Plant-Based by Default
Make Sustainable Food the Default in Your Community
We encourage Jewish communities to adopt a plant-based default dining strategy, an approach that centers the Jewish values of protecting people, animals, and the planet. This is one of the most effective ways to shift our communal food culture to be inherently more sustainable and inclusive while preserving individual choice.
What is a Plant-Based Default Strategy?
Communities can subtly design their dining settings to encourage or “nudge” people toward a preferred behavior. One of these nudge strategies is to make meals plant-based by default, which sets plant-based foods as the standard, most appealing option.
This is in contrast to most settings, which normalize industrial meat, fish, dairy, and eggs by including them as standard ingredients, with plant-based items sometimes offered as an alternative.
A plant-based default strategy ensures there are plentiful, accessible options for everyone to choose the meal that is right for them. Depending on your community’s goals and preferences, dishes made with animal products can be offered by request, or include animal products in smaller ratios to plant-based foods, as side options, or add-ons.
This evidence-based strategy makes the more sustainable choice the easiest, go-to option for diners, since most people stick with the status quo.
Benefits of Plant-Based Defaults
Plant-based defaults can help communities achieve sustainability goals and create a more inclusive culture—with savings on cost and waste, and without draining resources or requiring an operational overhaul.
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Food production is responsible for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions and the types of foods we buy and serve have a much more significant impact on our dietary carbon footprint than focusing on local sourcing, single-use plastic, and other greening tactics.
Research shows that events with a plant-based default strategy can save up to ⅔ in greenhouse gas emissions and water use, along with up to ¾ savings in food-related land use, when compared to a typical event.
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Plant-based meals work for more people, by default, while preserving individual choice to opt into eating animal products.
A default strategy creates an inclusive communal dining setting, ensuring that those with food allergies, intolerances, and cultural or religious dietary needs are respected and accommodated.
Plant-based options also resonate with shifting sociocultural values and can draw in a younger, more diverse crowd. A 2024 report shows that 68% of people worldwide want to eat more plant-based foods, especially those of younger generations like Gen Z and Millennials with young families.
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There are a variety of budget-friendly nudges that are effective for influencing consumption behaviors without requiring massive resource investment or operational overhauls.
Plant-forward menus and behavioral nudge interventions have been shown to improve diner satisfaction and help reduce food cost and waste.
To set your institution up for long-term success, we help tailor a strategy to your community’s preferences and resources.
“The RA-CJFE Partnership for Sustainable Dining has profoundly shaped how Emanuel Synagogue approaches communal meals. This program has helped us integrate sustainability into our food practices in a way that honors Jewish values while making tangible environmental and ethical impacts.”
Examples of Plant-Based Nudge Strategies
It’s important to implement nudge strategies that align with your community’s resources, goals, and dining structure. The changes you make should be attainable and realistic so you can sustain them and build upon them over time.
SUBTLE SUBSTITUTIONS
Swap common ingredients–like mayo, butter, or milk–for plant-based versions.
Try this—For refreshments or catered meetings, offer oat milk for coffee, a veggie platter with hummus, or plant-based cream cheese for bagels.
CLIMATE-FRIENDLY RATIOS
Make plant-based foods the most plentiful option. Consider offering a 2:1 ratio of plant-based to non-plant-based dishes.
Try this–For a buffet meal, reduce the serving size of fish, meat, or dairy products, and increase the portion of plant-based options. Pair this ratio technique with strategic placement for maximum impact.
Offer plant-based items, like lentils, dairy-free cheese, or beans, at the beginning of a buffet line to encourage people to fill their plates with these first and take smaller quantities of meat and dairy items.
DESCRIPTIVE TITLES
Instead of using labels like “vegetarian” or “meat-free” on menus or table signs, focus on descriptions about flavor, ingredients, or texture.
Try this–Instead of adding a “vegan wrap” to your menu, call it a “roasted vegetable and hummus wrap.”
Always provide allergen information and be clear and consistent in whatever menu or signage language you choose.
Check out this Better Food Foundation labeling resource for more helpful tips.
Plant-Based Dining Promotes Jewish Values
TZA’AR BA’ALEI CHAYIM
(PREVENTING UNNECESSARY SUFFERING TO ANIMALS)
Pursuing justice for humans, animals, and our planet.
BAL TASHCHIT
(AVOIDING WASTEFUL DESTRUCTION)
Serving resource-efficient meals helps us steward water, land, and energy.
OSHEK
(PROTECTING WORKERS FROM EXPLOITATION)
By making more compassionate food choices, we contribute to a kinder world for all living beings.
TZEDEK
(JUSTICE)
Plant-forward menus lessen reliance on the exploitative industrial animal agriculture sector.
Learn more about how Jewish values relate to our food system.
“Introducing whole food plant-based options at our synagogue luncheon was a true success... A meaningful first step toward mindful eating, promoting wellness, and embodying compassion and sustainability within our community!”
Ready to Make Your Community Sustainable by Default?
CJFE is here to support your Jewish community in aligning your food practices with Jewish values. Contact our expert staff for practical strategies, hands-on guidance, and educational resources for Jewish institutions and events of all types and sizes.
You can also fill out this interest form, which will help us understand your community’s readiness and interest in developing or formalizing a food policy, and to provide helpful context for a potential conversation with our team.