How to get planet health on event menus

For over 30 years Équiterre has been offering the Quebec public and organizations encouragement and support to promote local organic food. The movement promoting locally sourced food has come a long way and has expanded, thanks in part to the government launching the Stratégie nationale d'achat d'aliments québécois in 2020.

For a few years now, Équiterre has worked to encourage organizations to take the next step by prioritizing not only local food, but also the nutritious and environmentally responsible food found on planetary health menus.

This mobilization undertaking must extend as well to other segments of society. The time has now come for Équiterre to extend its focus to other sectors, such as the event sector, in a more structured manner. After all, the event sector has great potential in this area.

Planetary health menus

Context

Humanity if facing an unprecedented challenge: how to feed a growing global population while at the same time mitigating the climate crisis’ effects on human and planetary health.→

That explains the urgency of adopting planetary health menus, featuring food that is at once nutritious and within the limits of our planet’s ecosystems.

^{Image taken from French summary of the EAT-Lancet Commission}

Definition and principles

Planetary health menus and harvests invite us to conceive of our food differently, from farm to plate. It involves considering both food production (harvests) and consumption choices (menus) while accounting for the impacts on our health, our environment and our wallets.

Fortunately, Canada’s Food Guide already gives us a good idea of what a planetary health menu looks like. Practically speaking, it prioritizes nutritious foods with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins. All that remains, then, is to choose wherever possible local, seasonal products grown and sold in an environmentally responsible way with short supply chains. The Food Guide also encourages Canadians to cook with basic ingredients and stay away from ultra-processed foods.

By adding whole grains and legumes to their diet, Quebeckers can also lead farmers to diversify their crops and thus nourish the soil while building a market for these future crops. To learn about the nutritious foods comprising planetary health menus, visit Shop Smarter Eat Better.

Obviously, it isn’t always easy to make the best choices, and the event sector is no exception!

^{Image taken from Canada’s Food Guide}

Another major aim of the planetary health menu is to reduce the amount of waste produced (via packaging and service) and the amount of food/nutritional waste.

Lastly, planetary health menus encourage us to eat foods that reflect our cultures and traditions and to share them with our friends and loved ones.

To learn more about planetary health menus, read our entire fact sheet.

Impacts

Planetary health menus positively impact our health and environment and can lead to savings—not to mention the significant benefits for bio-food companies!

Event sector profile

Events are held every day across the province. They take the form of large conventions, conferences or fairs, but also smaller gatherings, meetings, forums and festivals. These events bring together large numbers of people, and those people need to be fed! While the Covid pandemic paused these events, they have once again become a routine aspect of our professional and personal lives.

By inspiring us and leading by example, these events can encourage us to adopt healthful, sustainable food habits on a daily basis. They also reach a broad, diverse audience.

Features and challenges specific to Montreal

It is worth noting Montreal’s distinctive character when it comes to events organization:

• Montreal hosts the lion’s share of festivals and events;

• Compared to other regions, there is a wider assortment of caterers from which to choose;

• There is a large food supply chain comprising many bio-food companies as well as local producers and processing businesses;

• The City of Montreal aims to go zero-waste by 20302;

• Distribution of certain single-use plastic items in restaurants and food businesses is prohibited by municipal regulation;

• The city’s goal is to cut food waste in half;

• The City of Montreal is also committed to offering a minimum of 75% vegetarian food at the events it organizes5;

• Events funded by the City of Montreal must adhere to an eco-responsibility index when it comes to the following: waste management, transportation, procurement, food, water, energy, community.

Trends in environmental responsibility

According to the Événements Attractions Québec organization and the Transat Chair in Tourism, sustainable development was a significant trend in the event sector in 20246.

And it is more than just a trend, in fact. Some funding is now contingent on compliance with certain sustainable development criteria. Such is the case with events funded by the Ministère du tourisme, which must meet an entire list of sustainable development indicators within the next two years. These include vegetarian or vegan options, at least 5% organic/fair trade food, and at least 25% local products, in addition to measures to counter food waste, manage leftovers and reduce the amount of waste produced.

While waste reduction is a popular concern, with 84% of the 322 members of Événements Attractions Québec putting in place measures to that effect, only 36% offer vegetarian or vegan options to their staff and participants7. The Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsables (CQEER) finds that the desire to reduce single-use products trumps menu choice considerations. That being said, food offerings are evolving in step with clients’ demands, with more and more vegetarian and vegan options and menus adapted to various allergens or health specifications (gluten-free, no dairy, etc).

Le Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsables (CQEER)

As part of its mission to facilitate and encourage sustainable, environmentally responsible events, CQEER offers tools and support services to organizations wishing to incorporate environmental responsibility in their event management practices.

Under the Réseau des femmes en environnement initiative (headed by CQEER), the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) has created a standard overseeing responsible event management: BNQ 9700-253/2024. This standard comprises 7 sections, 5 of which apply to food:

CQEER also publishes a directory of suppliers that have adopted eco-responsible practices.

Challenges of putting in place planetary health menus

It must be noted that the challenges of putting in place planetary health menus are many! First, the phrase itself—not to mention the measures needed to implement the menus--is largely unfamiliar to the events community, including caterers and event organizers. Some do not know which products to prioritize to enhance the impact of their menu, both from the standpoint of health and the environment.

Procurement of nutritious, local and eco-responsible food

Information difficult to access

It is not just the phrase planetary health menu that is unfamiliar to many; the provenance of the food can also be murky. While information on food provenance is increasingly available, it sometimes is not, especially when the food is purchased from a large distributor. Research is often necessary to identify the source of a food item. Consequently, the level of awareness of food provenance varies from one caterer to another based on such factors as food category, the catering team’s interest and client demand.

The same is true of agricultural practices, processing conditions and ingredients used: research is required or the supplier must be contacted to obtain this type of information.

Moreover, it is not always easy to identify high-quality, nutritious food. While the Canada Food Guide offers good recommendations, these are not necessarily taken into account and applied.

In any event, the research necessary to find new products or suppliers is time-consuming. With the restaurant industry’s current labour shortages, it is difficult to allocate resources to do this research, to instil new habits or even to change the usual menu.

Food supply adapted to sector needs

Apart from the availability of local products (which varies by season), particularly as regards produce items, much remains to be done to ensure that the ingredients necessary for planetary health menus are available at events! The local food supply is not necessarily adapted to the needs of this sector. That is the case for certain vegetables that are easier to cook with when they are pre-peeled and pre-cut. It is also the case for broad beans. This legume, associated with the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, is only available in its pod. The time needed to shell, wash and peel these beans has an impact on kitchen preparations and the amount of labour required. Pre-shelled broad beans would make a great substitute for edamames, which are generally sourced from Asia.

As for quantities, these are not always adapted—especially for medium-sized catering operations, which have difficulty finding intermediate sizes.

Big players with large purchasing volumes in relation to the availability of local products may find it hard to access certain Quebec products. The product supply chain has to be solid to avoid menu changes, which can leave clients disappointed, and time-consuming back-and-forth for validation purposes.

Food choices are also influenced by other criteria: longstanding relationships with suppliers or distributors; partners who can deliver early in the morning… So each product represents a compromise between volume, quality, provenance and price.

Institutional and event-based: same challenges, same solutions?

Some of the challenges of putting in place sustainable menus are similar in the institutional and event sectors:

• Product availability: supply quantity and stability;
• Price;
• Formats available;
• Product accessibility from certain distributors, although caterers seem to have more flexibility at this level;
• Proliferation of allergens;
• Alignment of supply to demand.

Knowledge sharing for sustainable institutional food within the Commun’Assiette practice community has helped inform the bio-food industry about certain institutional needs and helped it adapt more easily. Unfortunately, this solution is not really feasible in the event sector due to competition among caterers, most of whom are private businesses.

However, one-on-one support for catering services and event organizers, as was the case in this pilot project, has proven to be effective and necessary in light of the needs they have clearly expressed

Costs and planetary health menu prices

Unsurprisingly, the cost of planetary health menus is the most oft-mentioned challenge by all event sector actors.

And yet a number of studies have pointed to the economic benefits of plant-based meals, particularly as a substitute for red meat. Plant-based menus and a reduction in food waste can be leveraged to absorb the higher cost of certain local foods. A number of theories have been advanced to explain this gap: insufficient demand, the demand for items outside a typical menu, which necessitates more management of ingredients unavailable via the major distributors and whose volumes are insufficient, etc.

While caterers have to remain competitive, several of them also say that not every client is ready to make the effort due to costs. In fact, some organizations claim that since all costs are going up, it is hard for them to absorb this increase, and it is the participants who pay the price.

Clients’ mentality and culinary preferences

There remains a lot of hesitancy to offer exclusively vegetarian menus. Worse still, meals featuring red meat continue to dominate event menus, and meat-based menus remain the default choice for most caterers! The illusion that a meat dish is absolutely necessary and that plant-based dishes are not as nice or stylish remains prevalent. Unfortunately, planetary health food such as buckwheat or yellow peas is not yet seen as pleasing to the palate. Because these food items are not seen as innovative products, the public must be encouraged to rediscover them in creative and attractive new forms and flavours.

The proliferation of food allergies and intolerances further complicates catering work when it comes to ingredient choices and thus constitutes another serious challenge for putting in place planetary health menus.

Event logistics

While the above-noted challenges are variable for most sectors, the following ones are directly linked to event logistics.

Menu planning and scheduling

The event sector operates in very variable contexts: deadlines, number of guests, event format, etc. Caterers’ supply chains must be strong enough to meet the needs of every situation.

“You have to be able to come up with a menu for 2,000 people in two weeks.” - Simon Devost-Dulude, Executive Chef, Maestro Culinaire, caterer for the Palais des congrès de Montréal

In some cases, event catering is organized well in advance. Clients want to know what will be on their plates, so menus are planned as much as a year in advance—hence the need for a solid, predictable supply chain.

Quantities management and meal logistics

Another challenge lies in the difficulty of calculating the right amount of food for an event. Last-minute cancellations often lead to waste.

Event sites lacking a kitchen or refrigerator can also complicate the service. Sometimes the easiest option logistics-wise is to opt for a lunchbox-type meal.

The steps necessary for the service can make for a longer wait during the event. For example, serving a typical meat-based meal requires less presentation work and thus makes it easier to carry off.

Leviers et opportunités pour implanter des menus de santé planétaire

Malgré tous ces défis, il existe plusieurs leviers qui permettent de faciliter l’implantation des menus de santé planétaire.

Motivating and supporting the teams

Choice of collaborators

The choice of collaborators is very important to an event’s success, both for the organizers and the caterers. A number of them point out, in fact, that establishing business relations based on common values, as well as a long-term commitment wherever possible, leads to a sustainable relationship and fair remuneration.

And as shown during Équiterre’s benefit cocktail parties, taking the time to get to know your suppliers (e.g. their supply of products and services, the way they operate and what their needs are) helps you identify partners with greater expertise and higher-quality deliverables, which results in happier clients.

Selection criteria for suppliers can serve as a guide.

Food availability and varieties

Making planetary health menus available definitely requires work. One key way of ensuring availability is if certain products on planetary health menus are sold by large distributors, which makes procurement easier. Another solution is to deal with less-conventional distributors or suppliers to access a range of different products.

Thanks to Arrivage, a platform for accessing a broad, diverse network of local producers just a click away, the team at Maestro Culinaire was able to serve local vegetables from L’aube, Food Hub at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, which directly benefited Quebec’s bio-food companies.

More demand

All of the caterers and promoters surveyed said that increasing the demand for these menus is a key lever. This would make it possible to lower prices, adapt menus more easily and ensure a more plentiful, stable and predictable marketplace.

More recipes and options

To stimulate interest in planetary health menus, more variety, choice and originality are needed when it comes to recipes. To be sure, the expertise needed to design original menus and recipes meeting client needs and preferences is in the hands of the caterers. That said, this need is also felt among caterers who are not necessarily used to working with planetary health menu ingredients. That is why, as part of the project Planetary Health on the Menu at Events, Équiterre chose to work with Maestro Culinaire to create a planetary health menu that would inspire other caterers!

Mentality

It is a major plus when marrying health with the environment is seen as a selling point! This perception is an impetus to create more planetary health menus.

Beyond this perception, it is the entire mentality surrounding food that needs to be changed! An enormous amount of work must be done when it comes to food literacy. This requires education and an evolution in people’s tastes.

“Food is like everything else: it has to do with what’s in vogue. So, habits need to change. Also, culinary culture and the vocation to cook must be highlighted, with an emphasis on pleasure. Eating lunch should be an event, rather than simply brown-bagging it alone at work.” Matthieu Sallée, owner of Zinzin, restaurant and event catering service at the Maison du développement durable, Montreal.

Tools and resources to facilitate the transition

Statistics, arguments or other awareness tools in favour of planetary health menus would be beneficial for all the stakeholders, including participants. Also, caterers and event organizers agree that more tools and resources are needed to facilitate the transition to sustainable menus, including :

• Concrete examples, inspiring stories and case studies;

• Practical recommendations that are easy to implement.

More specifically, for caterers:

• More information on products;

• Recipe ideas;

• A wide range of recommendations to facilitate adaptation of traditional menus;

• Training.

For event organizers:

• A directory of caterers who offer planetary health menus;

• Selection criteria to choose menus and caterers;

• Talking points to open a dialogue with suppliers.

In any event, turnkey tools must be prioritized, since time is in short supply for actors in this sector!

Key milestones for implementing planetary health menus for caterers

Commencer progressivement

Partons du principe très simple qu’il faut bien commencer quelque part! Il vaut mieux y aller progressivement et se nourrir de petits succès plutôt que de modifier l’ensemble de son offre d’un coup et de se décourager si on rencontre des obstacles au niveau de l’approvisionnement ou si la demande n’est pas au rendez-vous au début. L’intégration progressive permet de documenter, d’ajuster le tir, d’augmenter la part d’aliments de santé planétaire puis de systématiser.

Il y a plusieurs façons de procéder progressivement, que ce soit en ciblant un organisateur d’événements qui se préoccupe davantage de la santé et de l’environnement ou encore en intégrant certains ingrédients qui composent des menus de santé planétaire dans ses menus réguliers.

Vous pouvez également faire les démarches pour obtenir la reconnaissance Aliments du Québec au menu. Une démarche gratuite offrant un repère connu des consommateurs en matière d’alimentation locale.

Mobiliser l’équipe

Pour effectuer un virage vert réussi, il faut que l’ensemble de l’équipe soit mobilisé. Pour ce faire, elle doit comprendre pourquoi ce virage est nécessaire.

Key milestones for implementing planetary health menus for event organizers

To offer planetary health menus, a phased approach that builds on incremental progress is in order. To begin with, it is preferable to target an event associated with health and/or the environment and thus benefit from a more informed target audience for the first attempts.

Case studies and concrete examples

Success story and feedback from a caterer who adopted planetary health menus: learn about the inspiring story of Maestro culinaire.

Success story and feedback from an event organizer who commissioned planetary health menus: learn about the inspiring story of Équiterre’s benefit cocktails.

Additional tools and recommendations

Conclusion and outlook

To sum up, planetary health menus make it possible to:

• Stand apart: the planetary health menu is a great way to offer innovative and high-quality products.
• Lower the bill: a number of studies have shown the economic advantages of plant-based meals, especially when red meat is being substituted for.
• Follow the trend: offering more options that are nutritious, locally sourced, vegetarian or gluten-free, the planetary health menu has everything to meet clients’ modern needs.
• Contribute to public health: showcasing healthful food encourages clients to adopt healthy eating habits in their daily lives.
• Follow an environmentally responsible process: the planetary health menu helps reduce food’s environmental impact (lower GHG and reduction in the loss of biodiversity caused by ranching, waste and food waste).
• Contribute to economic vitality: by encouraging the purchase of food produced locally, the entire agricultural sector wins thanks to job creation and the development of new markets.

Advantages and challenges to keep in mind

As demonstrated by the pilot projects carried out by Équiterre and its partners, it is not just possible but realistic to integrate planetary health principles into event menus. The full expertise acquired over a number of years is now available to industry actors. This practical fact sheet identifies why and how to put in place planetary health menus.

The next steps will involve field-to-plate work to meet the challenges and leverage advantages. They will also involve testing out this process with more catering services and event organizers. Ideally, the entire process can be put to the test by working with a caterer/event organizer duo, with a view to gauging the impacts on clients.

Local and collective spinoffs

As demonstrated by the pilot projects carried out by Équiterre and its partners, it is not just possible but realistic to integrate planetary health principles into event menus. The full expertise acquired over a number of years is now available to industry actors. This practical fact sheet identifies why and how to put in place planetary health menus.

The next steps will involve field-to-plate work to meet the challenges and leverage advantages. They will also involve testing out this process with more catering services and event organizers. Ideally, the entire process can be put to the test by working with a caterer/event organizer duo, with a view to gauging the impacts on clients.

Local and collective spinoffs

This fact sheet and Équiterre’s Planetary Health on the Menu at Events project constitute a collaboration with numerous partners: Maestro culinaire and the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Arrivage, la Coopérative pour l'Agriculture de Proximité Écologique (CAPÉ), Tourisme Montréal, Polycarbone, Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain (CCMM), the Conseil du Système alimentaire montréalais and the Guichet unique pour la transition alimentaire (GUTA).

It was made possible thanks to financial support from the ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), via the Proximité program of Aliments du Québec and the CDPQ.

Contact

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