Eating Better

Eating Better

The County is going on a diet to reduce food-based emissions at its facilities by 25% in the coming decade.

The County of Los Angeles has committed to joining the World Resources Institute’s Coolfood Pledge, a global initiative to reduce food-based emissions. The Department of Public Health is now gathering food purchasing data from County departments to help them add more lower-carbon menu items at their facilities. Annual climate impact reports will be developed by WRI, showing year-to-year changes in food procurement (e.g., plant-based foods). These reports will also track progress towards emissions reduction goals, helping the County provide greater transparency on food procurement practices.

What is the Coolfood Pledge?

The Coolfood Pledge is a global commitment to shrink the greenhouse gas footprint of food. Why food? Because it generates about a third of all human-caused emissions—and what we eat matters a lot. Members who sign the Pledge -- governments, schools, hospitals, companies -- commit to reducing their food-related emissions by 25%. 

How much food does the County actually procure each year?

Around 37 million meals’ worth! From hospitals to jails to senior centers, the County has some serious food buying power — which is exactly why greening our menus can make a big dent in emissions.

How do you cut emissions from food? 

There’s a whole menu of strategies. One of the most impactful is swapping high-carbon foods for lower-carbon alternatives. Think steak burrito → egg sandwich → tofu wrap. Each swap may seem small, but across millions of meals, the carbon savings add up fast.

Animal products generally carry more carbon weight than plant-based foods, but there’s variation. Beef and lamb are generally higher, while poultry, eggs, and some seafoods land much lower. How they are produced matters. For example, local mussels have a fraction of the footprint of imported shrimp. By sharing its purchasing data with the World Resources Institute, the County of Los Angeles will get an annual “climate report card” to see how these swaps pay off. For the County, it’s like hiring a climate coach for our cafeteria trays.

What are some of the benefits from a public policy point of view to shifting procurement to more plant-based foodstuffs?

• Environmental: Because food emissions vary widely, shifting toward more plant-based ingredients is one of the fastest ways to cut carbon. 
• Public health: Diets richer in plant-based foods are linked to lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. For a county serving millions of meals, that’s a direct investment in healthier communities.
• Economic: Research shows plant-forward menus can actually save money. Animal products are among the costliest items in institutional food service. At the same time, healthier diets can lower long-term healthcare expenses.

How can we measure the greenhouse gases produced from food, and how will we know if our strategies are actually working?

Food emissions aren’t just guesswork. They can be calculated. Each food type has an “emissions factor” that estimates the amount of greenhouse gases released during farming, transport, and processing. Beef is like the SUV of foods, while lentils are closer to a bike. By tracking annual County food purchases, WRI can translate pounds of chicken and gallons of milk into carbon numbers. And the emissions factors can be adjusted when more specific data is available – for instance, to reflect the difference between local seafood and imported seafood. Every year, we will publicly post a detailed climate impact report, so progress is easy to track.

What is the game plan to help residents make this shift?

The Department of Public Health recently updated its Standards for Prepared Foods, Snacks and Beverages to include requirements that encourage the purchase, sale, and serving of more plant-based foods across County-operated food venues. The food standards include promotional strategies that may help nudge consumers to select and consume more plant-based foods. These behavioral science strategies include, for example, requiring plant-based menu items to be listed at the top of the menu and recommending pricing for plant-based entrees to be competitive with comparable options. 

What will this new program look like for a person accessing food at a County-run facility, be it a hospital, worksite cafeteria or a jail setting? What choices will be available? 

Implementation of the updated food standards is expected to be made by County departments, in consultation with the Department of Public Health. Some departments and their contracted food vendors are already offering plant-based food options. The long-term goal is that most County food venues and programs will be serving delicious daily offerings of plant-based entrees on their menus, as departments and their food vendors phase in implementation.  

What is the timeline for making this shift? 

In the short term, the goal is for County departments to integrate the Department of Public Health’s updated food standards, which include new plant-based food standards, in the County’s food procurement and contracting processes, and add plant-based food options to menus. In the long-term, the updated OurCounty Sustainability Plan incorporates a target to reduce emissions associated with food served by 25% from 2025 baseline levels, by the year 2035.

What are next steps for moving this policy forward? 

To support implementation, the Department of Public Health and the Chief Sustainability Office are currently convening a County-wide workgroup, collaborating with ten County departments (e.g., Health Services, Parks and Recreation, Internal Services, Sheriff, Probation) to integrate the revised Standards for Prepared Foods, Snacks and Beverages, which contains newly required plant-based food standards, into the County’s food procurement and contracting processes. We are also sharing best practices with County departments, including cost-neutral or cost-savings strategies, to promote more plant-based foods on menus.