By summertime, the Krishna Lunch program on the Plaza of Americas will serve rice and beans on plates made from sugarcane.

Kalakantha Das, the director of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, said his organization decided to look into buying more environmentally friendly plates, cups and utensils after hearing people complain about their Styrofoam cups, which are not compostable.

Unlike Styrofoam, the sugarcane products break down safely and quickly into raw materials. Eventually, they disappear into the environment.

"This will be a model of an environmentally sustainable business," said Krishna Lunch director Jonathan Banks. He added that the utensils will be made from bagasse, the fibrous remains of sugarcane after the liquid has been crushed out of it. Bagasse products look and feel like paper plates and can be used for hot foods and drinks.

The Styrofoam cups Krishnas use now take up to 1,000 years to decompose, while bagasse takes 30 to 90 days.

Additionally, unlike petroleum products such as plastic, bagasse is often used as a fuel source for sugar mills when burned in quantity.

Lonnie O. Ingram, the director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels, said that when the material is burned, the resulting carbon dioxide emission equals the amount of this gas the sugarcane plant used from the atmosphere during its growing phase.

"Thus, the process is greenhouse-gas neutral," Ingram said.

Many scientists attribute global warming to increased carbon dioxide emissions.

When forestry graduate student Tyler Nesbit learned about the benefits of using bagasse products, he began thinking of a way to use them on campus.

With about 800 students eating Krishna Lunch each day, Nesbit and the members of the Environmental Science and Policy Society found the perfect use. Nesbit said the two groups have been planning the switch for four months, but logistics are delaying its execution.

One problem is figuring out how to keep the $3 donation from rising.

"Not only will the students be sparing animals by eating vegetarian lunches," said Nesbit, "they will be sparing the planet of excess greenhouse gas emissions."