Young people often turn deaf ears to the adult platitudes hurled at them every day, such as "you are what you eat." As good as that advice may be, youth often make better judgments based on personal experiences. For environmentally conscious youth, that means it's not just what you eat but where the food comes from and how it was grown or raised.

These days, college students around the country are demanding sustainable food practices from their dining services. From supporting local farm stands on campuses to teaching dining service staff how to cook with local and sustainable ingredients to participating in national campaigns to raise awareness about green eating, young learners have become integral to the larger process of change. The term "sustainable" in this case refers to agricultural practices that are environmentally friendly (i.e. organic or with minimal pesticides), support local small farmers and promote healthy, diversified diets.

"Students get it," said Anna Lappé, a sustainability food expert, author and the co-founder of the Small Planet Institute who often speaks at campuses around the country to promote sustainable eating. "The most common question I get from students is, 'We know we need to be promoting sustainable food -- what can we do?'" She usually responds to the question with examples of what other schools have done, which is no short list.

Tracking Food Change

Julian Dautremont-Smith, sustainability expert and associate director at the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Learning, or AASHE, says that one thing his organization does is connect like-minded students at schools across the country so they can compare notes and learn from each other.

"We do a lot of information-sharing -- there is a lot of reinventing the wheel, and it is helpful for people to hear about what other schools have done," said Dautremont-Smith. The Association also runs a program that allows both students and administrators to track and compare the sustainability of their practices, a large part of which is devoted to sustainable eating. The program, called the "Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System," or STARS, is a guide and comparison tool, and its existence unites and strengthens the growing community of colleges that care about their environmental footprint.

According to Dautremont-Smith, more than 90 colleges are participating in the pilot project for the new system. "It is already catalyzing change," he said. The project gives points for enacting and sustaining various practices, and it includes a substantial dining services section. "Universities get points for using organic and environmentally-sound methods," said Dautremont-Smith. "I think the food elements of STARS will be really big in the program."

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