• On 10/11/22, at a students union general meeting, the Plant-Based Universities campaign put forward a motion for their facilities to transition to 100% plant-based catering by 2025, with 50% of the options being so by the 2023-24 academic year [1].
• A majority of the, around 100, attendees voted in favour of the motion that will affect the 3 outlets operated by the union.
• The vote is a landmark victory for the Plant-Based Universities campaign, which was announced in November  2021 [2].
• George Monbiot has spoken out about the vote, in a comment given to Plant-Based Universities.

Students at The University Of Stirling have voted to embrace a completely plant-based menu to address the climate and ecological emergencies. The decision represents the first of its kind in the UK, following similar commitments by universities in Germany [3].

George Monbiot, the climate and animal justice writer and author of ‘Regenesis’, said:

“It’s fantastic to see the next generation taking control of their future and putting humans, nonhuman animals and the planet first. The Plant-Based Universities campaigners at The University Of Stirling are leading the way in tackling the climate crisis and creating a sustainable food system”

In 2018, comprehensive research from the University of Oxford showed that 76% of the land currently used for food production would be freed-up by a global transition to plant-based production [4]. This land could be rewilded and begin carbon drawdown, mitigating the worst impacts of climate breakdown. A 2019 Harvard University report on UK farmland and food production from Helen Harwatt and Matthew N. Hayek also concluded that the UK would be carbon-negative if it completely transitioned to a plant-based food system [5].

Imogen Robertson, 21, one of the campaigners at Stirling said:

“This vote is a clear sign that young people are willing to take decisive action on the climate and ecological emergencies. We will be working with catering staff to ensure this vote is implemented in a way that provides cheap, delicious, planet-saving options throughout our Student’s Union.

We are delighted that our fellow students have decided to follow the scientific advice from world-leading academics and step into a brighter future. We hope this sparks a wave of bold action across UK universities to commit to just and sustainable plant-based catering”

The Plant-Based Universities campaign is a nationwide initiative of students who are pushing for their universities and student unions to adopt 100% plant-based catering. The group claims that universities have an obligation to follow the scientific research that they produce, detailing the environmental impacts of animal farming and fishing. The campaign is active in over 40 institutions, with the group encouraging interested students to sign up to run local campaigns.

The Plant-Based Universities campaign is supported by the well-known animal and climate justice group Animal Rebellion.

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Universities@animalrebellion.org

Notes To Editors:

[1] https://www.stirlingstudentsunion.com/news/article/6013/Your-General-Meeting-November-2022/

[2] https://animalrebellion.org/introducing-plant-based-universities/ and https://animalrebellion.org/students-nationwide-launch-100-plant-based-universities-campaign-for-sustainability/ 

[3] https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/31/berlins-university-canteens-go-almost-meat-free-as-students-prioritise-climate&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1668352302580948&usg=AOvVaw0I-lIIxUJKKaET6kwVOU7u 

[4] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216

[5] https://animal.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/Eating-Away-at-Climate-Change-with-Negative-Emissions%E2%80%93%E2%80%93Harwatt-Hayek.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0qbRS0IuKp4JG0AzXXb5P73osdgnYJ3VBJir88YBpMlajmJg0riNVJFMg

The post George Monbiot Announces Support For Plant-Based Universities: University Of Stirling Students Union Votes ‘Yes’ To Going 100% Plant-Based 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.