1. What is the problem?

• Animal agriculture and fishing industries are major contributors to environmental problems.

Scientific evidence show that the animal farming and fishing contribute massively to the climatic and ecological emergencies (1, 2). Animal agriculture emits 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas (3). It also causes deforestation, since the Amazon rainforest is cut down for soy crops that will feed Western’s cows (1, 4, 5). Fishing has depleted numerous aquatic animal populations, with unprecedented decrease in the number of fish (6). Animal agriculture and fishing industries are major causes of ocean acidification, which disrupts corals and other aquatic animals (1). They also have a dramatic impact on water quality, with pesticides and tons of feces infiltrating into water supplies as well as the ocean and threatening the health of the organisms that depend on those ecosystems (1,7,8).

In a nutshell, the current food system is unfit and unsustainable (9).

• We can address the environmental emergency to give children a more hopeful future.

Children grow up in a climate crisis and many develop eco-anxiety (10). Being too young to take all possible actions, primary school pupils can feel powerless in the face of the emergency. Depression can grow quickly in this situation. Since animal proteins impact astonishingly the environment, children can feel the dissonance between the discourse at school to take individual steps to reduce our carbon footprint, and the animal products served daily at the canteen.

2. The solution is under our eyes

• Plant-based food systems are better for the environment

Systematic scientific reviews of the impact of dietary change suggest that a plant-based diet is the most sustainable nutrition to mitigate the ecological disaster (9, 11, 12, 13). Switching to a fully plant-based food system would reduce food’s land use by 76%, food’s greenhouse gas emissions, acidification and eutrophication by 49%, using 2010 as a reference year (4).

We now have scientific evidence that well-planned plant-based diets are nutritionally adequate (14, 15, 16, 17). We can grow well and get all essential nutrients from plants, except vitamin B12, which is easily supplemented (14, 16, 17); vitamin B12 is easily found in fortified food such as breakfast cereals, nutritional yeast and non-dairy milk.

It’s not a hard nut to crack that now is the time to switch to healthy and sustainable plant-based food systems (18).

• Plant-based school meals is the next step

Plant-based school meals are a low hanging fruit, ideal and needed to tackle climate change.

In England, an analysis of over 6000 meals in schools showed that over half the carbon emission and 38% of the water footprint are due to meat and fish (19). An analysis of school meals found that plant-based meals not only had the lowest environmental impact but also the highest energy value and best nutritional value (20). Serving low carbon plant-based meals has the potential to reduce the environmental footprint of the canteen by 46-60% (20). All plant-based milk are more environmentally friendly than cow milk (4). Besides, children with lactose allergies or intolerances will no longer be left with a different meal.

A transition to plant-based school meals will bear fruits for our environment. Taking collective action by providing pupils with plant-based food will show consistent commitment to help solve the climate emergency, making it easier for young people to adopt climate friendly practices from a young age.

3. We are already moving forward

Some are already adapting and moving forward with sustainable diets. In 2017, German environment minister paved the way to sustainable vegetarian meals within her organisation (21). Following the recognition that meat and fish are not necessary at any stages of life (14, 15, 16), some nurseries in the UK are also choosing to offer vegan or vegetarian meals (22). Meat-free mondays are very popular.

After declaring a climate emergency, Enfield council has stopped serving meat at its council events and Lewisham council has voted to provide exclusively plant-based options at theirs. Leeds City Council has decided to introduce more meat-free meal options in their 182 primary schools. In France, Lyon will serve all meals meat-free to its 29,000 children (23).

Growing legumes in the UK can provide nutritious and local plant-based proteins. Dishes from around the world use beans and peas can inspire the cooks. A couscous or a falafel with hummus are for instance easy and tasty additions to the school menu. We are lucky that in the recent years plant-based protein meals have increased in quality and diversity. Ever dreamed of nuggets made of sustainable pea protein that taste even better than the original meat ones? Yes, this is where we are. It’s a piece of cake, but it needs all of us.

With your help, we can achieve huge goals for animals, people, and the planet. Find out how you can be part of this incredible journey by learning more about the campaign here and there. Sign up here to find out how you can get involved and get support. You can also register your interest to get updates on the campaign.

References:

1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014). Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. 

2. Myers, R. A., & Worm, B. (2003). Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities. Nature, 423(6937), 280.

3. Steinfeld, H., Gerber, P., Wassenaar, T. D., Castel, V., Rosales, M., Rosales, M., & de Haan, C. (2006). Livestock’s long shadow: environmental issues and options. Food & Agriculture Organisation.

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

5. Margulis, Sergio. (2004). Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. World Bank Working Paper;No. 22. Washington, DC: World Bank.

6. Hutchings, J. A., & Reynolds, J. D. (2004). Marine fish population collapses: consequences for recovery and extinction risk. BioScience, 54(4), 297-309. 

7. Vizzini, S., Martínez-Crego, B., Andolina, C., Massa-Gallucci, A., Connell, S. D., & Gambi, M. C. (2017). Ocean acidification as a driver of community simplification via the collapse of higher-order and rise of lower-order consumers. Scientific reports, 7(1), 1-10.

8. Cattano, C., Claudet, J., Domenici, P., & Milazzo, M. (2018). Living in a high CO2 world: a global meta‐analysis shows multiple trait‐mediated fish responses to ocean acidification. Ecological Monographs, 88(3), 320-335.

9. EAT-Lancet Commission (2019). Healthy Diets From Sustainable Food Systems summary report. 

10. Wu, J., Snell, G., & Samji, H. (2020). Climate anxiety in young people: a call to action. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(10), e435-e436.

11. Hallström, E., Carlsson-Kanyama, A. & Börjesson, P. (2015). Environmental impact of dietary change: a systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 91, 1-11. 

12. Springmann, Marco (2016). Going veggie would cut global food emissions by two thirds and save millions of lives – new study. The Conversation. Website browsed 19/01/21 https://theconversation.com/going-veggie-would-cut-global-food-emissions-by-two-thirds-and-save-millions-of-lives-new-study-56655 

13. J. Rogelj, D. Shindell, K. Jiang, S. Fifita, P. Forster, V. Ginzburg, C. Handa, H. Kheshgi, S. Kobayashi, E. Kriegler, L. Mundaca,R. Séférian, M. V. Vilariño, 2018, Mitigation pathways compatible with 1.5°C in the context of sustainable development. In: Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty [V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, H. O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P. R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J. B. R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M. I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, T. Waterfield (eds.)].

14. American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada. (2003). Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets. American Dietetic Association reports. 

15. 2020 Diets for a Better Future – Rebooting and Reimagining Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems in the G20

16. Melina, V., Craig, W., & Levin, S. (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: vegetarian diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(12), 1970-1980.

17. Kenneally, S., Bristor, D., Newman, G., Desmond, A., Shah, M., Vano, L., Martinez-Biarge, M., Russell, L., Lewandowska, M., Kassam, S. (2020). The evidence supporting a plant-based diet for optimal health and prevention of chronic disease. Plant-Based Health Professionals UK.

18. Blake, L. (2014). People, Plate and Planet : The impact of dietary choices on health, greenhouse gas emissions and land use. Centre for Alternative Technology. Part of Zero Carbon Britain.

19. De Laurentiis, V., Hunt, D. V., & Rogers, C. D. (2017). Contribution of school meals to climate change and water use in England. Energy Procedia, 123, 204-211.

20. Batlle-Bayer, L., Bala, A., Aldaco, R., Vidal-Monés, B., Colomé, R., & Fullana-i-Palmer, P. (2021). An explorative assessment of environmental and nutritional benefits of introducing low-carbon meals to Barcelona schools. Science of The Total Environment, 756, 143879.

21. Mosbergen, Dominique (2017). German environment minister bans meat at official functions. The Huffington Post. Website browsed 30/01/21 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/germany-meat-ban-environment-ministry_us_58ae1b24e4b01406012f962b?ec_carp=5200738518123961463 

22. Spanswick, Ellie (2017). Children enjoy meat free meals as more nurseries go vegetarian. Daynurseries. Website browsed 30/01/21 https://www.daynurseries.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1580875/children-eat-meat-free-as-the-number-of-vegetarian-nurseries-grows 

23. Delpont, Léa (2021). La mairie de lyon généralise le menu sans viande dans les cantines. Les échos. Viewed 21/02/21. https://www.lesechos.fr/pme-regions/auvergne-rhone-alpes/la-mairie-de-lyon-generalise-le-menu-sans-viande-dans-les-cantines-1291990

The post Plant-based school meals to solve the climate crisis first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

When you see a scientist arrested after telling the truth about the cause of climate destruction and global pandemics, there is a feeling of dread over what our political landscape has become. That is, at least, the feeling I had when witnessing ecologist Emma Smart being arrested in London, whilst she was speaking about the science of animal farming.

Climate sceptic lobbies

Governments across the world have a chokehold on the funding and publishing of scientific research. As long as it serves the status quo, they get to decide who the ‘experts’ are. For them, there is no driving concern to tell the truth based on rigorous scientific study when that science challenges the very essence of what a government has sole interest in — their pockets.

When it comes to the financial incentives of science-spinning in the UK, there is no greater lobby than that of climate denial. So when green policies are proposed, such as the cutback of long-haul flights and the divestment of fossil fuels, there is resistance from the government to seemingly protect their friends in the big oil companies, who are amongst the highest polluters worldwide. There is perhaps no clearer example of the lobby against climate mitigation policies than that of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. Andrew Montford, a member of this climate change denialist think tank, has previously said:

“Policies to ‘stop climate change’ are based on climate models that completely failed to predict the lack of warming for the past two decades. Observational data show clearly that the predictions of unacceptable warming caused by more carbon dioxide are wrong. Economic discount rates aside, policies designed to save the planet from more carbon dioxide are based on failed computer models.”

So what does this have to do with animal farming?

Firstly, let’s be clear that the UK Government also has its pockets neatly embedded within animal agricultural industries. They currently fund development banks, which are pumping up to £2.1billion into the meat and dairy industries. Furthermore, the UK Government hands out disproportionate tax subsidies to farmers, based on their type of farming practice; subsidies for animal farmers account for up to 90% of their profits, whilst these government payments only account for 10% of profits for plant-based farmers. So even when scientific research reveals that animal farming is a major driver of climate destruction, the government would prefer to bury that truth.

In recent years, there has been compelling evidence collated that shows just how destructive animal farming is for our planet. Whilst animal agriculture accounts for 80% of Amazon deforestation, subsequently wiping out the earth’s most vital carbon sink, animal farming industries are also responsible at least 21% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Most significantly, in 2018 a study was carried out at the University of Oxford into the environmental impacts of food production, a research project that turned out to be the most comprehensive of its kind. This study found that animal farming and fishing takes up 83% of global farmlands. It also concluded that a plant-based food system could reduce farmland usage by 76% and greenhouse gas emissions by 49% from current global levels.

But that only touches on the climate impacts of animal agriculture, what about the health impacts? Well, as we all know, 2020 has seen devastation across the whole of human society due to the Covid-19 virus. This is a virus that just so happens to be zoonotic, meaning that it was passed from animals to humans.

But Covid-19 is not an anomaly; recent scientific studies have estimated that 75% of new and emerging infectious diseases come from animals. So Whilst scientists believe Covid-19 originated from an animal ‘wet market’ in China, many more zoonotic and infectious diseases, such as bird flu and swine flu, have arisen from livestock worldwide.

But why was an ecologist arrested?

On 3 September 2020, the climate and animal justice group, Animal Rebellion, staged a protest in Central London to highlight the links between animal agriculture and the health and climate emergencies. The protest involved an animal slaughter truck, which blockaded the road outside the Department of Health and Social Care. The truck, painted pink, had a message on either side that read: “Animal Farming = Pandemics & Climate Crisis”. The group were calling on the government to lead a transition to a just and sustainable plant-based food system, in order to reduce the risk of future pandemics and avert the worst impacts of climate breakdown, such as extreme weather events, droughts and floods.

During this demonstration, ecologist Emma Smart stood on the side of the road and began speaking about the climate and health impacts of animal agriculture, a subject in which she has developed extensive knowledge throughout her career. Her speech, which was recorded, drew links between animal farming being detrimental for human life by increasing the likelihood of deadly pandemics, such as COVID-19, as well as climate breakdown.

“This pandemic has shown us that the health of wildlife is the health of humans too; the two cannot be separated,” she said. “We are all part of the earth’s living system.”

She continued, “Humans’ desire for meat has seen enormous swathes of the globe deforested to graze animals or grow crops just to feed them, all the while reducing wildlife’s refuge and bring humans into closer proximity to the pathogens that ignite these pandemics. So how have we found ourselves in the midst of a pandemic?”

At this point of question, the Met Police approached Dr Smart and, without much exchange of words, unplugged the sound system and began carting it away. But not only did they silence her, they grabbed her by either arm and began walking her away. Before long, the police took Dr Smart to a van and arrested her.

But she was not the only one to be unjustly detained that day — over 300 individuals had been arrested over the course of the day, more than 200 of which were held on Lambeth Bridge against their will, without any choice of leaving. What we see here is no more than the unlawful abuse of police powers, working only to minimise disruption to the government they serve.

But these heavy-handed tactics against one’s legal right to peaceful protest has much more concerning implications for the role of science within our political and social landscape. It shows the extent to which the UK Government will go to silence great bodies of scientific research, in defence of their friends in giant agriculture companies.

If we are to solve the climate and health emergencies, that means leading by what the climate and health experts have to say. That is, that we must bring and end to animal farming and transition towards a just and sustainable plant-based food system. The UK Government must acknowledge that truth and act upon it.

We cannot let the suppression of science become the death of democracy.

The post We Cannot Let The Suppression of Science Become The Death of Democracy first appeared on Animal Rebellion.