China Speaking Tour on Yale’s Green Dining Policy

Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, has demonstrated leadership in “greening” its dining halls. Through a series of progressive dining policies that include significantly increasing the amount of plant-protein served, applying ethical criteria to purchases, and reducing use of meat and other animal-based foods, Yale has not only made its dining halls healthier and more environmentally friendly, but also contributed to changes in the food industry by implementing a sustainable procurement strategy.

Rafi Taherian, Certified Executive Chef ’95, the associate vice president of Yale Hospitality—in charge of all of Yale’s food service—is embarking on a speaking tour of China where he will meet with food educators and leaders from universities and other educational institutions in order to introduce Yale’s dining policy, vision, and strategy, and encourage Chinese universities to make commitments to serve “greener food.”

Brighter Green is partnering with our colleagues at the Good Food Fund in China, hosted by China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), to organize this speaking tour. The aim is to build connections between food leaders from Yale University, Chinese educational institutions, and other food educators, that will continue after the tour, and eventually include other educational institutions in and outside of China in a “peer network.” China has 47 million university students (exceeding the population of many countries), so changes in food purchasing and university menus could result in significant change. Taherian will be in Beijing from March 23-26, in Shanghai from March 27-28, in Nanjing on March 29, in Shenzhen on March 30, in Guangzhou from March 31-April 1, and in Chengdu from April 2-3.

We will be adding photos and updates about the tour here.