Plant-Based Council campaigners holding a banner in front of the Bristol City Council building 25/07/24. Photo credit: Plant-Based Councils
At the 25/07/24 Environment and Sustainability Committee council meeting, Bristol resident Jenny Harrison and supporters of the Plant-Based Councils campaign attended to remind Bristol City Council to prioritise food policy in order to address the climate crisis to truly reflect the “climate emergency” the Council declared in 2018 [1].
Following the abolition of the mayoral system, Bristol City Council now has eight different policy committees. Each committee oversees an aspect of life in Bristol. The first meeting of the Environment and Sustainability Committee was this Thursday 25/07/24 [2].
The campaigners are urging Bristol to follow the lead of city councils such as Exeter, Oxford, Cambridge and Norwich, as well as Oxfordshire County Council, all of which have voted to promote the benefits of plant-based eating [3].
Bristol resident Jenny Harrison attended the first meeting of Bristol City Council’s newly formed Environment and Sustainability Committee on Thursday 25/07/24 to urge the Council to develop and implement a policy which would see plant-based catering encouraged as a response to the climate crisis. In her statement she said:
“Nothing is more important than the future of our planet, and ensuring that we have a liveable future. Bristol City Council has declared a climate emergency, claims to be world-leading in terms of responding to climate change, and is committed to its citizens consuming totally carbon-neutral food and drink by 2030. Moving towards a plant-based food system would be the most logical and science-backed way to do so.
The ‘Bristol Good Food 2030’ document states that ‘Reducing meat and dairy consumption is key to mitigating severe climate change impact’. Indeed, animal agriculture is one of the largest culprits of greenhouse gas emissions, and the single biggest cause of land use change, which makes the impacts of a warming world all the worse. A 2019 Harvard University study found that if we transition to a plant-based food system, half of UK land would be available to rewild, therefore allowing us to restore biodiversity and draw down huge quantities of carbon.
Many other UK councils have recently voted for fully plant-based internal catering, to increase plant-based food options at all their external sites, and to promote plant-based eating to residents. As the Environment Committee, we are sure that you will encourage and create positive changes such as these, wherever you have influence, leading by example towards a more sustainable and healthy future for all.”
Michaela Andrews, a member of the Plant-Based Councils Campaign who spoke to the council on 12/09/23, is hopeful that the new policy committee structure will bring about much needed change. She says:
“We have been campaigning for Bristol City Council to go plant-based for over three years now. Despite Bristol being a very Green council with multiple councillors on side who are extremely supportive, it has always been a struggle to get a motion prioritised enough to be heard at full council. Three motions had been tabled on the matter for a long while but were never given the chance to be debated.
We have tried many different avenues to push the council to prioritise a plant-based motion, such as holding silent protests at council meetings, but nothing has worked as yet [4]. We are hoping to have more success with the new committee system and aim to work with relevant committees to get as much plant-based change within the council as possible.
Plant-based food is one of the key and absolute fundamental solutions to the climate and ecological crises. Bristol, as the first council to have declared a climate emergency, should really be leading the way on this and following the five other UK councils who have already gone 100% plant-based in their catering.”
Plant-Based Councils campaigners inside the council chamber as part of a silent protest 12/09/23. Photo: Bristol City Council (screenshot)
In July this year, a new study was published by Oxford University researchers which found that a plant-based diet has 70% less environmental impact than a high-meat diet; a high-meat diet produces four-times the amount of greenhouse gases, requires four-times as much land, and double the amount of water [5].
The government-commissioned National Food Strategy (2021) led by Henry Dimbleby recommends that, in order to improve the health and sustainability of our food system, a new reference diet should be developed - focused on wholegrains, fruit, vegetables and pulses - and that public-sector catering should follow this diet [6].
In December 2022, Exeter City Council voted to serve exclusively plant-based food at their council meetings and events. They also plan to add more plant-based options to menus at council-run external sites, such as leisure centres, and to showcase plant-based food at external events [7]. And the events in Bristol come just one day after Calderdale Council voted to switch to 100% plant-based catering for their internal meetings and events as a result of lobbying from local Plant-Based Councils campaigners [8].
Plant-Based Councils, an Animal Rising campaign, is a national initiative of local residents who are pushing for their councils to adopt 100% plant-based catering. The campaign is active in 32 councils, with the group encouraging interested residents to sign up to run a local campaign on their website - www.plantbasedcouncils.org/join.
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For more information or further comments, please contact info@plantbasedcouncils.org
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] The Plant-Based Councils campaign aims to address the climate emergency, starting with the food on our plates; working with UK councils to encourage the switch from emission-heavy food to plant-based options which are better for our health, the planet, and reducing the impact of the cost of living crisis. www.plantbasedcouncils.org
[2] Bristol City Council, Environment and Sustainability Committee meeting, 25th July 2024: agenda, public forum document.
[4] Bristol City Council, meeting of full council, 12th Sept 2023: agenda, public forum document and recording
[5] Study into the environmental impact of various diets, Oxford University, published July 2023: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00795-w
[6] Review of National Food Strategy: https://www.nationalfoodstrategy.org/
[7] Exeter City Council votes to serve 100% plant-based food at catered meetings: https://news.exeter.gov.uk/council-pledges-to-raise-awareness-of-the-benefits-of-plant-based-food/
[8] Council to serve only vegan food at future events: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3g923e1m4wo#:~:text=A%20council%20has%20made%20what,strategy%20policy%20for%20the%20borough.
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