What is Earthright?

Earthright is a project dedicated to sustainable practices within Campus Dining Services. Our commitment is to make right decisions and take right actions to continually improve each step we affect in this cycle. Join us in our mission and do your part to put the earth right!

Wholesome Harvest

How we harvest, package and transport food are important to a healthy food cycle. Campus Dining Services supports local and sustainable producers to the benefit of our customers.

Energy Efficiency

Being efficient means doing more with less. Our goal is to maintain our commitment to good food, happy people and comfortable places while using less energy and reducing our carbon footprint.

Resource Renewal

In any system there is excess. Despite the complexity and restraints, we are dedicated to decreasing our landfill contribution. Composting, recycling and waste reduction create a more sustainable process as we grow.

Human Impact

Knowledge is the key to success in developing positive habits. Commitment begins with a personal understanding of the social and environmental impact we have, and the roles we play individually and as a community.

Finding the Impact

Reducing waste has many important ecological and economical benefits. Campus Dining Services uses computerized tracking to anticipate and prepare only the food that is needed. As less food is wasted, less food is purchased and prepared. Continued reduction in waste reduces energy used in storing, transporting, and producing food. Continued reduction in demand lowers costs and frees up agricultural resources for other purposes.

Each week, 100 consecutive trays are randomly sampled at lunch or dinner. All edible food and beverage are collected and weighted (no peels, bones or ice). The total weight is converted to ounces and divided by 100 to get an average per person. This same process is followed at every all-you-care-to-eat facility.

Find out more about our composting partnership with the Bradford Research Farm:

• Read about the Campus Dining Services and Bradford Research Farm full-cycle composting project. MU is the first university to launch such a project.

• Look through this graphic to see how Campus Dining Services and the Bradford Research Farm have developed a full-cycle composting system.

• Check out Footprint Magazine's article about Campus Dining Services sustainability initiatives

• See this article in Mizzou Magazine about composting