Foundation to implement San Diego’s Climate Action Plan and its goal to reduce meat and dairy-related emissions.
• A virtual plant-based webinar for El Paso ISD to train over 200 of their cooks district-wide on the benefits of and tricks for cooking plant-based recipes. 
• Ongoing collaborative partnerships with food service management companies like Sodexo, which recently pledged to transition 50 percent of their college and university menus to being plant-based by 2027, and Whitsons, which also recently increased their pledge to transition 33 percent of their K-12 menus to be plant-based by 2025. You can find out how the other top 50 food service management companies did in our recently released Food Service Industry Protein Sustainability Scorecard.

For more information, check out the Forward Food Collaborative site or visit them on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

View their recipe for Chorizo Kelp Breakfast Bowls on our Recipe page.

Smoky BBQ Tri-tip Tofu Hoagie

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• Yield: Makes 4 hoagies 1x

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Description

This recipe was created by Humane Society of the United States’s expert chefs and approved by HSUS’s team of registered dietitians to serve 12. We’ve adapted this for home cooking.

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Ingredients

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For the the Barbeque Tofu:

• 1/3 cup barbeque sauce
• 4 teaspoons canola oil
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/3 teaspoon paprika, smoked and ground
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 triangles extra firm tofu (about 24 ounces, drained and pressed, then cut)

For the Chipotle Sauce:

• 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika, ground
• Pinch kosher salt

To Serve:

• 4 hoagie rolls, sliced and toasted
• 1 2/3 cups fresh arugula
• 1/4 cup pickled red onion

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Instructions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine BBQ sauce, canola oil, soy sauce, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper, and whisk well.
2. Heat oven to 400°F. Coat each side of tofu with sauce and place on a parchment-lined sheet pan about 1 inch apart. Reserve any extra sauce. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Flip and brush tofu with remaining sauce. Bake for another 10 minutes or until cooked through. Tofu can be covered to keep warm.
4. To make the sauce: In a medium mixing bowl, combine vegan mayo, lime juice, chipotle chili powder, chili powder, paprika, and salt, and whisk well. Add water to adjust consistency. Chipotle sauce can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
5. To serve: Spread 1 tablespoon chipotle sauce on top and bottom of bun, portion ¼ arugula on bottom bun, top with two tofu triangles, then ¼ red onion. Cover sandwich with top bun and serve.

Notes

The Forward Food Collaborative partners with the food service industry to ensure that 50 percent of the total meals offered in institutional dining programs in the United States will be plant-based by 2027. For more recipes and to learn more, visit their website.