MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name

Eco-veggie

One-line solution summary.

Eco-veggie seeks to be an app that informs people of how damaging meat is to the planet and also helps them reduce the amount of meat that they eat.

What is your solution?

Eco-veggie seeks to be an app that serves the purpose of teaching people about a plant-based diet and its benefits (to the body, to the animals, but especially to the planet).

Eco-veggie would work by...

Providing scientific information and debunking myths about veggie diets (this could include articles, videos, interviews, among other forms of providing information).
Offering help and guidance for those who seek to follow a plant-based diet (recipes, alternative recipes for typical food that include meat, information and tips, etc).
Engaging in environmental activism by teaching people how our consumption of meat is damaging the planet and how reducing the amount of meat that we eat can help with important problems that concern us all such as climate change (this could once again include many forms of providing information such as articles, videos, interviews, essays or documentary recommendations).

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

Our consumption of animal meat is, not only highly unethical and violent towards other living beings, but also unsustainable and terribly damaging to the planet.

And truth to be said, this seems to be a topic that people don't really like talking about, probably because of how uncomfortable it is and how much of it requires all of us to make a huge change. Still, it is terribly important for us to remember that animal products and their production can cause a lot of harm in terms of land, water, greenhouse gas emissions or epidemic viruses, and possibly even threaten how useful our antibiotics are (and that's not to mention the issue of animal cruelty, which many seem not to care about).

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Even for people who do wish to start engaging in a plant-based diet, it can be hard to make the change since there is such an enormous problem of judgment and misinformation out there. Eco-veggie's main purpose would be to help those people learn everything they need about meat-free diets so that they can truly leave meat behind and avoid as many obstacles as possible in the way (knowledge really is power, after all).

Then again, eco-veggie does not seek to be just a guide; it would also engage in environmental activism by helping create awareness in people who do not want to give up meat, whatever their reason.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

During the pandemic, I started to be interested in learning all about privileges, discrimination and exploitation. After learning about feminism, racism, classism, ableism and the hate directed towards the LGBT community, I felt like it was time for me to learn about another way of exploitation that is way less popular and often overlooked. And that's how I came across speciesism and animal exploitation.

Nowadays, we humans exploit animals in many different ways and for many different purposes, but the biggest three seem to be: food, clothes and cosmetic products. Once I learned a little bit about the ethics behind veganism, I realized that the planet is also a reason why veganism could be extremely beneficial.

And since ethics alone do not seem to be reason enough for people to stop eating animal meat, I figured that letting people know how the production of meat helps accelerate climate change and other problems that concern us all (along with realistic and affordable alternatives) could help them decide to reduce the amount of meat that they eat.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Other: Addressing an unmet social, environmental, or economic need not covered in the four dimensions above

What is the unmet need that your solution tried to address? Why is it important?

My solution does include sustainability in it (since reducing the amount of meat that you eat on a daily basis does help combat climate change), but it can not be reduced to that. Choosing to engage in a veggie diet has many other benefits for the planet, for your body, and, especially, for the other living beings with whom we share the planet and who deserve as much respect as any of us.

Our solution's stage of development:

Concept: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution—in other words, what have you accomplished to date?

I selected 'concept' because I think it is the most accurate category since eco-veggie is just an idea I had and have been thinking about for a while but have not started to develop.

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:

Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia

Team Lead:

Lina María Gálvez Fernández