The Institute Releases The Protein Flip and Protein
Plays Signaling a New Era for the Foodservice Industry
Hyde Park, NY – As part of ongoing efforts to
advance healthier, more
sustainable food choices, The Culinary Institute of America today
released two evidence-based documents that challenge chefs and
foodservice
professionals to reimagine traditional roles for animal and plant
protein on
American menus: The Protein Flip and Protein Plays.
Americans consume three times as much meat as the global
average—half of which is red meat—ignoring, in the aggregate, serious health
and environmental concerns known to be associated with high levels of red meat
consumption. These new resources from the CIA lay out a clear, concise
rationale for rebalancing ratios of meat and plant-based protein in menu
“protein portfolios”—elevating the role of legumes, nuts, and plant-forward
flavors in general.
The new CIA protein documents especially target opportunities
in our menus between meat-centric entrées on the one hand and vegetarian
options on the other. Numerous examples highlighting specific culinary insights
and techniques are included, such as the blended burger concept (meat blended
with mushrooms and/or other vegetables, legumes or grains to reinvent America’s
50-billion-burgers-per-year habit) and globally-inspired dishes using meat as a
condiment.
Also described is the continuing healthy role that fish and
seafood (emphasizing the need to widen the range of species on which we focus),
poultry, and reduced and/or selective dairy options can play on menus.
These educational resource materials are an outgrowth of the
Menus of Change® initiative, co-presented by the CIA and Harvard T.H. Chan
School of Public Health—Department of Nutrition, and can be downloaded from the Menus of Change website.
The Protein Flip, a Delicious Strategy for Change: Transforming
Protein Menu Concepts for the Health of Our Customers and Our Planet
This 12-page hybrid infographic/white
paper (formatted to print in poster size) illustrates the urgency from a human
and planetary health standpoint for “flipping” the role of protein on menus. Currently,
primary plant sources account for only about 15 percent of all protein
Americans eat, even though plant proteins have lower carbon and water
footprints and are associated with lower risk of chronic disease and mortality.
Since Americans now spend more on foods prepared outside the home than in our
home kitchens, chefs and culinary professionals are uniquely positioned to
introduce diners to a whole spectrum of untapped menu directions and invite
them to discover satisfying flavors that will support better health for their
families and the planet.
“So often in our industry we unnecessarily limit options for
our customers, narrowing choices to “regular” (e.g., a steak, half a chicken,
etc.) and “unleaded” (e.g., vegetarian pasta),” says Greg Drescher, vice
president of strategic initiatives and industry leadership at the CIA. “What The Protein Flip and Protein Plays documents do is chart a new,
middle way, one with an expanded, more nuanced range of choices (how about an
entree with just one or two ounces of meat?). They challenge us to adopt next-generation
approaches that simultaneously embrace and integrate indulgence, deliciousness,
health, and sustainability—all on the same menu, and often in the same dish.”
Protein Plays invites us to explore a world of culinary strategy—from the Mediterranean to
Asia and Latin America—where plant protein and other plant-forward flavors have
brilliantly evolved in traditional kitchens over centuries. These and parallel
insights are inspiring many of America’s most talented chefs as “veg-centric” disrupts
menus from coast to coast.
Protein Plays: Foodservice Strategies for Our Future
This eight-page toolkit, a companion to The Protein Flip, includes 20 culinary techniques for shifting the
value proposition around meat, leveraging flavor while reducing meat, and
elevating plant protein. With graphics showing the relative greenhouse gas
emission and water impacts of different sources of protein, the resource underscores
the urgent public health and environmental reasons for a shift away from an
emphasis on red meat and toward more plant-based foods, including plant
proteins. It also debunks nearly a dozen common myths about animal-based protein,
ranging from the arguments used to promote a meat-centered Paleo diet to concerns about insufficient consumption of dairy.
The guidance provided in these two protein resources is
based on a review of current research by the Menus of Change Scientific and
Technical Advisory Committee and translation into practical strategy with the
input of dozens of foodservice industry leaders, including chefs, R&D
specialists and business and marketing executives.
“Those who care about the planet our grandchildren will
inherit should make reduction of red meat a high priority,” says Walter
Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition and chairman of the Department
of Nutrition at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and chair of the
CIA-Harvard Chan School Menus of Change Scientific and Technical Advisory
Committee. “And this can also reduce our risks of cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, some forms of cancer, and premature death. These twin realities offer
great opportunity for today’s culinary and foodservice leaders, who are
providing proof that this shift in eating can bring great variety and enjoyment
to our tables.”
The Menus of Change initiative issues an annual report, holds
an annual leadership summit every June at the CIA’s main campus in Hyde Park, NY,
and creates many other resources for the foodservice industry, all of which can
be found
online. To keep up with news about Menus of Change and innovation based on
its 24
Principles of Healthy, Sustainable Menus, subscribe to receive regular
updates on the website and follow @CIALeadership on
Twitter with #CIAMOC, #CIAProteinFlip, or #ProteinPlays.
Photo Captions and Hi-Res Images:
Photo 1 (top photo): How much protein do you really need? On average, Americans consume a lot more than
they need. (Photo credit: The Culinary
Institute of America. Developed in collaboration with the
Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. All
rights reserved.)
View hi-res image >
Photo 2: One of
many graphs and charts included in The
Protein Flip, this one, compiled by Arlin Wasserman of Changing Tastes and Christopher Gardner of Stanford University,
shows the most common sources of protein in American diets. (Photo credit: CIA/Jason Wright)
View hi-res image >
Photo 3:Protein Plays, a companion piece to The Protein Flip, includes 20 techniques
chefs can use to move away from an emphasis on red meat and toward more
plant-based foods. (Photo credit:
CIA/Jason Wright)
View hi-res image >
Media Contact:
Jan Smyth
Marketing Manager
845-451-1457
j_smyth@culinary.edu
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier
culinary college. Dedicated to driving leadership development for the
foodservice and hospitality industry, the independent, not-for-profit CIA
offers associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts;
bachelor’s degree majors in management, culinary science, and applied food
studies; and executive education through its Food Business School. Its
conferences and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the
food industry in the areas of health & wellness, sustainability, world
cuisines & cultures, and professional excellence & innovation. The
college also offers certificate programs and courses for professionals and
enthusiasts. Its worldwide network of 48,000 alumni includes leaders in every
area of foodservice and hospitality. The CIA has campuses in New York, California,
Texas, and Singapore.
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