Dining for a Cooler Planet
Dining for a Cooler Planet
In 2018, UMass Dining’s Sustainability team created this initiative to address the intersection of food production, consumption, and the rapidly increasing issue of global climate change.
Events feature the innovative practices of food production, preparation and consumption that are helping reduce and even combat carbon emissions.
The Solutions that Inspire Us
These themes help shape each event and the featured menus.
By putting these solutions at the forefront, we are inviting new perspectives into the conversation and showing the possibilities of climate smart dining.
Dining for a Cooler Planet is inspired by PROJECT DRAWDOWN, which addresses diet changes and shifts in agricultural practices as integral for reversing carbon emissions.
“Project Drawdown’s mission is to help the world reach “drawdown”—the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.”
The Events
Each Dining for a Cooler Planet event is unique and showcases a diverse array of innovative practices within the realm of food production, preparation, and consumption, all aimed at mitigating and combating carbon emissions. These initiatives represent a crucial response to the pressing challenges posed by climate change.
April 2025: Sustainable, Accessible and Brain Healthy Seafood with Chef Barton Seaver
On April 17, 2025, award-winning chef and sustainability advocate Barton Seaver visited Hampshire Dining Commons at UMass Amherst for an evening focused on sustainable seafood. Guests enjoyed a special menu featuring underutilized and sustainable species. Seaver shared insights from his work with National Geographic and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, emphasizing how our seafood choices impact ecosystems, health, and food security. He encouraged diners to support local fisheries and expand their palates beyond overfished favorites like cod and salmon. The event offered both a delicious meal and practical ways we can support and consume sustainable seafood.
September 2025: Innovation, Equity, and Climate Resilience in the Food System
On September 24th, UMass Dining Sustainability hosted the first Dining for a Cooler Planet event of the Fall 2025 semester. The event brought together an all-women panel of local food system leaders to discuss pressing issues within agriculture. Panelists shared stories of collaboration, organizational development, and strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Panelists had a shared commitment to a food system that supports local farmers, produces affordable food, and is environmentally sustainable. They also emphasized that this is not an impossible goal— we have modern policy and financial models that can support farmers and consumers at the same time. Additionally, there is a rich history of local agriculture to draw from.
November 2025: What Indigenous Foodways Teach Us About Climate Action Featuring Chef Joe Robbins
On November 4th, UMass Dining held its second Dining for a Cooler Planet event of the semester. The event, What Indigenous Foodways Teach Us About Climate Action, featured a menu by James Beard semifinalist and member of the Penobscot Nation, Joe Robbins. Robbins sat down with UMass’s own Rachel Sayet, an educator in the Office of Equity and Inclusion. The two shared experiences from their heritage, finding overlap in many traditions and unique experiences in others. Both have been on a winding journey of what indigenous foodways means to them.