Food is one of the most powerful ways we connect with the environment. Every meal we eat has an impact on climate, biodiversity, land use and our health. Dr Rebecca Kent explores this and how creating a more sustainable future means rethinking how we grow, prepare and enjoy our food.
Why Food Matters for Climate and Nature
The role of food production in the environmental crisis is significant. The global food system in its entriety, including production, processing, transportation and waste, is responsible for around a third of greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, agriculture is responsible for almost 78% of ocean and freshwater eutrophication (over-enrichment of nutrients) and 75% of deforestation – both major drivers of biodiversity loss.
Animal agriculture plays a significant role in these impacts, with around 40% of grain production destined for animal consumption and through methane emissions from ruminants which form the largest source of livestock emissions. At the same time, long and complex supply chains often mean food travels thousands of miles before reaching our plates.
The good news is that solutions already exist. Research increasingly shows that diets rich in vegetables, wholegrains, legumes and plant-based proteins can benefit both human health and the environment. This idea sits at the heart of the Planetary Health Diet proposal by the EAT Lancet Commission (a global group of top scientists exploring sustainable food systems), which explored how a growing global population could eat a healthily diet while staying within the Earth’s environmental limits. The Planetary Health Diet emphasises the importance of plant-based protein, high intake of vegetables, whole grains, low salt, sugar and fat and limited starchy vegetables.Scientists on the commissions used computer modelling to calculate the components of a healthy diet that can be achieved for a global population of 10 billion without exceeding environmental limits, for example in greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient pollution and biodiversity loss.
While the challenge is global, organisations like CAT can help demonstrate what these ideas look like in practice.
A Long History of Sustainable Food at CAT
Food has always been part of CAT’s story. For decades, CAT has championed the importance of food and land use in creating a more sustainable society.
We opened Wales’ first vegetarian café and developed pioneering organic growing spaces at our Llwyngwern Quarry home, helping generations of visitors understand the connections between food, climate and the natural world. Over the years, CAT has also researched the impact of food and land use through our Zero Carbon Britain reports, with our 2014 report People, Plate and Planet, focusing on this.
Today, as conversations about climate change, biodiversity loss and public health become increasingly urgent, we are building on that legacy through the work of our Food and Growing Working Group.
The group’s ambition is to develop a delicious, plant based, low-carbon food offer, monitor the impact of our catering operation and increase the amount of food grown on site. While we are only at the beginning of that journey, exciting progress is already underway strengthening the connection between our gardens and café and creating new opportunities for visitors, students and volunteers to engage with sustainable food systems in practice.
Joining Menus of Change: A First for Wales
The Planetary Health Diet may seem a long way from current realities for many of us and putting it into practice represents an ambitious challenge for households and caterers alike. But one approach to implementing it is found in ‘Menus of Change’ an international initiative that brings together universities and institutions committed to creating healthier and more sustainable food systems. Guided by evidence-based principles, the programme helps organisations create healthier, lower-carbon food systems through menu design and waste reduction.
Earlier this year CAT became the first and only organisation in Wales to be part of the ‘Menus of Change Research Collaborative’, and just the fourth member in the UK. As the smallest member organisation in the collaborative, CAT brings a unique perspective to the network. While many members operate large university catering services, CAT offers an opportunity to explore how sustainable food principles can be integrated across education, food growing and catering within a smaller organisation.
CAT became involved with the programme through research carried out by MSc Sustainable Food and Natural Resources graduate Justina Raggett. Her dissertation explored how universities in the UK and United States were implementing Menus of Change principles, including interviews with catering managers responsible for delivering more sustainable food services. Her work was presented at the annual Menus of Change Research Conference and helped establish CAT’s connection with the collaborative. She is now continuing this research through a PhD at the University of Reading.
Restoring the Link Between Growing and Eating
Perhaps the most exciting part of CAT’s food story is the growing connection between our gardens and our café.
For many years, CAT demonstrated the importance of local food production through its productive growing spaces. More recently, there has been renewed enthusiasm for restoring those connections and increasing the amount of food grown and consumed on site.
A key focus has been Roger’s Field, CAT’s main growing area, named after the late Roger McLennan CAT’s Lead Gardener from 1978 to 2023. Since Autumn 2025, staff, students and volunteers have been working together to bring the field back into production. Monthly volunteer work parties have transformed the site, helping prepare growing areas and polytunnels for the seasons ahead. These efforts have been supported by Interim Lead Gardener Nick Robinson, whose knowledge and enthusiasm have helped guide the work and inspire volunteers.
Produce from Roger’s Field and CAT’s gardens can be used directly in the café kitchen, creating a genuine field-to-fork experience for visitors, students and staff. Fresh vegetables grown on site reduce food miles, celebrate seasonal eating and provide a powerful demonstration of what a resilient local food system can look like. By using the Menus of Change principles as a framework, our cafe have also begun reviewing our menus which feed onsite visitors and staff and also catering for conferences, events and residential courses, to identify opportunities to increase plant-based proteins, seasonal vegetables and fresh salads while maintaining the delicious food that visitors know and enjoy.
The kitchen team is also exploring ways to reduce waste and make better use of surplus ingredients. With the support of Sustainable Catering Manager Briony Rigby, this work is helping to embed sustainability into everyday food choices. These may seem like small changes, but collectively they can have a significant impact on both environmental outcomes and public health.
Learning Through Food
The benefits also extend far beyond the kitchen. The CAT gardens provide valuable learning opportunities for school groups, students and volunteers, gaining a better understanding of the choices and systems that shape our diets. Visitors can see where their food comes from and explore soil health, biodiversity, climate change and sustainable land management while postgraduate students can connect academic learning with practical experience.
During the first teaching week of our 2026/27 academic year, new postgraduate students were also treated to a food showcase sharing the food story of CAT through the meals they were served. Through videos in the cafe and highlighting on the student menu where food was produced by CAT, the work of our Catering and Gardens staff and volunteers was celebrated.
There is still much to do, but by reconnecting people with where their food comes from and showing how delicious, healthy and sustainable choices can be, CAT is helping to create a living example to those that visit and learning opportunities from field to fork!
About the author
Dr Rebecca Kent is a Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Alternative Technology. Her work explores sustainable food systems, environmental change and the role of communities in creating a more resilient future. She is a member of CAT’s Food and Growing Working Group and is passionate about connecting research, education and practical action to support a healthier relationship between people, food and the environment.
