On the one hand, the RSPCA does great work in terms of pet and wildlife welfare. It states: “Everything we do is focused on achieving our vision to live in a world where all animals are respected and treated with compassion”. In 2020, the RSPCA investigated over 57,000 complaints of animal cruelty.

However, there is a major disconnect between its goals and its stance on meat and dairy. I often had to defend my involvement with the RSPCA (the branch did excellent work locally), particularly when talking to others who, like me, have adopted a plant-based diet. 

The criticisms typically centred on the RSPCA’s unwillingness to align its policies and actions with the climate crisis and the welfare of farmed animals. 

I was one of a three-person Animal Rebellion delegation to visit the RSPCA’s headquarters at the end of April. One of the others was Jane Tredgett, a former national trustee of the RSPCA, who had been trying to get the charity to reform for more than a decade, alongside our wonderful Animal Rebellion spokesperson, Harley McDonald-Eckersall.

The three of us were calling on the RSPCA on behalf of Animal Rebellion to publicly acknowledge that our food system cannot protect or respect animals and is a major contributor to the climate crisis, as a result of which millions of people and animals are already suffering. 

The RSPCA clearly knows there is a problem here. 

One of those to meet with us was the RSPCA’s director of advocacy and policy, Emma Slawinski. In a COP26 blog, Emma wrote: “Reducing the number of animals being farmed globally – and the amount of meat, eggs and dairy being consumed – should be a key focus of any discussion on climate change.”

She noted that the topic of livestock reduction was almost totally absent at COP26. She continued: “Animals are majorly impacted by the changes in the environment caused by human activity. Alongside the alarming figures around the extinction of species, we see individual suffering writ large in the destruction of habitats, water scarcity and extreme weather events.”

So where are the RSPCA policies that align with this?

Unlike the RSPCA, our position is clear.

From a moral and logistical perspective, meat, dairy and fishing are no longer justifiable. Meat and dairy are the third largest emitters of greenhouse gases and fishing (particularly industrial fishing) is largely unregulated and responsible for species extinction and enormous amounts of waste and pollution. 

And clearly the climate emergency is upon us – if we don’t make significant changes in the next few years then the level of warming we’re facing in this generation will be catastrophic, not to mention what comes after that. 

What We’re Asking

The RSPCA has a significant platform and trust from the public. It is also nearing a major milestone, its 200^th anniversary. When it was formed, it was on the cutting edge of animal protection, founded by brave people who put themselves on the line to do what was right and just. 

Somewhere during those 200 years, the RSPCA lost its boldness. Its culture became one of conservatism, not wanting to upset people, not willing to come out and do what is right, and reluctant to challenge the meat and dairy industry. 

Far from advocating a fair transition to a plant-based food system, it provides a cover of respectability to the meat, egg and dairy industries through its pretty woeful RSPCA Assured scheme. The RSPCA Assured scheme website even includes chicken, egg, pork, turkey and other recipes – https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/recipes/ The RSPCA’s staff canteen isn’t even plant-based. 

The Assured logo – producers have to pay to be accredited – lulls consumers into thinking the food they are buying is farmed to high animal welfare standards. In fact, the bar set by the RSPCA is incredibly low (e.g indoors, farms can have 19 chickens/m2 of available floor space) and the accreditation criteria are peppered with worthless words, such as “encouraged to”. You can read the whole sorry lot of criteria here: https://science.rspca.org.uk/sciencegroup/farmanimals/standards The argument is that an Assured scheme is better than nothing. As ambitions go, that’s pretty lame.

If we made a fair transition to a plant-based food system then there would be no need for the Assured scheme. 

We believe that the RSPCA can recapture the bravery of its founders. The crises that we face mean large, influential entities such as this need to lead, be bold and speak the truth.

Unfortunately, after two weeks of waiting, all we had back from the RSPCA were woolly words, with absolutely no commitment to take action to shift its policies. We are now planning next steps in this campaign – watch this space.

At the heart of rebellion is a belief that change is possible. It’s time to stand up. And Animal Rebellion’s stance is clear: will take action until there is climate and animal justice and a transition to a fair, sustainable plant-based food system. The RSPCA must join this movement for a better world. 

The post The RSPCA: What’s not to like? first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

The plant-based universities campaign is a decentralised push by students across the UK; students are demanding their university transition to 100% just and sustainable plant-based catering by the 2023-24 academic year. Why? It’s quite simple, industries like meat, fishing, and dairy are destroying the environment, humans, and animals. 

Universities are where a great deal of this research comes from, and therefore these institutions have an obligation to listen to themselves. All roads lead to Rome (or in this case just and sustainable plant-based catering!) 

At the University of Warwick a vote to begin the transition was only narrowly lost, despite constant sabotage and underhand tactics from university committees and student union officers. Meanwhile the campaign made waves in Lancaster, garnering the attention of national student newspaper The Tab. At the University of Sussex campaigners even wiped the floor with their opponents in an organised debate on the topic!

In an interview with Sentient Media Nathan McGovern underscored the intersectional justice the campaign is dedicated to; the just and sustainable plant-based food system the campaign aims towards is part of the greater push for human, animal, and climate justice.

On the 25th of March the campaign rocked the boat London-wide, after the teams at University College London, King’s College London, and London Metropolitan University orchestrated simultaneous banner drops! The banners read “meat & dairy = climate crisis.” This very simply spells out the situation to these institutions, who are oftentimes the source of the conclusive data on the matter! Students decided to take direct action due to the unresponsiveness and lack of engagement from their universities and student unions.

Speaking at the action, Sofia Carolina Fernandes Pontes, a student at London Metropolitan has said 

“It’s simple, universities have to act on the climate crisis and that begins with their menus. We know that meat, fish, and dairy are driving climate collapse, deforestation, and ocean dead zones. This is all whilst we produce enough to feed ten billion people, yet have hundreds of millions starving all over the world because of our woefully immoral food systems. Universities must transition to fully just and sustainable plant-based catering by the 2023-24 academic year in order to secure a livable world for the students they are educating.“

Meanwhile, at the University of Exeter, Emma de Saram is tirelessly pushing for climate, animal, and social justice in the South-West! Speaking to us she said:

At Exeter, while we have a passionate group of students and incredible academics pushing for a plant based campus, we are repeatedly halted by bureaucracy and the University system that places profit over the planet. We launched our campaign in February with a stall and online talk with activists and researchers, and have had small successes like a week-long price reduction for veggie options, but we still have a battle to fight.

With the campaign set to have upwards of 20 universities involved by the start of the 2022-23 academic year, the future is bright! We’re still looking to support and help as many students across the UK as we possibly can, so fill out our interest form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdI88OPSTQ76if-ip32HoDwVXEA1Ua3SOzZ1ztTd0w_5YwP7Q/viewform !

The post Plant-Based Universities: Taking The UK By Storm first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

• At 11:40 this morning students from University College London, King’s College London, and London Metropolitan University dropped banners reading “Meat & Dairy = Climate Crisis” at important university buildings.
• The students are campaigning for their universities to transition to 100% just and sustainable plant-based catering in cafes and restaurants by the 2023-24 academic year.
• They are doing so in order to make universities recognise and act on the catastrophic climate impacts of industries like meat, dairy, and fishing.

Students from 3 prestigious universities have unfurled large banners and let off non-toxic smoke flares at key university locations in order to confront their institutions on their cafes and restaurant’s impacts on the climate. The students say they plan to remain in place for one hour before peacefully dispersing.

Sofia Carolina Fernandes Pontes, 25, student at London Metropolitan has said “It’s simple, universities have to act on the climate crisis and that begins with their menus. We know that industries like meat, fish, and dairy are driving climate collapse, deforestation, and ocean dead zones. This is all whilst we produce enough to feed ten billion people, yet have hundreds of millions starving all over the world because of our woefully immoral food systems. [1] Universities must transition to fully just and sustainable plant-based catering by the 2023-24 academic year in order to secure a livable world for the students they are educating.“

The Plant-Based Universities campaign [2] which is active at 20+ universities across the UK aims to hold universities to account for their role in the climate crisis. As places where vast amounts of knowledge is produced, they are the institutions most aware of the changes that need to be made. One of those is undoubtedly a just and sustainable transition to fully plant-based cafes and restaurants.

The 3 universities today’s action focussed on all have clear sustainability goals relating to catering [3]. All of them hint at plant-based options being sustainable and desirable, so this begs the question: why not adopt fully just and sustainable plant-based options? In order to bring this issue into greater focus and attention within universities the student campaigners have taken nonviolent direct action. The campaigners are taking this action in solidarity with all those over the world participating in the global student strike [4]. 

The banners dropped at UCL’s Gower Street Main Campus, KCL’s Bush House, and London Metropolitan’s Holloway Campus Library are a clear message to these institutions from their students. The message is that students will not allow their universities to stand by and be complicit in the ongoing collapse of the climate, destruction of human and animal life, and destruction of their futures.

Dev Vyas, 19, student at UCL tells us “Universities have a duty of care to their students. By continuing to ignore their own studies about how unsustainable meat, fishing, and dairy industries are, they are burying their heads in the sand on this. We, students from a massive variety of backgrounds, experiences, and studies, refuse to stand by and watch our universities commit climate, social, and animal injustices. Today thousands of young people are striking for climate change and we fight alongside them for justice worldwide.”

Plant-Based Universities campaigners encourage any other interested students to fill out the interest form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdI88OPSTQ76if-ip32HoDwVXEA1Ua3SOzZ1ztTd0w_5YwP7Q/viewform

Email: Universities@animalrebellion.org

Instagram: @plantbasedunis

Notes to editors

[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241746569_We_Already_Grow_Enough_Food_for_10_Billion_People_and_Still_Can’t_End_Hunger

[2] The campaign is a nationwide initiative driven by groups of students, gaining international interest, that is supported by the movement Animal Rebellion. https://animalrebellion.org/campaigns/plant-based-universities/#:~:text=The%20Plant%2DBased%20Universities%20campaign,the%202023%2D24%20academic%20year. 

[3] University College London: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable/positive-climate/sustainable-food King’s College London: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/aboutkings/strategy/sustainability/policies-strategies/food/food London Metropolitan University: https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/media/london-metropolitan-university/london-met-documents/professional-service-departments/estates/sustainability/Sustainable-and-Ethical-Food-2019—2020-SMART-Targets-.pdf

[4] https://fridaysforfuture.org/march25/

The post Plant-Based Universities campaigners drop banners on 3 London universities highlighting climate crisis first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Veganuary is more than a challenge. It is a direct catalyst for food system change.

Around the world we face grave climate catastrophes and huge animal injustices. Data has shown time and time again that a plant-based food system is the best way to reduce our impact on the climate (Poore and Nemecek, 2018). Food can hold a lot of cultural value. However, culture is dynamic and as a society we are already showing that we are ready to align ourselves with the planet. We have been actively creating a shift in culture! 

In 2014, Veganuary began as the first annual challenge for people to take a one-month pledge to go plant-based. The aim being to educate and promote veganism. Only eight years later and the global pledge to try plant-based for 31 days has risen to 2 million. In the UK, over 75 companies signed the Veganuary 2022 pledge. The rise in pledges is a true reflection of how we collectively wish to move forward. It is a powerful and active protest against our current system which unapologetically contributes to environmental degradation and animal injustices.

Veganuary is Depicting Food System Change

A core principle of Animal Rebellion is to focus on system change and not individual change.

The staggering uptake in the pledge to go plant-based around the world shows how Veganuary is enacting and facilitating system change. It is acting as a catalyst to change attitudes, behaviours and even the global relationship with food and its connection to the environment. Public behaviours and demands shape what companies create and sell to us. The popularity of Veganuary has led every supermarket to create their own plant-based line of food and fast-food restaurants to increase or add plant-based meals to their menu.

This is definitely a food system change heading in the right direction. However, it is not enough. Large food corporations like McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway and Papa Johns hold the economic resources to make impactful and substantial change in the way that we need to see. Their current changes are hopeful but these companies need to see entire food menus change to plant-based. 

NO to “Less But Better“

Big corporations have felt the tide of scientific evidence piling up against meat, fishing and dairy. And some try to fight back to save this obsolete and injust meat and dairy system. 

We can mitigate this climate crisis if we listen to the science and adapt. We ask for a just transition to a 100% plant-based food system, because no meat or dairy products are sustainable or just. Since 2020 we have seen an increase in the sales for plant-based products and as a direct retaliation we have also seen environmental organisation such as “A Greener World” promote meat and dairy consumption as environmentally friendly and just to animals.

The absurdity in this lies in the fact that countless studies have shown that meat and dairy is not sustainable for our planet (Mason and Lang, 2017) – so why are “green” organisations diluting the matter by redirecting our energy towards meat again? Plant-based is not only a simple solution, but a necessary one to build a positive future for everyone on this planet.
In addition to the environmental destruction caused by meat and dairy farming, we can not ignore that animals are sentient (Kumar et al., 2019). There is no humane way to kill a non-human animal just as much as there is no humane way to kill a human animal. All animals exploited can feel pain and joy. They want to live with their families and be free, just like us. It is unjust to separate a mother from a baby as is inherent to the dairy industry. To kill one individual is not justified when abundant nutritious food that can feed the world is available.

What are companies and organisations doing NOW?

It might have seemed unbelievable 10 years ago, but here we are: full organisations and companies are paving the way to a food system revolution. Where plant-based businesses led and innovated, big companies are learning from their mistakes and becoming part of the solution to the problems they are causing. Here are some food-system change highlights: 

1. Veganuary saw a jump from 57 major companies in 2021 to 75 in 2022: encouraging employees to go plant-based and displaying the benefits for the planet, health and animals.
2. Supermarkets go plant-based: a supermarket commits to increase by 300% sales of meat alternatives by 2025
3. Fast-food and restaurant chains are cooking and baking more plant-based food: Two major restaurant chains have decided to make half their menu plant-based by the end of 2022 to battle the climate crisis. 

We disagree with the exploitation of animals (humans included) that these organisations continue to take part in with meat and dairy still on their agenda; however, we want to recognise these first positive steps being taken towards a fully plant-based food system. Whilst making plant-based more accessible and affordable, we can’t wait for them to transition to zero meat, fish and dairy!

Reasons to be hopeful

These days, the media is filled with this overarching sense of doom: that we have no hope because these industries have gone too far. However, if we zoom out and take into account all the above, we are already making an incredible impact. 

Firstly, over 2 millions animals were not exploited and killed in January 2021, Veganuary estimated. This number is based on the Vegan Society’s Veganalyser calculator and Veganuary participant data including geographical location and pre-pledge diet.

Second, we estimated the environmental impact of the 580,000 participants in Veganuary in 2021. We based our calculations on the lowest quantity of resources saved from switching from a UK meat-eating diet to a plant-based one (scientific papers and organisations in sources). In 2021, Veganuary may have cut emissions by 15,777 CO2 tons, saved 48,000 metre square of forest and 72,442,000 cubic metres of water. Besides, eating plant-based food directly saved 31,552 tons of grains, which can feed people.

Thirdly, our movement is growing and a cultural shift is taking place before our eyes. Whereas before the media consciously kept meat and dairy out of the news, they are now increasingly joining the dots between meat, dairy, fishing and the environmental crisis. Their change in approach is a no-brainer when scientific studies show that a plant-based food system would use 4 times less land cover. Any plant milk emits at least 3 times less carbon emissions than dairy milk. 

Lastly, as a consequence of the above companies recognise the role they can play by offering nutritious, plant-based food. They are taking steps towards increasing plant based options, but we have to keep the pressure on to ensure this only goes further. 

Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said plant-based food is helping to cut UK’s emissions. “I think that there is a lot of societal change that will actually help us and drive the progress to 2035, where hopefully we will hit the 78 per cent reduction target.”

Our demands ?

1. Food retailers and restaurants should keep their delicious plant-based products all year long. 
2. Corporations continue to fully transition their food production to 100% plant-based.

A JUST, PLANT-BASED WORLD IS NOT ONLY POSSIBLE,

IT IS ALREADY WITHIN OUR GRASP.

References:

BBC (20/10/2021) Climate plan urging plant-based diet shift deleted https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58981505

These estimations are based on research provided by the following organisations and articles:

1. Hamerschlag, K., & Venkat, K. (2011). Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change & Health.

2. Peter Scarborough, Paul N. Appleby, Anja Mizdrak, Adam D. M. Briggs, Ruth C. Travis, Kathryn E. Bradbury, Timothy J. Key. (2011, June 11). Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK.

3. Earth Talk. (n.d.). Measuring the Daily Destruction of the World’s Rainforests.

4. Fair & smart use of the world’s fresh water. (n.d.). 

5. The true impact of animal agriculture.(2018, October 4).

Kumar, S., Choudhary, S., Kumar, R., Kumar, A., Pal, P. and Mahajan, K., 2019. Animal Sentience and Welfare: An Overview. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 8(08), pp.635-646.
Mason, P. and Lang, T., 2017. Sustainable Diets: How Ecological Nutrition Can Transform Consumption and the Food System. Taylor and Francis.

Poore, J., & Nemecek, T., 2018. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987-992.

The post Veganuary, Food System Change and the Responsibility of Corporations first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

It’s a pretty obvious no, and yet this is almost exactly what is happening right now. But it’s not just one community that is being affected, it’s the whole world and the system that’s causing this destruction hasn’t had just one year to prove that it works. It’s had centuries. Meat and dairy have been the dominant part of a Western diet for a long time now, with increasing industrialisation following WW2 giving us the food system we are used to today. Right now, animal farming contributes at least 18% of global emissions, 70% of agricultural emissions and up to 80% of global deforestation. Even with all this, these industries fail to be profitable, with £1.5 billion of government subsidies coming straight out of taxpayers pockets and into those of livestock farmers. This industry was entrusted with the job of feeding the world. It’s failing. So why is there so much resistance to building something new?

A Deceptively Simple Solution

In recent years it has felt like there has been a shift, with campaigns for reducing the amount of meat and dairy we consume becoming more common. With reports like the 2019 EAT Lancet report which called for a 90% reduction in meat and dairy consumption as well as documentaries such as Cowspiracy and Seaspiracy, the recognition that what we eat impacts the planet has gained mainstream acceptance. A 2021 poll of 2,095 UK adults run by the ‘Eating Better Alliance’ found that 21% of respondents were eating less meat than a year ago, with 38% doing so because of carbon emissions and 37% because of other environmental concerns. In the face of a changing industry, however, we have seen a new story being told by the meat industry,  that we can keep our current food system and focus on eating less meat, but better quality.

For many people, this was the ideal answer. The idea that they didn’t have to drastically change our lifestyle or eating habits but could also have a neutral, or even positive effect on the planet while doing so. Yet, when you dig a little bit deeper into what the industries are telling us, some holes start to form.

Is Less But Better Enough?

Before we answer this question, it helps to look at a completely different industry and investigate how it dealt with rising information that was saying their product may be causing harm: the tobacco industry. In the book Merchants of Doubt, Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway show how the big businesses behind cigarettes developed a playbook for dodging the science that showed that the product they were selling was killing people. This formula has gone on to be used to talk about everything from global warming to pesticides and, more recently, animal agriculture. The basic tactic is, cast doubt on the science through paid ‘experts’ and false claims and spark controversy to derail the conversation from what the harm that is being caused.  

It can be hard to believe but by looking at the industries’ own messaging we can quickly find examples of where meat, dairy and fishing are already doing this. And they all tell one story: that we can fix the problems of the industry by eating less and ‘better’ animal products.

They bring up food miles and promote buying locally sourced meat and dairy whenever questions around the climate impact of animal products are raised. While the idea of buying local in and of itself is a positive one, the reality is that transport is an extremely small part of food emissions, making up less than 10% and as low as 0.5% of GHG emissions when it comes to animal products’ contribution to emissions. So essentially, even if all animal products consumed were locally sourced, they would still be contributing far higher emissions than plant-based products. 

They say that switching to grass-fed systems for cows and sheep will be better for the environment than intensive farming and even plant-based options. If we look into this though, we find that the opposite is the case. Research shows grass-fed systems produce more emissions than intensive farming, while also using more land! On top of that, it would take a rainforest three-quarters of the size of South America to sequester the carbon produced by livestock.

Let’s not forget that every year in the UK approximately 2.6 million cattle, 10 million pigs, 14.5 million sheep and lambs, 80 million fish and 950 million birds are slaughtered for human consumption. It’s pretty clear that a food system where no one has to die is a better one. 

They say that there is no other option and that this food system is the only one that works. But we know that isn’t true.

A Plant-Based Food System

With more and more evidence showing us that we need to change what we eat to help the planet heal, it seems obvious that we need a big change and that it’s a change that can’t just be achieved through individuals making small shifts to their diet. The whole system is set up in a way that harms the planet. Luckily though, we have an alternative which would take destruction off the menu.

A study from Oxford University that looked into the viability of a plant-based food system showed that if we were to convert all the land currently used to graze animals to natural vegetation it would remove the equivalent of 15% of the world’s total GHG emissions. Only a small fraction of pasture land would be needed to grow food crops to replace the lost beef. Another report showed that if we were to shift to a plant-based food system, food-related emissions would drop by 70% by 2050, saving £440 billion in the process.

But it wouldn’t just mean less carbon and more wild spaces. A plant-based food system is a system of abundant and affordable food as plant-based food is not only better for the planet, it also takes far less land to produce and is rich in variety, culture and flavour. Although this world may feel far away, it is already happening. Organisations such as the UK-based Refarm’d are working with farmers to transition from a struggling dairy industry into sustainable and profitable oat milk farming while the Good Food Institute is supporting transitions to pulse farming.

Conclusion – Meat and Dairy is Bankrupt

With a plant-based food system we can feed the world, provide much needed green jobs and build a world where humans and animals alike are treated with respect and dignity and have access to an abundance of food and choice. Urgent change is needed but we have an alternative that is just and fair for everyone. All we need to do is work together and achieve it.

The post Doubt and Lies: the tactics of a struggling meat and dairy industry and why we won’t fall for them first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

The Plant-Based Universities campaign is a movement in universities across the UK, with students demanding their institution transition to 100% just and sustainable plant-based catering on campus by the 2023-24 academic year.

With international interest from students in The Netherlands and Australia, the campaign is rapidly spreading as groups of students lead the push for their institution to stop the sale of environmentally-destructive food and drink options.

These are the institutions preparing so many for the future, a future they have a responsibility to ensure is there for their students. The climate crisis cannot be averted whilst the world’s top centres of education continue complicity in the emissions and injustice perpetrated by the production of things like meat, fish, and dairy.

Universities are where we get so much climate science from, and as such they have a responsibility to listen to it. With industries like meat, fishing, and dairy producing more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transport sector, plant-based catering on campus is the only future-proof option.

Animal Rebellion offers training, resources, and support to decentralised groups of dedicated students far and wide. Any students wanting to get involved only need to fill out this interest form and we’ll be in touch!

Want to find out more and stay up to date?

• Follow Plant-Based Universities on Instagram
• Read our blog post: Introducing Plant Based Universities

The post Plant-Based Universities first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Animal Rebellion is all about joining the dots between the climate emergency and the urgent need to transition to a plant-based future. We can’t have the first without the second. For many of us, this is obvious – the evidence is clear. However, why do so many organisations and people still fail to make the connection?

As well as being part of Animal Rebellion’s media team, I am a Green Party councillor on the Green/Alliance-led Hythe Town Council in Kent. We declared a climate and ecological emergency and then brought a motion to become a plant-based council. It was an obvious, logical next step. 

Many other councils, educational institutions, churches and other organisations have declared climate emergencies and set net zero carbon targets. But only a relatively small number (Oxfordshire County Council being a recent fine exception) have followed this by becoming plant-based.

Was there a better example of the disconnect than serving meat, fish and dairy at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in November? While delegates from across the world discussed ways to meet carbon targets, a key part of the answer was staring up at them from their plates.

We read shocking facts: humans now account for about 36% of the biomass of all mammals; farmed animals, mostly cows and pigs, account for 60%; wild mammals for only 4%. The biomass of poultry is around three times larger than that of wild birds. Marine mammal biomass has decreased fivefold due to commercial whaling and other exploitative hunting practices.

Knowing this, how is it possible to just carry on regardless?

Story-telling is an important part of joining those dots. I had the honour last year of interviewing film-maker and self-declared “vegangelist”, Thomas Wade Jackson. His film, A Prayer for Compassion, poses one vital question: Why do so many religious and spiritual people not make the connection between their beliefs and a non-violent diet? He travels the US and beyond, asking this question to people of multiple faiths. 

Thomas told me: “They talk about we’re all connected, the passion and all this, but then when I saw they were still eating animals, it didn’t make sense to me.” Compassion for the planet and for people did not extend to other living creatures. We have been conditioned from birth, bombarded with messages, telling us what’s right and wrong, what’s desirable, what we should think, how we should behave; it is difficult to find our true voice, to see through the biases of our society. 

Story-telling is what A Prayer for Compassion does so powerfully, as have other films such as The Age of Stupid, Cowspiracy and Seaspiracy. It is what Animal Rebellion does with all of its actions, using a clear narrative, colour, music and images.   

Pressure has to be applied, there are too many entities with a vested interest in the status quo. As Mahatma Gandhi observed, Western civilization never looks for a cure for the problems, it looks for ways to make money out of the symptoms. 

On the up-side, more and more people are making the connection. The number of those acting for a plant-based system across the globe is increasing steeply. Veganuary is now a major movement. More generally, there is a growing understanding of the devastating impact of meat, fish and dairy.

Commercial companies have responded, with ever more plant-based product launches, although for the large incumbents this is typically alongside, not instead of, non-plant-based. 

There can be no sitting on the fence if we are to save the planet. It is why Animal Rebellion is calling for McDonald’s and its peers to become wholly plant-based by 2025. It is why we state you can’t have a climate-friendly dairy industry – it is a complete contradiction. 

Animal Rebellion and many others work tirelessly and bravely to join the dots. We can’t do otherwise – our whole future depends on it. 

Join us in 2022. Whatever your skills and time, there are always ways you can help! Fill out our interest form below or make contact via any social media. 

A Prayer for Compassion is available on streaming channels and is also available for community screenings, with potential grants available from plant-based funding organisation, VegFund – https://vegfund.org/

The post Joining the dots between the climate crisis and a plant-based food-system first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Well 2021 was a wild year, with blockades, beacons, and lock-ons aplenty! More can be read about those here or seen here. Animal Rebellion did a fantastic job in showing McDonalds, Arla (The UK’s biggest dairy producer,) and even the British government where they’re going wrong! With that in mind we wanted to invite the meat, dairy, and fishing industries to make some resolutions of their own to secure a just and sustainable plant-based future!

Let’s start it off nice and simple shall we? McDonald’s and Arla, this one’s for you (and other food and drink providers)! In fact it’s a resolution to make until 2025 and it is to  make a just and sustainable transition to 100% plant-based! Animal Rebellion is so excited to help in making  the change that we even used nonviolent direct action to speed you both along in 2021. In 2022 the resolution for the pair of you is to make genuine steps in that transition!

 We know why these resolutions are necessary, but perhaps you don’t? Firstly Mcdonald’s, your current food system relies on meat directly linked to Amazon deforestation . Even when your beef burgers don’t come from South America, methane emissions from the cattle are catastrophic. It’s simple, serving 100% plant-based options in your restaurants is the only way to just and sustainable practice.  The McPlant might be a start, but it’s certainly not going to be the end …

Onto Arla, why is ditching dairy and transitioning to being 100% plant-based by 2025 such a great resolution? Well for starters, dairy can use up to 29x more land, 22x more water, and produces  nearly 5x as many greenhouse gas emissions per litre when compared to plant-based options. The fact is, the most ‘sustainable’ dairy option is less sustainable than the ‘least sustainable’ plant-based one. If that’s not bad enough, areas with intensive dairy farming also experience horrific levels of water pollution due to spillage, dumping waste feed, and the surface run-off of waste or excrement from the herds. It’s clear that dairy is milking the planet. McDonald’s and Arla’s  resolution to transition to just and  sustainable plant-based production is looking pretty good to us …

Now let’s think of a resolution for the fishing industry! Instead of destroying oceans and coasts alike, resolve to a just and sustainable transition away and into other industries like aquatic plant-based options.  

Stopping fishing entirely is essential in order to preserve biodiversity and equilibrium in ocean ecosystems. In fact, depleting oceans of fish, and leaving rubbish behind is driving algal blooms, reduced carbon-capture potential, and poisoning coastal communities. We think this is more than enough reason to give multinational fishing corporations the resolution to transition away from their destructive practices, and support their workers in seeking a future within a just and sustainable plant-based food system.

Thirdly, we have a helpful resolution for the British Government! If our banner on the Home Office building didn’t make it clear enough in October 2021, invest in a plant-based future! We know that the, roughly, £1.5 Billion yearly subsidies for industries like meat, dairy, and fish would be better used elsewhere! The British government must help its farmers make the just and sustainable transition to plant-based farming in order to secure the future. 

By helping ordinary farmers adopt Earth-friendly farming that they can rely on, the British government will be freeing up some 85% of land from inefficient meat and dairy production. Freeing this land for multiple uses including rewilding, plant-based farming, and renewable energy is a necessity to mitigate the worst impacts of climate breakdown. 

Finally, not to just make resolutions for everyone else, Animal Rebellion would like to make a resolution for ourselves! That is to refuse to quit in our mission to secure a just and sustainable plant-based food system, thereby halting mass extinction, alleviating the worst effects of climate breakdown and ensuring justice for animals. Whether it’s on social media, from a beacon or helping university students campaign, we promise we’ll be there fighting for the future of all life!

If you’d like to get involved in helping any of these resolutions come true then fill out our interest form below or get in touch via any social media! There is something for anyone to do within Animal Rebellion!

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/animal-rebellion-volunteer-submissions

1.  _{https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/17/leading-burger-supplier-sourced-from-amazon-farmer-guilty-of-deforestation}
2. _{https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/27/whats-the-beef-with-cows-and-the-climate-crisis}
3. _{Nemecek. T and Poore. J, “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers,” Science 360, issue 6392 (June 2018): 987-992.}
4.  _{https://sentientmedia.org/milk-pollution-in-rivers/}
5. _{Salazar. Cesar, Jaime. Marcela and Quiroga. Miguel, “Transition Patterns of Fishermen and Farmers into Seaweed Small-Scale Aquaculture: The Role of Risk and Time Preferences,” EfD Discussion Paper Series (2020,) p. 3-20.}
6. _{https://www.cbsnews.com/news/salt-water-fish-extinction-seen-by-2048/}
7. _{https://www.science.org/content/article/united-kingdom-embark-agricultural-revolution-break-eu-farm-subsidies}
8.  _{De Ruiter. Henri, et al, “Total global agricultural land footprint associated with UK food supply 1986–2011,” Global Environmental Change 43 (2017,) p. 72-81.}

The post 2022: Some New Year’s Resolutions For a Plant-Based Future first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

This is the system that drives Amazon deforestation¹, contributes a staggering amount of greenhouse gas emissions², leaves 805 million of the world’s most vulnerable people hungry³, whilst simultaneously slaughtering trillions of animals needlessly each year⁴.

The oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford, has published several papers exploring and explaining the environmental benefits of transitioning to plant-based foods⁵. Besides this, dozens of British universities have declared a climate emergency, evidently these institutions are recognising the need for drastic change⁶. This gives them the responsibility to act on the emergency that they recognise.

Therefore it should come as no surprise that students from several universities including KCL, UCL, and Warwick are now pushing for change. With the demand for their university transition to serving a 100% plant-based menu throughout their cafes and restaurants by the start of the 2023/24 academic year.

Students are listening to the science that, very often, their own universities publish. They are holding their institutions accountable to their sustainability promises and commitments. By transitioning to just and sustainable plant-based food systems, universities will be securing a future, not only for their students, but for the rest of humanity, animals, and the planet.

Universities are already showing the transition is possible! KCL now has a fully plant-based Cafe whilst UCL’s daily hot food is at least 25% plant-based too⁷. The time has now come  to expand this to include the entirety of university’s menus. The answer is staring these powerful institutions in the face! By transitioning to 100% plant-based catering, universities will be helping break down an archaic and damaging food system and simultaneously be investing in one that is just and sustainable.

Plant-based universities are an unavoidable step on the road to human, animal, and climate justice. This is a fact that is evident to the ever-growing group of students pushing for the transition. Animal Rebellion is only too happy to empower and support groups of students on this mission.

If you’re a student and are excited or driven to make this change at your university, please contact us using the details, or fill out this form now!

1. De Sy. V, et al,”Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America,” Environmental Research Letters, vol. 10, no. 12 (2015.)
2. Jia. G, Shevliakova. E et al, “Chapter 2: Land-Climate Interactions” in UN Special Report: Climate Change and Land (2019.) https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/
3.  Cassidy. E.S, Foley. J. A, Gerber. J.S and West. P.C, “Redefining agricultural yields: from tonnes to people nourished per hectare,” Environmental Research Letters, vol. 8, no. 3 (2013.)
4. Zampa. M, “How Many Animals Are Killed For Food Every Day” (2018,) https://sentientmedia.org/how-many-animals-are-killed-for-food-every-day/
5.  Clark. M.A, Hill. J, Springmann. M, Tilman. D, “Multiple health and environmental impacts of foods,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 46 (2019.)
6.  Latter.  Briony, “Climate Emergency Declarations: What Do They Tell Us About Universities’ Response To Climate Change?,” https://pcancities.org.uk/climate-emergency-declarations-what-do-they-tell-us-about-universities-response-climate-change
7.  https://www.peta.org.uk/living/vegan-universities-uk/

The post Introducing Plant-Based Universities first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

In fact, an entirely plant-based planet is not as far away as many may think. As more and more people become aware of the environmental footprint of animal products and the suffering involved in their production, plant-based diets are rapidly becoming more popular all around the globe. Earlier this year in January, a record half a million Brits signed up to Veganuary, a campaign which inspires people to eat vegan for January and throughout the rest of the year. It is projected that vegans and vegetarians will make up a quarter of the British population by 2025. 

That’s not all. In Latin America and the Caribbean 8% of the population identify as vegetarian or vegan and in Mexico  this figure is at a staggering 20%. In the United States, the number of Americans following plant-based diets has risen by nearly 9.6 million over the last 15 years, a 300% increase. It’s safe to say support for a plant-based food system is widespread and growing rapidly. We are well and truly on the way to a plant-based world, but how would a plant-based food system be beneficial to our planet?

It’s no secret that animal agriculture is one of the very largest polluters on Earth. An Oxford University report concluded that if the world were to follow plant based diets, food-related emissions would drop by 70% by 2050! Emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide would all plummet, giving us a much better chance at fighting off climate catastrophe and ensuring our survival on Earth. 

This drop in pollution would help us avoid extreme weather disasters, as the report highlights that a plant based food system could avoid climate-related damages of $1.5 trillion US dollars. In addition to a considerable drop in greenhouse gas emissions, a plant-based food system would help us to limit air pollution levels, water pollution and would be a chance for our forests, species and biodiversity to thrive again. With animal agriculture responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction, its replacement with a plant-based food system would see deforestation in the Amazon and around the world fall dramatically.

Via Pexel Felix Mittermeier

A plant-based food system would see an end to the eating of animals and their products for food. We would no longer raise and kill the billions of land and aquatic animals we currently consume. Slaughterhouses would cease to exist. Billions of animals would be spared a life in factory farms and premature deaths. A plant-based food system would undoubtedly make the world a fairer, and more just place for animals. 

Extending this compassion to marine life and halting seafood consumption and fishing would give marine populations the time they desperately need to recover. Our oceans absorb far more C02 than the Amazon rainforest, with about 93% stored in their waters. Not only do oceans absorb almost all of the Earth’s excess heat, but they provide up to 85% of the world’s oxygen. Intense industrial fishing and pollution are jeopardising this natural balance so much so that we could potentially see the extinction of all sea life.  A plant-based food system would be an important step to helping our oceans to heal. 

Not only would life under a plant based food system be revolutionary for the health of our planet, but for our own health too! Plant-based diets are healthy and sustainable for people at all stages of life, as they provide all necessary nutrition and do not contain many of the disease-causing properties found in animal products. Under a plant-based food system, people all around the world would undoubtedly lead longer and happier lives, and would potentially be free from many of the major diseases and conditions millions suffer from today.

In addition, a plant based food system would help ensure that everyone on Earth has access to nutritious, healthy food. On a plant-based planet, world hunger would practically cease to exist. Rearing animals for food consumption requires 83% of our total farmland, but produces only 18% of our caloric intake. Under this incredibly inefficient system we have billions of farm animals who are well or even over-fed, whilst the majority of the world’s population goes hungry.  

Via Pexel Johannes Plenio

Converting the land we use for animal farming and animal crops to growing plant foods for the population would virtually put an end to world hunger. With almost half the world’s land freed up, we would have the chance to use it for other purposes and would have more than enough space to rewild large parts of the planet, allowing once industrialised terrain to become teaming with life. 

A world with a plant-based food system would undoubtedly be a better place for people, animals and the planet itself. We need to start the transition to a plant-based food system and we need to do it now! We’ve seen how much better a world it could be, why not join us in fighting for it? Find a role which suits you here and help us get one step closer to a plant-based world! 

The post How a just and sustainable plant-based food system could change the world first appeared on Animal Rebellion.