Panera Is Making Its Menu More Plant-Based to Become More Sustainable

The company will have a “plant-based” item in every menu category by 2021

Plant-based may mean nothing now, but more consumers are increasingly turning to vegetarian cuisine, whether it’s for health, concern for animal welfare, or because reports keep saying avoiding meat and dairy is a good way to combat climate change. With that, Panera Bread announced that it has a goal of 50% plant-based entrees. The menu is already 25% plant-based, but Panera promises at least one vegetarian option in every category by 2021.

According to the EPA, agriculture, forestry and “other land use” account for 24 percent of global emissions, and other reports say meat production produces 10 to 40 times the greenhouse gas as vegetable production. However, much of the meat industry’s carbon footprint is due to the production of livestock feed, which the Environmental Working Group says “requires 167 million pounds of pesticides and 17 billion pounds of nitrogen fertilizer each year across some 149 million acres of cropland.” While factory farming is undoubtedly bad, smaller farmers argue that grazing grasslands are important wildlife habitats, and that it’s possible to raise meat sustainably and regeneratively.

Still, most of us don’t need to eat meat at every meal, and the spread of more vegetarian options means anyone not eating meat won’t get stuck with cobbling together a meal out of a side salad and fries.

Update, January 14, 2020, 3:31 p.m.: This piece originally reported that Panera planned on making its menu 50% vegetarian by 2021. Panera says that it has an “aspirational goal” of making half of its entrees plant-based, but there will be the “introduction of new plant-based products in every category by 2021.”

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