Catalan school menu guidelines cut environmental impact by up to 50%, study shows

A new study led by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) found that progressive changes to dietary guidelines used in Catalan school canteens reduced the environmental footprint of meals for children aged seven to twelve by as much as 50%. The analysis, published in Science of the Total Environment, examined how updates to the guidelines in 2012, 2017, and 2020 shifted the impact of meals when compared to the original 2005 recommendations.

The research team, which included the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the Public Health Agency of Catalonia, the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change ESCI UPF, and the UPF Barcelona School of Management, set out to evaluate whether reforms introduced in recent years altered both sustainability outcomes and nutritional quality. The guidelines served as the basis for schools to design weekly menus intended to promote healthy eating among pupils.

One of the authors, Júlia Benito Cobeña, said the study was among the first to treat the school canteen as a learning environment where children develop habits that can last a lifetime. She explained that the Public Health Agency of Catalonia incorporated sustainability criteria into the 2020 update, and the research confirmed that the environmental impact decreased under the new guidance. “This study verifies that the environmental impact has indeed decreased in new menus that further reduce the impact of school meals,” she said.

The team compared the environmental footprint of meals using 16 indicators, such as acidification, water scarcity, human toxicity, use of mineral resources and metals, use of fossil resources, and a composite measure capturing overall environmental impact. Using the 2005 guidelines as a benchmark, the 2012 update reduced the footprint by 9%, the 2017 version by 22%, and the 2020 guidance by 40%. All individual indicators also showed significantly lower impacts in 2020 compared to 2005, with reductions that ranged from 5% to 52%.

The analysis showed that second courses, particularly meals featuring meat and fish, contributed the highest share of environmental impact across the indicators. The study suggested that including more plant based proteins, alongside a more diverse mix of cereals, could reduce the environmental footprint of meal plans by around 50% while maintaining both macronutrient distribution and nutritional quality. The authors emphasized that this shift could be achieved without compromising nutritional standards.

Anna Bach, a member of the UOC Faculty of Health Sciences and co coordinator of the Nutrition, Food, Health and Sustainability research group, contributed to the evaluation of which food groups carried the greatest weight in each environmental category. She noted that fruit and rice remained the main contributors to water consumption, although for different reasons. “Fruit plays an essential role in healthy eating, which is why it's advisable to eat it in four out of every five meals,” she said. Reducing fruit intake would have negative effects on health. According to the findings, rice could be replaced with cereals more adaptable to climate change, which would lower the environmental burden without restricting dietary variety.

The researchers also examined barriers to acceptance of menu changes, particularly among families and children. The study highlighted common misconceptions, including the belief that plant based menus lack flavor or fall short nutritionally. Benito Cobeña pointed to further challenges related to presentation. “If they're not cooked and presented attractively, children are less likely to want to eat certain foods, such as vegetables and legumes,” she said. She added that improving acceptance would require cooperation among families, school staff, and kitchen teams, and that additional research would be needed to assess how fully schools implement the guidelines in practice.

The authors said that although the analysis focused on Catalan recommendations, the findings may be relevant to national policy. Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda published a Royal Decree in April that set out new requirements for healthy and sustainable eating in schools, and the study suggested that the Catalan experience could help inform those efforts.

Beyond the policy implications, the project formed part of the UOC’s broader research mission on digital health and planetary well being. The university framed the work within its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to zero hunger, good health, and responsible production and consumption.

The research built on Benito Cobeña’s final project for the UOC online master’s degree in Healthy and Sustainable Food. The study was jointly led by Ujué Fresán, researcher at ISGlobal and instructor at the UOC, and Laura Batlle Bayer of ESCI UPF. The article, titled “Evolution, trade offs and optimization of the environmental impact of school meal dietary recommendations,” was published in open access with the DOI provided by the journal.

UOC described the findings within its wider objective of advancing applied, interdisciplinary research connected to the most significant social, technological, and educational challenges. The institution’s community of more than 500 researchers works across missions including lifelong learning, ethical and human centered technology, digital transition and sustainability, culture for a critical society, and planetary health.