Evaluation and optimisation of the environmental and nutritional sustainability of University-student meals

• Full title: « Evaluation and optimisation of the environmental and nutritional sustainability of University-student meals: A mixed-methods approach combining Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA), mobile tracking, and qualitative interviews on the Paris-Saclay campus »
• Location: Unité mixte de recherche SayFood and ECOSYS, campus Agro Paris-Saclay, Palaiseau (91120), FRANCE
• Application deadline: 15 July 2026
• Starting date: September/October 2026

Context: Students who are still undergoing physiological growth have specific nutritional needs (energy, iron, calcium, vitamins D and B) that differ from those of adults and children. Many of them also face financial constraints to meet these needs. University catering services, the main providers of their midday meal, offer an economical solution, yet their environmental impacts (in particular regarding greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and land use) are poorly documented and likely to exceed planetary-boundaries. Moreover, meals supplied by collective catering only represent a fraction of students’ daily food intake. Their dietary patterns are also shaped by a variety of contexts (eating alone vs. with friends - family), which leads to highly heterogeneous dish compositions.

Objectives of the PhD: The research question addressed by this PhD thesis is the following : how does students’ food consumption influences their nutritional and environmental balance, both through collective catering and food consumed outside the catering system? The levers that could shift this balance toward compatibility with planetary boundaries and with students’ physiological/nutritional requirements will be examined (e.g., evolution of collective catering, awareness-raising, targeted subsidies, education, etc.).

Contacts: 

Karine Dufosse, karine.dufosse@agroparistech.fr
Gwenola Yannou-Lebris, gwenola.yannou-lebris@agroparistech.fr

View full job description