Cambridge City Council vegan buffet trial fails to impress

Most of the plant-based food options at a council event ended up in the bin

A buffet for a Remembrance Sunday event did not go down well with guests, who left almost all the vegan options untouched, a council report said.

About 80 people of all ages - mainly residents - attended the civic event on 13 November in Cambridge.

Cambridge City Council said it was "committed to sustainable food" but conceded that most of its vegan food at the event ended up in the bin.

It will now consider serving only 25% vegan options at such events.

The report, due before the council's Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, said a pilot scheme offered plant-based catering to "investigate the practicalities of using civic events to promote and showcase plant-based food options".

In May 2022, the city council pledged a move towards "fully plant-based catering for future council meetings where food is served, ensuring that this is cheaper or the same cost".

Posters promoting the plant-based options were displayed for those attending the Remembrance event

The impact of livestock on emissions varies between countries. Globally, the UN estimates it makes up more than 14% of all man-made greenhouse gases, including methane.

Producing a glass of dairy milk results in almost three times the greenhouse gas emissions of any non-dairy milks, according to a University of Oxford study from 2018.

For November's Remembrance event, a supplier was hired by Cambridge City Council to provide a menu consisting of 50% plant-based food, and a social enterprise organisation was hired to serve and provide drinks.

Food was supplied for 100 guests at a total of £579.20, with drinks and service provided at £4.50 per person, the council said.

'Significant food waste'

"However, there was extremely low uptake of plant-based food options - under 10% of people tried these options whilst the vegetarian options and meat/dairy options were all eaten," the report said.

"Almost all of the plant-based food provided remained uneaten.

"The low uptake of the plant-based options resulted in an insufficient amount of food available at the event that people wanted to eat.

"Unfortunately the leftover plant-based food had to be disposed of, as the council is required, by law, to throw away any perishable food that has been out at room temperature, after two hours.

"This resulted in significant food waste from the event."

The report recommended that food provided at "future civic events should consist of 25% plant-based options".

The report concluded the council would no longer serve beef or lamb at civic events and would reduce the amount of pork to "further our commitment to sustainable food".

A spokesman said the council was "committed to tackling the climate emergency" and it was "recommended that the uptake in plant-based food will be reviewed closely after each event and the decision to increase the percentage of plant-based foods will be made accordingly".