Vegan Choice

The Problem

27% of anthropogenic methane emissions are caused by ruminant livestock. 70% of global crop production is consumed by those livestock and 80% of tropical deforestation caused by agriculture that is required to sustain this livestock. We can now easily see that the meat industry is a leading cause of the world’s environmental downfall whether it be through increased greenhouse gasses or rapid deforestation. In order to protest against this, however, it is not enough to request these big meat production companies to be more sustainable. People must opt for vegan choices on the individual level and decrease demand to decrease production. However, a lack of access to low-cost vegan ingredients is deterring many consumers from transforming to a more eco-friendly diet.

Our Proposal

A web platform that will advertise restaurants that make sustainable vegan recipes and connect them to large institutions, such as schools and businesses, is exactly the solution that will increase the demand for sustainable vegan ingredients in restaurant chains thus decreasing the demand and consumption of meat and dairy products. The web platform will encourage the catering of vegan foods by asking restaurants to provide a small discount for large orders, encouraging businesses to order vegan food to support environmental sustainability, and providing companies with a sustainability certificate after they have ordered or subscribed to order a certain number of vegan orders.

We Assume that...

1. We have the technical ability to build an attractive, easy-to-use website within 3 months: Certainty level - High

2. We have the human ability to connect potential customers and catering companies: Certainty level - High medium

3. Motivation for improving health and environment are strong enough for potential clients to change behavior: Certainty level - Medium

Constraints to Overcome

Most projects, using web/app platforms to increase access to the vegan food source are more beneficial to those who have a high intention to eat vegan food. They don't seem to prevail in changing awareness or motivating non-vegan-minded people to learn about and follow a plant-based eating habit. One reason could be the reliance on a web/app platform that has naturally screened the audience: those who don't care about the vegan eating habit often don't use these sites. Therefore, a project combining both in-person and online approaching strategies should be implemented. Moreover, there is a common notion that vegan food is expensive and only for privileged people. Whether true or not, it reduces many people’s desire to practice plant based diets. No projects have focused on clarifying this notion. The problem of lacking access to plant based food sources and the high cost associated with it has an intertwined relationship. It is necessary to handle both of these issues at once.

Current Work

1. App development and testing 2. Recruit local vegan restaurants 3. Recruit local institutions as participants 4. Create experiential meal plans for participants over the next 3 months 5. Restaurant and institution surveys 6. Update app functions accordingly

Current Needs

1. Community manager to maintain the partnership between institutions and restaurant 2. Security Developer to maintain website security for clients