At the beginning of the fall 2025 term, ASAP erased beef from the menu at all of its food counters. New options with a lower carbon footprint are now front and centre.

The decision, reached after canvassing the Polytechnique community, wasn’t just a symbolic move. It is part of Polytechnique’s determined drive for sustainability.

Beef is the carbon giant on our plates

The arithmetic is stark. Beef's carbon footprint is up to ten times that of poultry. The culprit is the methane belched out by cattle during digestion.

"We estimate that simply removing beef from the menu will reduce the carbon footprint of our food services by 50%, and decrease Polytechnique's total emissions by 1%. It’s huge!" commented Patrick Cigana, Director of Polytechnique’s Sustainability Office. "This change will definitely advance our carbon neutrality efforts."

"After we started displaying the carbon footprint of our meals, it became obvious that taking beef off the menu was the thing to do to make our meals more sustainable," says ASAP President Benoît Beauséjour-Savard.

More choice, lower emissions

The shift away from beef hasn’t narrowed the food options at Polytechnique’s cafeterias. Quite the contrary! The menus feature plant-based proteins and low-impact meats such as fish and poultry.

"Transforming people’s eating habits while preserving the pleasure of eating is an exciting challenge!” adds Beauséjour-Savard. “Our team has developed recipes featuring diverse proteins, particularly plant-based ones, and local ingredients,"

In practice, it means the beef burger has been displaced by a grilled chicken burger, smoked meat poutine has given way to bacon poutine, and the submarine sandwich has been replaced by a chicken shish taouk pita. Meanwhile, the vegetarian lineup keeps growing.

North American first

With this daring move, Polytechnique Montréal breaks new ground. A handful of European universities—Cambridge, Oxford, Lausanne—have banned beef but no North American institution had gone this far. Until now.

In Québec, food accounts for 25% of an individual’s carbon footprint. "The food industry is responsible for a significant portion of our personal carbon footprint,” says Cigana. “Changing our diet is often the most impactful individual action we can take to fight climate change."

Institutions thus have an important role to play, not only through research and innovation but also their daily practices.

"In 2019, when Polytechnique Montréal committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, we knew it was an ambitious goal,” Cigana concluded. “To get there, we will have to make bold choices and take some significant steps. Overhauling our food offerings is part of it. If we can do that and sprinkle in the pleasure of discovery at the same time, it’s a win-win.”
 

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please feel free to write to Polytechnique Montréal's Sustainability Office at durable@polymtl.ca.

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Polytechnique Montréal's Sustainability Office website