"The Future Begins on the Plate" campaign

The campaign forms part of the “Greening Our Campus” ideas competition, organised by the UAlg working group at the European University of the Seas – SEA-EU, following on from the “Systemic Change in Food at UAlg” project, one of the winners of the 2025 edition. 

Through this initiative, UAlg reinforces its commitment to promoting healthier habits, making the most of local resources and building a more sustainable university in the region and across the world. Looking after your health and the planet can start with your next meal.
 

Current food systems account for around 26% to 34% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with beef production emitting more than 50 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kg of food, making it one of the products with the greatest environmental impact. The current context, characterised by climate change, geopolitical instability and rising global inflation, demands a clear and effective response from higher education institutions. (i)

_{Crippa, M., Solazzo, E., Guizzardi, D., Monforti-Ferrario, F., Tubiello, F. N., & Leip, A. (2021). Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Nature Food, 2(3), 198–209. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00225-9 ; Ritchie, H. (2021). How much of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food? Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions-food}

So-called ‘blue foods’, which come from marine environments – such as pelagic fish (notably sardines and mackerel) and bivalves such as mussels and clams – provide essential nutrients such as high-quality protein, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and iron, which are usually associated with the consumption of beef. Furthermore, these ‘Blue Foods’, as well as seaweed – like most local and regional vegetables – may have a lower environmental impact than beef. They are therefore a nutritionally rich and more sustainable alternative for human health (ii).

The evidence gathered through the work of Carlos Duarte (Honorary Doctorate from UAlg) demonstrates that a marine-based diet, particularly through marine aquaculture and seaweed production, can play a decisive role in global food security and the transition to more sustainable food systems (iii).
 

_{ii - Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA). PortFIR – Tabela da Composição de Alimentos, versão 7.1 (2026). https://portfir.insa.min-saude.pt/} 

_{iii - Duarte, C. M., Holmer, M., Olsen, Y., Soto, D., Marbà, N., Guiu, J., Black, K., & Karakassis, I. “Will the Oceans Help Feed Humanity?” BioScience, vol. 59, n.º 11, 2009, pp. 967–976; Duarte, C. M., Bruhn, A., & Krause-Jensen, D. “A seaweed aquaculture imperative to meet global sustainability targets.” Nature Sustainability, 2021.}

A diet based more on sustainably produced plant- and sea-based foods contributes not only to health and environmental sustainability, but also to social justice. This shift helps to reduce pressure on land, water and biodiversity, whilst helping to counteract inequalities between the Global South and North in the distribution of the costs and benefits of food systems, such as those based on beef, which draw on vast resources from the South to feed a small proportion of the population in the North. The negative impacts of these systems often fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable populations in the Global South, who face a scarcity of resources – including protein-rich crops – which are diverted to feed livestock that will subsequently feed a select group in the North. (iv)

In this context, the transformation of food systems is urgent: profound changes in individual and collective behaviour. It is therefore essential that, in higher education institutions such as UAlg – which have a regional focus but are also strongly internationalised and multicultural – collective initiatives, such as this campaign and the food on offer, are also seen as tools for learning and for promoting more sustainable lifestyles, both now and in the future for our students and our planet, helping to combat climate change and promoting balanced and sustainable dietary patterns that can be adapted to different regions and cultures.
 

_{(iv)-Rockström, J., Thilsted, S. H., Willett, W. C., Gordon, L. J., Herrero, M., Hicks, C. C., et al. (2025). The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems. The Lancet, 406(10512), 1625–1700. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01201-2}

In addition to the reduction in the supply of meat, following the phasing out of certain types – such as beef from non-local sources – in the coming academic year, this change will also be evident on university campuses, with the provision of more diverse, healthy and sustainable food options – ‘green and blue’. In Gambelas, a new space is set to open in the Nave das Artes building; in Penha, the refurbishment of the Civil Engineering bar area will go ahead. The initiative is also in line with the objectives set out in the UAlg Horizon 2030 Strategic Plan, which identifies sustainability, healthy campuses and global social justice as the University’s strategic priorities (v), and will be implemented in collaboration with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Sustainability Sciences – Vânia Serrão de Sousa – and the Head of Social Services at UAlg – André Botelheiro.
 

_{(v) Universidade do Algarve. (2026). Plano Estratégico UAlg 2026–2029 Horizonte 2030.}