Campus Decarbonization: Students’ Perceptions for Reducing Meat Consumption in a Portuguese University

Catarina Figueiredo, Ulisses Miranda Azeiteiro, Antonio García-Vinuesa and Sara Costa Carvalho
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Catarina Figueiredo: Department of Biology, Campus de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Ulisses Miranda Azeiteiro: Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and Department of Biology, Campus de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Antonio García-Vinuesa: SEPA-Interea Research Group, Department of Educational Sciences, Campus Vida, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Sara Costa Carvalho: Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and Department of Biology, Campus de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: This study is focused on perceptions regarding meat consumption, targeting university students. This is a timely topic in a context of climate change (CC), sustainability in agri-food systems and in universities. Recently, some universities adopted food-related CC mitigation measures, by removing some types of meat from their canteens. This research intended to find trends, at a Portuguese university, on consumption habits and on willingness to reduce meat. The methodology follows a quantitative and descriptive approach. The universe is the students’ community from the University of Aveiro, with a random sample of 876 valid questionnaires. Although results show that meat is a substantial part of students’ diet, most of them are willing to reduce this product, and mainly for environmental reasons. Undergraduate students have higher level of awareness in this matter, namely from Natural Sciences. Female students are more receptive to diet changes. Further studies and educational actions on Diet-CC should be promoted in all levels of Academy, especially in PhD, Social Sciences and with gender differentiation. Such results may support an effectively participatory discussion to better decide on decarbonization of the Campus through the diet.

Keywords: climate change mitigation; meat consumption; universities; education; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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