{"id":58518,"date":"2024-10-21T05:05:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T13:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=58518"},"modified":"2025-02-06T15:07:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T23:07:24","slug":"table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/","title":{"rendered":"If Restaurants Serve Up Climate Education, Will Diners Pay Attention?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This is the fifth article in a <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/climate-on-the-menu\/\">five-part series<\/a>\u00a0about restaurants and climate-change solutions, produced in collaboration with\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/\"><em>Eater<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"post-simple post-capital-letter\"><p> The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plntburger.com\/plnt-impact\/\">PLNT Impact Tracker<\/a> on PLNT Burger\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plntburger.com\/\">website<\/a> wants you to think about what you\u2019re eating. The tracker, which appears on the website of this East Coast vegan chain and on its ordering app, estimates the amounts of water, land, CO2, and oil saved by eating vegan burgers. The numbers\u201414.4 kg of CO2 saved per burger, for instance\u2014are derived from the 2022 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report of the vegan brand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondmeat.com\/en-US\/press\/beyond-meat-releases-its-2022-esg-report-and-updated-lca-study\">Beyond Meat<\/a>, from which PLNT Burger gets its patties. <\/p><\/div><div class=\"post-simple\">\n<p>These numbers are largely hypothetical. The most accurate measure of land or CO2 \u201csaved\u201d by ordering a PLNT Burger is only attained if you\u2019d originally planned to order a fast-food beef burger instead. And of course, it\u2019s not like for every PLNT Burger sold, a factory farm gives up five acres of land, or releases a cow from the slaughter line\u2014actually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/21398972\/factory-farming-impossible-meat-vegan-sustainability\">meaningful solutions<\/a> to the factory meat problem. Nor has eating plant-based meat<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC9861156\"> made a significant impact<\/a> on beef production, according to a 2023 report.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-image-caption align-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/PLNT-Impact-Tracker-2.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/PLNT-Impact-Tracker-2.jpg\" alt=\"The PLNT Impact Tracker, showing how much water, CO2, land, and oil were saved\"><\/a><div class=\"post-caption\"><p>The PLNT Impact Tracker on PLNT Burger\u2019s website. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>But the numbers still count for something: They provide a tangible incentive to address an oft-intangible problem. \u201cIn the app, we calculate your resource savings as an individual consumer, and then we share that with our community as encouragement,\u201d says PLNT Burger co-founder Jonah Goldman. This ideally reinforces the connection in the customer\u2019s brain between their everyday choices and the resulting impacts on the environment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You\u2019ve saved so many gallons of water, you\u2019ve saved so many square meters of land and emissions and energy,\u201d as Goldman says. \u201cCongratulations. Thank you.\u201d PLNT Burger further incentivizes plant-based purchases by turning that data into a loyalty program, rewarding customers with free food for amounts of water or land \u201csaved.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"pulled-sidebar pulled-sidebar-right\"><div class=\"pulled-sidebar-title\">Climate on the Menu<\/div><p>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/climate-on-the-menu\/\">the stories<\/a> in our series with Eater:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/09\/23\/beyond-farm-to-table-how-chefs-can-support-climate-friendly-food-systems\/\">Beyond Farm to Table: How Chefs Can Support Climate-Friendly Food Systems<\/a> As global warming bears down, some restaurants are forging stronger bonds with regional food systems and regenerative farms.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/09\/30\/weathering-climate-shocks-how-restaurants-survive-supply-disruptions\">Weathering Climate Shocks: How Restaurants Survive Supply Disruptions<\/a> To overcome ingredient shortages and high food costs, some restaurateurs are rethinking their staple ingredients and strengthening their relationships with suppliers.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=58103&amp;preview=true\">Battling Meltdown: If You Can\u2019t Stand the Heat, Work for Change in the Kitchen<\/a> As climate change drives temperatures up, restaurant staff face uncomfortable, even unsafe conditions with no heat regulations to protect them. Some workers are taking matters into their own hands.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/15\/invisible-waste-for-restaurants-composting-food-scraps-is-just-the-beginning\/\">\u2018Invisible\u2019 Waste: For Restaurants, Composting Food Scraps Is Just the Beginning\u00a0<\/a>Cooking, refrigeration, air conditioning, water use, and packaging contribute to greenhouse gas emissions too. These restaurants try to tackle them all.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=58518&amp;preview=true\">Table to Farm: Can Restaurants Serve Climate Education?<\/a> For climate-conscious restaurants, helping customers understand the benefits of sustainably sourced food (and why it costs more) is key. But is tableside storytelling the way to go?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, if you were to walk into one of PLNT Burger\u2019s dozen-plus locations, you won\u2019t find a deluge of information about the environmental impact of eating meat. Instead, you\u2019ll see signage about the health benefits of plant-based eating\u2014the \u201cprimary drivers of consumer choice are personal benefit,\u201d says Goldman\u2014and the menu board, designed like any one in other fast-food chains. Goldman says that though employees are trained to speak on the environmental benefits of plant-based eating, \u201cit\u2019s not as embedded in our cashier training or our interactions with consumers, because we really are focused on positive guest experience.\u201d The environmental mission can come later.<\/p>\n<p>Climate change has marked effects on the restaurant industry. Changing temperatures and weather patterns mean ingredients that were once common are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/24255227\/restaurant-menus-climate-change-adjustments\">now harder to come by<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/24251308\/farm-to-table-climate-change-future-sourcing\">sourcing ingredients from sustainable farms<\/a> can often be more expensive. Some restaurateurs hope that by championing things like locally sourced produce and sustainable seafood, diners will understand what a climate-friendly diet looks like.<\/p>\n<p>But while speaking about the environment is important, \u201cpreaching,\u201d as Goldman puts it, is a turn-off, especially in hospitality, an industry that consumers rely on to provide, among other things, a good time . . . without interruptions. This puts restaurateurs in a precarious position of having to communicate choices and challenges without sullying the fun of eating out. Climate messaging can\u2019t work if customers are too put off to walk through the door once, let alone habitually.<\/p>\n<h4>Climate Action and Climate Messaging<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yangskitchenla.com\/\">Yang\u2019s Kitchen<\/a>, which Chris Yang opened in Los Angeles with his wife in 2019, has always <a href=\"https:\/\/la.eater.com\/2019\/9\/30\/20887415\/yangs-kitchen-alhambra-restaurant-chinese-sgv-san-gabriel-valley-los-angeles\">focused on quality ingredients<\/a>, like locally milled flour for its scallion pancakes and produce from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foodroots.co\/\">Food Roots<\/a>, which distributes locally grown Asian fruits and vegetables. On its website, the restaurant describes itself as a place that \u201cstrives to source local, sustainable and organic when possible,\u201d and lists its farmers on the menu. Initially, the priority was on quality and flavor, not necessarily environmental impact. But when COVID hit, Yang says it clarified the bigger picture. \u201cI realized if we, as a society, are going to handle COVID so poorly\u2014it worried me about what would happen when climate change really takes effect,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"row\"><section class=\"col-xs-12 post-single-gallery\"><div class=\"post-image-caption post-image-caption-view2\"><div class=\"post-image-caption-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241021-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education-yangs-kitchen-1.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241021-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education-yangs-kitchen-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Jennifer Chong\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241021-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education-yangs-kitchen-2.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241021-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education-yangs-kitchen-2.jpg\" alt=\"Yang's Kitchen: Arroz Caldo\"><\/a><\/div><div class=\"post-caption\"><p>Chris Yang opened Yang&#8217;s Kitchen in Los Angeles with his wife, Maggie Ho, in 2019. (Photo credit, left: Jennifer Chong) At right, Yang&#8217;s Kitchen Arroz Caldo. (Photo credit: Yang&#8217;s Kitchen)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"row\"><section class=\"col-xs-12 col-md-9 post-single-left\"><div class=\"post-simple\">\n<p>So, he took action. He worked on getting even more supply from local farms, and at a time when there were seemingly constant grocery shortages, he connected customers directly to the farms where he was getting his eggs and produce. He focused on finding suppliers that engaged in regenerative farming, and partnered with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerofoodprint.org\/join-us\">Zero Foodprint<\/a>, a nonprofit that helps restaurants contribute to sustainable farming initiatives, often by adding a fee to every check that can be removed upon request. ZFP then distributes those funds, via grants, to farmers for regenerative farming projects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I looked up more about regenerative farming, Zero Foodprint popped up,\u201d says Yang. \u201cI saw these chefs and these restaurants are already involved in doing this.\u201d The bottom of the Yang\u2019s Kitchen menu included this note to diners: \u201cWe are working with Zero Foodprint to restore the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Restaurants that care about the climate have a number of resources at their disposal to both help with and certify their commitments. <a href=\"https:\/\/cravefishbar.com\/\">Crave Fishbar<\/a>, for instance, advertises itself as New York\u2019s \u201cfirst 100 percent sustainable seafood restaurant\u201d by doing things like following the Monterey Bay Aquarium\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seafoodwatch.org\/recommendations\/download-consumer-guides\">sustainable seafood recommendations<\/a>, composting leftover food with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afterlifeag.com\/\">Afterlife Ag<\/a>, which uses the compost to grow mushrooms (which they then use in cooking), and giving leftover oyster shells to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billionoysterproject.org\/restaurants\">Billion Oyster Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Crave Fishbar is also a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcorporation.net\/en-us\/certification\/\">B Corp-certified<\/a> restaurant, recognized for its social impact along with several other criteria, including environmental impact. These are just a few of many designations\u2014like the <a href=\"https:\/\/guide.michelin.com\/us\/en\/article\/features\/what-is-a-michelin-green-star\">Michelin Green Star<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dinegreen.com\/post\/announcing-the-2024-green-restaurant-awards\">Green Restaurant Award<\/a>\u2014that use different criteria to affirm a restaurant\u2019s adherence to or engagement with sustainability standards.<\/p>\n<p>The proliferation of third-party certifications gives restaurants a shorthand way to flaunt their environmental bona fides in a manner that might be more palatable to customers: Seeing a certificate on a restaurant\u2019s wall or posted on its Instagram account assures diners that someone else has done the work of making sure a restaurant is environmentally friendly, so they can skip researching it themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Often, restaurants eschew the language of climate impact for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/21398969\/future-co-op-worker-owned-restaurants-ethical-business\">more euphemistic<\/a> term <a href=\"https:\/\/dc.eater.com\/2014\/11\/24\/7275485\/when-i-asked-what-sustainable-actually-meant-he-said-it-was\">\u201csustainability,\u201d<\/a> focusing on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/young-guns-rising-stars\/2019\/8\/9\/20757842\/restaurant-industry-challenges-how-to-improve\">benefits<\/a> of their sourcing and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/23711262\/la-seafood-restaurant-sustainable-fish-business-profit-by-numbers\">other practices<\/a> rather than categorically revealing the harms of practices like factory farming. Climate change feels heavy, so the idea is to point out smaller-scale decisions in the hopes that customers are inspired to make the jump to a larger cause.<\/p>\n<p>Owner Brian Owens says that at his recently opened Crave Sushi Bar\u2014a spinoff of Fishbar, also in Manhattan\u2014customers are sometimes surprised to see that bluefin tuna, a sushi staple, isn\u2019t on the menu. That\u2019s because it happens to be critically endangered. \u201cWe get specific,\u201d he says of the need to keep the diner informed of intentional menu substitutions and choices. \u201cWe call it out. You know where it\u2019s from. We actually have sourcing and mission statements on our menus,\u201d he says, which state that the restaurant serves \u201conly wild caught, sustainable &amp; responsibly farmed seafood.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"row\"><section class=\"col-xs-12 post-single-gallery\"><div class=\"post-image-caption post-image-caption-view2\"><div class=\"post-image-caption-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241021-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education-crave-fishbar-1.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241021-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education-crave-fishbar-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of Crave Fishbar\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241021-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education-crave-2.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241021-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education-crave-2.jpg\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of Crave Fishbar\"><\/a><\/div><div class=\"post-caption\"><p>Photos courtesy of Crave Fishbar. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"row\"><section class=\"col-xs-12 col-md-9 post-single-left\"><div class=\"post-simple\">\n<p>Crave also has an item on the menu called \u201cSave the Reef\u201d for $4, a direct donation to the Billion Oyster Project that anyone can add to their bill. Combined with the sourcing information, this language helps guests understand why they\u2019re seeing seafood like steelhead trout from the Hudson Valley on a sushi menu.<\/p>\n<p>While these goals and initiatives are printed on the menu and posted online, they\u2019re not explicitly spoken about through the course of the meal unless the customer inquires\u2014and according to Owens, they typically don\u2019t ask. \u201cWe are not trying to preach, we\u2019re not trying to take up too much space,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause I don\u2019t know how many people care. They just want to have something really delicious.\u201d Customers who are attracted to sustainable eating \u201ccome find us because of our sourcing,\u201d he adds, but \u201cthere\u2019s only so many places we can communicate that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, even adding information to the menu is too much. \u201cI could be sourcing herbs or scallions from a certain farmer, but at some point, it\u2019s excessive to call out\u201d every single source, says Yang. Customers might at first be intrigued by seeing a list of suppliers on a menu, but get bored halfway through reading it. \u201cIt just becomes too verbose.\u201d Yang sometimes spotlights local suppliers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9tDDPivLsH\/?img_index=1\">on Instagram<\/a>, where people can dig deeper if they want. But at the restaurant counter, the focus is on what the diner is ordering, not the \u201cethical, sustainable, additive-free\u201d products that make up the food.<\/p>\n<p>Yang agrees with Owens that once customers are in the restaurant, they don\u2019t really ask about sourcing, mission, or climate change impact. There are customers who are self-educated and seek out certain restaurants because of their practices, and those for whom sourcing and intention are incidental. \u201cPeople don\u2019t really ask,\u201d says Yang. It\u2019s a pattern he\u2019s become intimately familiar with: \u201cThey either know, or they just don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>The Toughest Customer Conversation<\/h4>\n<p>For many sustainable restaurants, the greater challenge is educating diners on the idea that necessary interventions in the face of climate change, like supporting small farms and sustainable projects, are worth paying for. Even though it\u2019s become more common, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qsrmagazine.com\/story\/real-cost-sustainability-restaurants\/\">sustainability costs more<\/a> than conventional food production.<\/p>\n<p>Government subsidies of industrial farming\u2014to the tune of $38 billion per year, <a href=\"https:\/\/thisismold.com\/mold-magazine\/issue-06-design-for-a-new-earth\/conditional-consumption\">writes Alicia Kennedy in <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/thisismold.com\/mold-magazine\/issue-06-design-for-a-new-earth\/conditional-consumption\"><em>Mold<\/em><\/a>\u2014mean that commercial produce and meat shipped thousands of miles is usually the cheaper option for restaurants and diners; no amount of careful menu planning can change the fact that a chicken grown in a small, sustainable operation will cost more than a chicken confined in a factory farm.<\/p>\n<p>Often, a restaurant or chef\u2019s personal commitment runs up against that economic reality. Adding a Zero Foodprint\u2013suggested contribution to diners\u2019 checks is one direct way to call out climate change in every interaction\u2014and invite support for fighting it\u2014but unfortunately, the initiative wound up being unsustainable for Yang, who ended the partnership earlier this year after four years.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We were anticipating [California\u2019s] <a href=\"https:\/\/sf.eater.com\/2024\/7\/1\/24189966\/california-restaurant-service-fees-sb-1524-law\">restaurant service charge bill<\/a> to take effect, and there was a lot of backlash from customers about having service fees,\u201d he says. And this was on top of general griping about his restaurant\u2019s high prices compared to other Asian restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, says Yang.<\/p>\n<p>More consumers than ever expect restaurants to pursue environmentally conscious practices. However, a recent survey says only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20211014005090\/en\/Recent-Study-Reveals-More-Than-a-Third-of-Global-Consumers-Are-Willing-to-Pay-More-for-Sustainability-as-Demand-Grows-for-Environmentally-Friendly-Alternatives\">34 percent are willing to pay more<\/a> for them when given the choice. Customers might care about sustainability goals, but adding a fee to every check, on top of higher prices for climate-friendlier ingredients, seems like too much at a time when even regular <a href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/intelligencer\/article\/how-much-more-expensive-is-food-now-really.html\">groceries are so expensive<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-quote\"><p>\u201cClimate has always been in the back of my mind, but it\u2019s never been something that I communicated to customers in such a direct way until now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Preparing customers for higher prices requires initiating an explicit conversation the customer usually won\u2019t start. <a href=\"https:\/\/firetypechocolate.com\/\">Firetype Chocolate<\/a> used to offer free pieces of chocolate as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thornesmarketplace.com\/celebrate-your-birthday-at-thornes\">birthday program<\/a> at its home within Thornes Marketplace in Northampton, Massachusetts. \u201cEvery year we gave away over 1,200 free truffles, caramels, honeycombs, and more for people\u2019s birthdays\u2014no purchase required, no email signup, no catch,\u201d said one of its<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9uslzGpECb\/\"> Instagram<\/a> posts.<\/p>\n<p>But recently, Firetype had to announce the ending of that perk. \u201cWe\u2019re ordering larger quantities than ever before, but six pounds of chocolate that cost us $72 in 2021 is now $129 thanks to climate, crop disease, and market speculators.\u201d Handing out over a thousand chocolates a year no longer adds up.<\/p>\n<p>Owner Dan McKinney had previously boasted when ingredients were sourced locally or organically, or what was made in-house, and over the last few years switched from using corn syrup to ingredients like organic tapioca. But recent years have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/health\/archive\/2024\/04\/cocoa-shortage-chocolate-expensive\/678053\/\">seen poor harvests<\/a> of cocoa in West Africa, where most of the world\u2019s chocolate is grown, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/rising-cocoa-prices-make-chocolate-more-expensive-this-valentines-day-8576256\">due to bad weather<\/a> and tree disease. McKinney, who uses Valrhona chocolate, says he was recently told chocolate prices would increase by 40 percent in the fall because of the smaller harvests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had been at $2.50 a piece, and now we\u2019re up to around $2.65. But I\u2019m running out of tricks in the toolbox,\u201d says McKinney. \u201cClimate has always been in the back of my mind, but it\u2019s never been something that I communicated to customers in such a direct way until now,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m going to feel even sillier asking people for [almost] $3 for one bite.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>\u2018This Is Not Some Far-Off Thing\u2019<\/h4>\n<p>Experts largely agree that if our agricultural systems are going to be sustainable for the environment, they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cals.iastate.edu\/news\/2022\/research-shows-significant-environmental-benefits-local-food-production\">have to get local<\/a> and stay small. Eating locally and seasonally from non-factory farms means fewer emissions and water use, healthier soil, and often a more symbiotic relationship between humans and animals.<\/p>\n<p>But if saving the planet were as easy as <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/05\/07\/a-guide-to-climate-conscious-grocery-shopping\/\">buying the right things<\/a> and eating at the right restaurants, most diners would have done it already. And even those who are dining out at climate-conscious restaurants often don\u2019t want to hear overt climate messaging. That leaves restaurateurs to essentially only bring it up in an emergency, as a caveat about high pricing or the lack of certain ingredients, not as a positive part of the hospitality experience. Which enforces the idea that talking about the environment at all in a dining setting is a drag, a detriment to the joy of eating out.<\/p>\n<p>Even if sustainable efforts stayed mostly in the background of restaurant operations, most people cannot afford to dine exclusively at sustainable restaurants (or any restaurant) for every meal. And even if we could, doing so won\u2019t grant us the overarching agency or control that so many unrestrained, greenwashed fantasies advertise: Dining at one climate-conscious restaurant does not make the broader restaurant industry sustainable.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-quote\"><p>\u201cThis is hitting you right now in a way that you didn\u2019t think it would.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Diners, who are likely aware of these issues, perhaps become more aware through restaurant messaging, but rarely are they given anything more to do about it beyond a menu choice. They are told that the decision they\u2019ve already made is the right one and that\u2019s it, leaving them to stew in the malaise that results from feeling like they\u2019re eating the last pasture-raised, holistically grazed, locally sourced chicken on the Titanic.<\/p>\n<p>Any further impact happens outside the restaurants themselves. Perhaps messaging around sourcing or climate change will galvanize diners to encourage their representatives to endorse environmentally friendly legislation, or maybe it will spur them to buy more produce from local farms or give up factory-farmed meat. Industry organizations like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jamesbeard.org\/climate-solutions-for-restaurant-survival\">James Beard Foundation are creating spaces<\/a> to \u201craise awareness\u201d of climate change among chefs.<\/p>\n<p>Although the success of one sustainable restaurant won\u2019t automatically make the restaurant next door follow the same practices, Owens, of Crave, says things are changing. \u201cTen years ago, 12 years ago, there were a lot fewer people doing this. There are more people now that do care,\u201d he says. \u201cMy responsibility is to continue those conversations.\u201d For now, Owens and other restaurateurs still see value in walking the razor\u2019s edge between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/24080934\/servers-explaining-menu-restaurant-trend\">self-indulgence<\/a> and climate-conscious urgency.<\/p>\n<p>One thing this communication can do is remind people that the effects of climate change are not just prescient but happening now. \u201cThis is a 1:1 link to crops not coming out good. And I think people need to wrap their heads around that this is not some far-off thing,\u201d says McKinney. \u201cThis is hitting you right now in a way that you didn&#8217;t think it would.\u201d Even if your menu doesn\u2019t say it, everything on it is affected by climate. The restaurants most vocal about the issue just understand we can no longer afford the luxury of not knowing.<\/p>\n<div class='ctx-module-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix'><\/div><span class=\"ctx-article-root\"><!-- --><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the fifth article in a five-part series\u00a0about restaurants and climate-change solutions, produced in collaboration with\u00a0Eater. These numbers are largely hypothetical. The most accurate measure of land or CO2 \u201csaved\u201d by ordering a PLNT Burger is only attained if you\u2019d originally planned to order a fast-food beef burger instead. And of course, it\u2019s not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1163,"featured_media":58562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4368,4146,43538],"tags":[],"coauthors":[43209],"class_list":["post-58518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-climate","category-climate-on-the-menu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.6 (Yoast SEO v25.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>If Restaurants Talk Climate, Will Customers Listen? | Civil Eats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Plenty of restaurants want to share the message about their genuinely climate-conscious practices, but diners often don\u2019t want to hear it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If Restaurants Serve Up Climate Education, Will Diners Pay Attention?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Plenty of restaurants want to share the message about their genuinely climate-conscious practices, but diners often don\u2019t want to hear it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Civil Eats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-21T13:05:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-06T23:07:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jaya Saxena\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Plenty of restaurants want to share the message about their genuinely climate-conscious practices, but customers often don\u2019t want to hear it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Eater-5-X-Hed-thumbnail-2.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CivilEats\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CivilEats\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jaya Saxena\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jaya Saxena\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e44a062cbf91e0522ac24571b7e5b9ca\"},\"headline\":\"If Restaurants Serve Up Climate Education, Will Diners Pay Attention?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-21T13:05:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-06T23:07:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/\"},\"wordCount\":2653,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\",\"Climate\",\"Climate on the Menu\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/\",\"name\":\"If Restaurants Talk Climate, Will Customers Listen? | Civil Eats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-21T13:05:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-06T23:07:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"Plenty of restaurants want to share the message about their genuinely climate-conscious practices, but diners often don\u2019t want to hear it.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Illustration by Ellie Krupnik.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"If Restaurants Serve Up Climate Education, Will Diners Pay Attention?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\",\"name\":\"Civil Eats\",\"description\":\"Daily News and Commentary About the American Food System\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Civil Eats\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":455,\"caption\":\"Civil Eats\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CivilEats\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/civileats\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e44a062cbf91e0522ac24571b7e5b9ca\",\"name\":\"Jaya Saxena\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/9c20711dfd9963c6544d3022b6a24248\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/eTftZnAt_400x400-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/eTftZnAt_400x400-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Jaya Saxena\"},\"description\":\"Jaya Saxena is a staff writer at Eater.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/eater.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/author\/jsaxena\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"If Restaurants Talk Climate, Will Customers Listen? | Civil Eats","description":"Plenty of restaurants want to share the message about their genuinely climate-conscious practices, but diners often don\u2019t want to hear it.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"If Restaurants Serve Up Climate Education, Will Diners Pay Attention?","og_description":"Plenty of restaurants want to share the message about their genuinely climate-conscious practices, but diners often don\u2019t want to hear it.","og_url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/","og_site_name":"Civil Eats","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637","article_published_time":"2024-10-21T13:05:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-06T23:07:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jaya Saxena","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Plenty of restaurants want to share the message about their genuinely climate-conscious practices, but customers often don\u2019t want to hear it.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Eater-5-X-Hed-thumbnail-2.png","twitter_creator":"@CivilEats","twitter_site":"@CivilEats","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jaya Saxena","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/"},"author":{"name":"Jaya Saxena","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e44a062cbf91e0522ac24571b7e5b9ca"},"headline":"If Restaurants Serve Up Climate Education, Will Diners Pay Attention?","datePublished":"2024-10-21T13:05:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-06T23:07:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/"},"wordCount":2653,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg","articleSection":["Business","Climate","Climate on the Menu"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/","name":"If Restaurants Talk Climate, Will Customers Listen? | Civil Eats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-21T13:05:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-06T23:07:24+00:00","description":"Plenty of restaurants want to share the message about their genuinely climate-conscious practices, but diners often don\u2019t want to hear it.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CE_5.1.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Illustration by Ellie Krupnik."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/10\/21\/table-to-farm-can-restaurants-serve-climate-education\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"If Restaurants Serve Up Climate Education, Will Diners Pay Attention?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/","name":"Civil Eats","description":"Daily News and Commentary About the American Food System","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization","name":"Civil Eats","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png","width":800,"height":455,"caption":"Civil Eats"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637","https:\/\/x.com\/CivilEats","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/civileats\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e44a062cbf91e0522ac24571b7e5b9ca","name":"Jaya Saxena","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/9c20711dfd9963c6544d3022b6a24248","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/eTftZnAt_400x400-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/eTftZnAt_400x400-150x150.jpg","caption":"Jaya Saxena"},"description":"Jaya Saxena is a staff writer at Eater.","sameAs":["https:\/\/eater.com"],"url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/author\/jsaxena\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58518"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58685,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58518\/revisions\/58685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58518"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=58518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}