Letter of Support: Plant-Based Initiatives at Yale University

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Thank you all for your commitment to inclusivity and environmental justice. Plant-Forward Yalies, in collaboration with Upgrade Dining and the Better Food Foundation, is launching an initiative to incorporate subtle but impactful plant-based solutions into Yale Hospitality's services. This accompanies an international movement to reduce the environmental impact of college campuses and champion inclusivity and public health, led by Upgrade Dining and the Better Food Foundation. Further information about each of our initiatives is included on this document. We are looking for students, faculty, staff, departments, groups, and campus leaders to support our initiatives by signing the letter below, sharing petitions with members, and providing testimony for our meetings with decision makers. By supporting this initiative, you will help position Yale as a leader in sustainable campus dining, take concrete action on our climate commitments, create more inclusive dining environments, and establish a replicable model for peer institutions. We are also happy to set up a meeting to discuss any of our goals further. Thank you for considering our proposals.

Support Letter: Sustainable Food Systems at Yale

We strongly endorse Plant-Forward Yalies's initiative to advocate and implement behavior science strategies to shift Yale's dining services to plant-forward dining. This evidence-based approach maintains diners’ choice while promoting sustainability through simple changes in cafeteria menus, presentation, and marketing.

Even if we eliminated all fossil fuels tomorrow, our food system alone could push us past the critical 1.5°C threshold (EAT Lancet 2025).

Alignment with Our Values

This initiative directly advances our commitments to:

· Environmental sustainability

· Inclusive excellence

· Innovative leadership

· Community health and wellbeing

We specifically support initiatives including ___ (to be filled in by form).

We welcome the opportunity to discuss this further at your convenience.

Email *

Full name *

Affiliation with Yale *

Staff

Faculty

Student organization leader

Alumni

Graduate student

YC '29

YC '28

YC'27

YC '26

Other:

Organization/Department/Student Group (if signing on behalf) *

Title/position

Which initiatives do you support? Please see this document for a description of each. *

Oat-milk defaults in cafes (but cow's milk still available)

Incorporating dining hall dietary labels into cafes

Increased plant-based offerings in cafes

Plant-based dessert default in dining halls

Ensuring all eggs/milk are humane certified

At least half plant-based options at Commons

Removing unnecessary "vegan" labeling (from titles, not the symbols- e.g. "not-egg frittata")

Plant-based default catering for Earth Week

Plant-based default for Earth Day (but non-plant-based meals still available)

Plant-based defaults in department/student group catering

Required

Why do you support plant-based initiatives at Yale?
*

Inclusive dining options

Health and wellbeing

Climate action

Innovation leadership

Animal welfare

Other:

Required

Additional comments or suggestions

I consent to having my name and title included in the letter of support.

If you answer "No," your signature will be entered into the letter as "Anonymous."

Yes

Other:

Can we contact you to provide testimony (written or verbal) for meetings with administrators?

Yes

Other:

Clear selection

Would you like to receive updates on the progress of this project?

Yes

Other:

Clear selection

Please share this support letter with other individuals organizations on campus, and check this document for information on our mission, goals, and other petitions!

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