Eat Green
Choose to eat foods that have the least environmental impacts and are produced in more sustainable ways. Chew on these tips for more eco-friendly eating.
Find Eco Eats on Campus
UW Oshkosh has many facilities where students can buy and eat local foods. Blackhawk and Reeve, for example, serve local food, save gallons of water with trayless dining, compost, and recycle cooking oil into biofuel. You can also find fair-trade organic coffee and milk from the local Rosendale Dairy Farm at Sage Café and the Mi-Tazas. For more information about Green Eating on Campus visit: https://reeve.uwosh.edu/sustainability
Waste Watcher
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Waste less food by only putting on your plate what you can eat. To calculate what goes into making your food and how much of an impact the food you eat effects our planet visit: http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/calculator.html
Mind the Meat
It takes a lot of energy and water to produce one pound of meat; in fact over 2,400 gallons of water are used to produce each pound. Try going meatless occasionally by filling your plate with other plant-based protein sources such as beans, nuts, seeds, and peas.
Homegrown
Eating local food supports local farmers while also reducing the travel time and environmental impacts from the farm to your fork. Look for local food options in campus dining halls or grow your own food by joining the UWO Community Garden Club.
Friend a Farmer
Find the freshest local foods at the Oshkosh Farmers Market. You can directly talk and get to know the people who grow your food, and be in control of the quality food you eat. Located downtown Oshkosh, the summer/fall farmers market is only a few blocks from campus. You can find fresh fruits and vegetables, beautiful flowers, egg rolls, cheese, and so much more. For more information visit: http://www.osfmi.com/
Eat Green Sustainable Vocabulary
- Food Miles: Number of miles it takes to get food from the producer to the consumer. Most of our food travels over 3,000 miles!
- Fair-Trade: an item that is Fair Trade certified ensures that farmers receive a fair price for the item they sell. Also allows farmers to invest in techniques that bring out the flavors of their region, and strictly prohibits slave and child labor.
- Organic Food: produce grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or ionizing radiation. Also prevents farms with animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products from giving animals antibiotics or growth hormones.
- Organic Coffee: coffee produced without the aid of artificial chemical substances, such as additives, pesticides, or herbicides.
