Guest essay by Eric Worrall

h/t Grant; Indoctrinating the kids…

Goldsmiths bans beef from university cafes to tackle climate crisis

Amy Walker
Tue 13 Aug 2019 00.51 AEST

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Goldsmiths, University of London, is also attempting to phase out single-use plastics and installing more panels to power its buildings in New Cross, as part of a move to become carbon neutral by 2025.

Beef products will no longer be available in the institution’s cafes and shops when the academic year begins in September, while an additional 10p levy will be added to the sale of bottled water and disposable plastic cups to discourage their use.

Prof Frances Corner, who took up the post of Goldsmiths’ warden this month, said the college would also switch to a completely clean energy supplier when its current contract ends and look into how all students could take curriculum options related to the climate crisis.

A psychology undergraduate, Isabelle Gosse, 20, said she thought the move was “a really good start to being more environmentally friendly”.
She added: “I think it’s a really positive move – Goldsmiths is recognising its own power and accountability in being more environmentally conscious.

“Banning the sale of beef meat on campus, phasing out single-use plastics and the other pledges that the new warden has made highlights the current climate emergency that the world is facing.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/12/goldsmiths-bans-beef-from-university-cafes-to-tackle-climate-crisis

Having tried UK university beef patties I thought they had already banned beef – the meat content in most cases is a little lower than what people in the USA might be used to.

The UK has ongoing low level issues with CJD, a nasty prion disease caused by eating beef from infected cattle. Prion diseases are more resilient than viruses, they easily survive food processing and cooking. CJD has proven difficult to completely eradicate. The risk of catching CJD is very low, but not eating a few beef burgers could save someone’s life.

I doubt students who really want to eat beef will suffer – Goldsmiths is located in a part of London which is well served by a wide variety of fast food outlets, if you don’t mind the risk of an occasional mugging.