Dear North Carolina State University Leadership,

Henry David Thoreau once said, “What is the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” As we celebrate another Earth Day, it’s imperative that NC State students, faculty and alumni alike assess the sustainability of our university in this same context.

Having recently been awarded a Gold Rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, NC State is well on its way to becoming a model in sustainability among American universities. Recent additions to the campus such as the innovative solar trees and umbrellas, and a commitment to sustainable transportation, are environmentally conscious initiatives that the Wolfpack family should be extremely proud of. However, there remains much room for improvement, especially in terms of the sustainability of the NC State food system.

Industrialized animal agriculture uses a huge amount of water and crops, and generates more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation industry. With the human population growing at an exponential rate, on a planet with limited space and resources, the continued production of animal-based foods is simply not sustainable. A recent petition started by Wolfpack students, advocating for a switch from standard mayonnaise and cookies to the plant-based ‘Just Mayo’ and ‘Just Cookies,’ acknowledges precisely the type of change needed to drastically reduce the environmental footprint at NC State. If each of the 34,000 students at North Carolina State ate one ‘Just Cookie’ instead of a regular cookie, they would save 15,000 square feet of land, 900,000 quarts of water and prevent 1 million grams of carbon emissions. And that’s just one cookie each; over the course of an entire year, almost 100 million gallons of water would be saved.

This petition, which has been in circulation for over two months, has unfortunately not yet been addressed by you, the leadership at NC State. Let’s change that this Earth Day. Let’s save water, reduce carbon emissions and make NC State a healthier, greener place. The university can undoubtedly be proud of what it has achieved and continues to achieve in terms of environmental friendliness, but this is an ongoing fight if we really want to slow down or stop the degradation of the natural environment. The petition proposes a big, yet simple step toward a sustainable future in Raleigh and beyond. We eagerly await your response, and look forward to many more years of our university leading the way as a pioneer of sustainability in higher education.

Because what good is NC State if there isn’t a tolerable planet to put it on?

Sincerely,

Max Robb, Class of 2016

Soumya Nadabar, Class of 2016

Autumn Belk, teaching assistant professor of Health & Exercise Studies

Mari Kate Mycek, graduate research assistant in Sociology & Anthropology

Blake Martin, graduate research assistant in Sociology & Anthropology

Michelle Flemming, graduate student studying Geospatial Information Science and Technology

Stephen Puryear, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Maddie Segal, Class of 2009

David Robb, Parent, Class of 2084

Tamara Robb, Parent

Climate Action Pack, Student Organization

SAFE, Student Organization