2.3.3 Sustainable food choices on campus
At Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), the Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities (FSSH) demonstrated its institutional commitment to sustainable campus food practices through the “Bubur Lambuk Drive-Thru” event held on 26 March 2024. While the core dish distributed bubur lambuk is traditionally meat-based, UTM leveraged the event as a platform to engage the campus community in reflecting on food sourcing, packaging and waste reduction. The drive-thru model facilitated ease of access, minimized dwell time and reduced associated emissions from congregation. The preparation process engaged staff from across FSSH in collaborative, early-morning cooking and packing efforts, highlighting the social and environmental dimensions of food provision. By institutionalising the practice of bulk preparation and distribution, rather than individually packaged meals, UTM advanced economies of scale and reduced single-use packaging. Further, the event aligned with sustainable procurement principles embedded in the methodology—selecting bulk ingredients, reducing transport-footprint, and minimising waste potential. Although the article did not explicitly reference vegetarian or vegan options, the structure and logics of the event provide a scalable platform for offering alternative plant-based meals in future iterations, meeting the methodological imperative to provide sustainable food choices for all on campus, including vegetarian and vegan food.
Moving forward, embedding mandatory plant-based meal stations, specifying locally-sourced, low-carbon-emission ingredients, and tracking the ratio of plant vs animal-based meals across campus catering would further align UTM with the THE methodology’s focus on broad access, environmental responsibility and measurable sustainable food offerings. Through such efforts, UTM’s food-service model evolves from one-off community engagement to a core element of its sustainability framework—ensuring the campus dining system advances multiple SDGs (including 12: Responsible Consumption and Production) and delivers inclusive, environmentally-attentive nutrition to all students and staff.
Source :
https://news.utm.my/2024/04/fssh-sharing-the-joy-of-ramadan-through-bubur-lambuk-drive-thru-program/
selected food outlets
At UTM, the research and innovation showcased in the “Engineering in Agriculture: Sustainable Food Security for Community Impact” initiative underscores the university’s commitment to transforming food systems through sustainable practices and by extension creating the foundation for offering sustainable food choices on campus. The article argues that engineering innovations such as precision agriculture, renewable energy-powered farms, nanotechnology and biotechnological crop improvement can deliver safe, nutritious and sufficient food with reduced environmental footprint, aligning with SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). research.utm.my+1 Translating these advancements into the campus dining system, UTM is well positioned to integrate plant-based, locally produced, low-carbon-footprint food options—such as vegetarian and vegan meals—into selected food outlets. By drawing from locally grown produce generated through sustainable agricultural systems engineered by UTM, the campus can ensure that food offerings reflect responsible sourcing, minimal waste and inclusive dietary choice for all students and staff. This aligns with the methodology’s requirement to provide sustainable food choices for all, including vegetarian and vegan options, as part of the overall sustainability strategy. Moreover, by leveraging the engineering innovations described in the article, UTM’s food procurement and menu design can move beyond simply offering alternative meals to actively reducing the environmental impact of food production and consumption. In doing so, UTM demonstrates a structured approach: embedding sustainable agriculture research into food-service operations, ensuring plant-based options are available alongside conventional fare, tracking sustainable sourcing metrics, and offering inclusive choice that supports health, equity and environmental stewardship. Through this integrated food-system perspective, UTM meets the methodological expectation of providing accessible, inclusive and sustainable food choices on campus—with vegetarian and vegan options meaningfully embedded in its dining infrastructure.
