Our culture of sustainability is over a decade in the making, and the Edmonton Convention Centre is taking food sustainability to the next level with the recent launch of our plant-based menu alternative.
Plant-based 101–get rooted in the facts:
1. Plant-based eating focuses on food primarily from plants.
2. The average diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, oils, whole grains, legumes and beans.
3. Alternative eating patterns are individual and customizable to best suit your lifestyle and dietary needs!
4. The plant-based diet offers all the necessary protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals for optimal health.
As a supporter of local food, Executive Chef Serge Belair shared, “60% of the food suppliers we work with are local businesses. I know them personally and the value of the fresh, healthy, beautiful products they produce right here in Edmonton. The roots, herbs, fruits and greens in our plant-based menu deserve a showcase of their own. Our plant-based menu takes foods back to their simplest form; to be appreciated and enjoyed for their flavours and nourishment.”
Beet Wellington
With plant-forward eating on the rise, we saw a growing request for customized, alternative dining experiences. As a convention centre that’s anything but conventional, our team sprouted with excitement for the unique opportunity to offer elevated plant-based options. Providing our guests and clients with a plant-based menu option allows our team to further support sustainable living within our energy-conserving walls. Our visitors get the comfort and satisfaction of eating to their personalized preferences and choosing sustainable agriculture that’s good for them, and the planet!
Sustainability Manager Melissa Radu, an advocate of sustainable culture, echoes, “Launching a plant-based menu is bold. We aspire to progress our industry forward, to a more sustainable future. We want people to leave our venue feeling inspired to make changes in their organization, their business or their own lives.”
While you don’t need to be a vegetarian or vegan to enjoy the new menu, there are no shortage of benefits to both you and the planet when you incorporate a few more plant-based dishes into your rotation of meals.
Coco Pancakes
Plant-based benefits to leaf you wanting more:
1. Stay healthy. An increasing field of experts find plant-based nutrition can be helpful to prevent and treat chronic disease. One in four consumers are actively cutting down on meat and one in three consumers choose plant-based milks for their health benefits.
2. Be kind to the planet. Eating plant-based more often creates low-carbon food systems that contribute toward a bigger environmental solution for climate change and sustainability.
3. Plant-based is on trend–and it’s here to stay. One in three consumers purchase plant-based meats. Consumers have more choices than ever before and kitchens all over the world invent creative ways to serve plant-based meals that are both delicious and healthy (including ours)!
4. Lower your footprint. A small dietary change can have a large impact that benefits the environment. Producing plant-based alternatives results in half as many greenhouse emissions as it takes to produce meat.
Crispy Avocado Cone
The next time you gather around our table, we encourage you ask our team about our plant-based menu. We’re hungry to share our passion and knowledge for food and sustainability with our community. Together, we can do something different (and better) that leafs a positive impact within our industry.
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