The need to tackle the “broken capitalist system” which is leading to food waste and poverty will be the key point of this year’s Green Week, its launch heard today.
Green Week, now in its 20th year, “keeps the pressure on” College to think and act sustainably, Provost Linda Doyle told attendees.
Senator David Norris, who has launched 19 of the past 20 Green Weeks, told attendees that “we can see how vital it is” to maintain the conversation around climate change.
He also admitted he was a “convert” to vegan sausage rolls: “I didn’t realise – I thought it was a real sausage roll, so well done.”
The 77-year-old added: “I’ve seen the population of the planet nearly triple in my lifetime.”
Speaking at the launch, Provost Linda Doyle said that “we’ve come a long way in 20 years”, but “there’s also an awful lot to do, and I do very much feel, I suppose … the opportunity and the burden of what’s before us here”.
“For me, weeks like this are weeks that keep the pressure on. They’re weeks that we want to get rid of down the line, where every week is a green week.”
“I know, for example, how hard it is to systematically change a curriculum”, she continued, adding that the response to the climate crisis “has to be more systematic”.
Michele Hallahan, the sustainability advisor to the Office of the Provost, said that a “broken capitalist system” means that industrial global food systems are “patently inadequate to feed the [almost] eight billion humans on the planet without causing environmental carnage”.
“Industrial farmers operate at the expense of biodiversity and a stable climate. millions of acres of rainforest have been lost over the past decade.”
Trinity’s restaurants will this week offer 75 per cent vegan/ vegetarian menus, waiving the charge on plant based milks during the month of February. A 20 per cent discount on hot drinks is in place for customers using their own reusable cup and a new vegan and palm oil-free vending machine has been installed in the Arts Block and vegan butter is now available in all catering outlets.
Samantha Foley, the environmental officer in Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) said that while Green Week is a celebration of College’s efforts to combat climate change, it should also serve as “a moment to reflect and to mourn the failures that have resulted in injustice and hunger, and wide-scale destruction of biodiversity”.
She added: “Over the last year, it’s become evident that there are some things that students are demanding. Firstly, more ethically sourced. plant-based, similarly priced foods in College catering.”
“This is all about balance. Students aren’t asking for complete removal or complete retention of meat and dairy o the menus. Students are asking for a choice.”
She also referred to a petition for the Pavilion bar (the Pav) to end its use of disposable plastic cups.
Foley said that “sustainability is for everyone”, not just those with an acute knowledge of the science behind climate change and biodiversity. “Everyone has something different to bring to the table.”
