Without drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in our food and agriculture, the goals of the Paris Agreement and the 1.5°C or 2°C climate targets cannot be achieved.
We must urgently bring agriculture fully into all climate change policies - ending “agricultural exceptions”.
We recommend the following three policy objectives:
Policy Ask 1: Consistent leadership from the Global North in the shift towards sustainable, fair plant-based food systems e.g. The Netherlands’ reduction of farmed animal numbers, Canada’s investment in plant protein and Portugal’s support for plant-based public sector food.
Policy Ask 2: Enact Food Sustainability laws in all countries of the Global North in the next five years, embedding commitments such as the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and timelines to climate justice, with binding steps to reduce animal farming. Take responsibility in the Global North for the carbon footprint of our imports.
Policy Ask 3: Invest in legume farming and plant-protein food supply chains: research and develop nitrogen-fixing legume crops – to supply most protein foods, replace nitrogen fertilizers, and enable the transition towards plant-based global agriculture, without any harm to human well-being.
We all need agriculture and food systems which improve our health and working conditions, our society and natural environment. We need a Great Food Transformation. What we are proposing is not compromise: it is a better way of life for all.
Learn more from our "Achieving Climate Goals through Plant-Based Agriculture and Food" Policy Briefing.
The views expressed by our bloggers are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
