We are in a climate and ecological emergency. The UN has stated that addressing the climate crisis will require bold and ambitious efforts. Therefore, we, the students, believe UWE should embody its social and environmental commitments by transitioning towards affordable, healthy and whole plant-based catering. We call on the Students’ Union to vote in favour of this campaign and begin the transition to 60% plant-based catering and pre-packaged food (sandwiches, wraps and meal-deal options) by the end of the academic year 2025/26. This will be followed by a 10% increase in plant-based options annually subject to a financial and social review. We call on the Students’ Union to support us and lobby the university to make the same change.
In 2020, UWE announced a Climate and Ecological Declaration to be carbon neutral by 2030. This has been recognised in UWE’s Sustainable Food Plan as 30% of food is now plant-based and aims to rise to 55% by 2030. It is a strong foundation, but we believe this is simply not enough to tackle climate change and reach net zero. The goal should be 100% plant-based catering which would be a natural progression for the university. UWE won the 2023 Green Gown Award for Sustainability Institution of the Year and is praised for its strategic plan to tackle the climate and ecological crisis. Therefore, to truly align with its national green credentials UWE must adopt the student-led Plant-Based Universities campaign and transition to more plant-based catering.
Animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5-18% of greenhouse emissions [1]; approximately the same number of emissions as that from all forms of transport combined. This is principally from the by-products and resources required to sustain the lives of the 92.2 billion farm animals slaughtered yearly [2]; presenting an ethical and environmental dilemma. Animal products are grossly inefficient as they account for only 18% of global calories yet use an enormous amount of the world's resources including 83% of global farmland [3] and 70% of freshwater reserves [4]. In addition, animal agriculture contributes heavily to ecological crises including biodiversity and animal habitat loss, ocean dead zones, river pollution, and illegal deforestation. Massive areas of the Amazon rainforest have been wiped out to make way for growing soy, the vast majority of which (about 75%) is used for animal feed [5].
Research indicates that if everyone shifted to a plant-based diet, global land use for agriculture would be reduced by 75%. That is the size of the US, China, Australia and the EU combined [6]. This freed-up land could be used for replanting forests and rewilding, which, therefore, would enable carbon sequestration and the further reduction of GHG emissions. Solely transitioning away from fossil fuels will simply not be enough to stop global warming, we must tackle our food system too [7]. By transitioning to a plant-based food system agricultural greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by between 84 and 86 percent [8]. This is backed by Oxford scientists who concluded after a comprehensive scientific analysis on farming that "avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce our impact on planet Earth"[9].
As plant-based food is halal and kosher, it is also inclusive of all major faiths and religions, and nutritionally sound, meaning such a transition at UWE would aim to be at no detriment to any particular group. A plant-based diet is approved by both the British and American Dietetic Associations for all ages and stages of life. The diet “could reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and some cancers” [10].
We aim to work with neurodivergent individuals to create an inclusive and diverse menu that caters to all dietary needs and requirements. We are not asking for individual dietary change but rather institutional change. Students can still bring whatever food they like onto campus as it is not a complete ban or boycott. Instead, it is an opportunity for leading research institutions to align themselves with what the science is saying and act as a catalyst for change.
Therefore, UWE, as an institution committed to tackling the climate crisis, must align itself with the research and transition to 60% plant-based catering and continue to increase year on year. 100% plant-based transitions have already begun at 13 universities across the UK, including Cambridge, UCL, Imperial and University of Bristol. UWE must join this movement to prevent the catastrophic consequences of climate change and create a sustainable future.
[1] Sejian, V., Gaughan, J., Baumgard, L. and Prasad, C. (2015) Global Warming: Role of Livestock. Climate Change Impact on Livestock: Adaption and Mitigation [online]. Available from: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1007%2F978-81-322-2265-1_10&data=05%7C02%7Csuideas%40uwe.ac.uk%7C8ce0aa0270ac4b19929108dd5801b083%7C07ef1208413c4b5e9cdd64ef305754f0%7C0%7C0%7C638763486740273380%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=CM1G%2FGqBNhyv1xmooVYkOeuOYTUyq2dCS1vcgccXt7A%3D&reserved=0
[2] Humane Society, 2023 (using data from Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations).
[3] Animal Law & Policy Program (2019) Eating Away at Climate Change with Negative Emissions [online]. Harvard Law School. Available from: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fanimal.law.harvard.edu%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FEating-Away-at-Climate-Change-with-Negative-Emissions%25E2%2580%2593%25E2%2580%2593Harwatt-Hayek.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Csuideas%40uwe.ac.uk%7C8ce0aa0270ac4b19929108dd5801b083%7C07ef1208413c4b5e9cdd64ef305754f0%7C0%7C0%7C638763486740290336%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WHczErlzSxMeb3mcZ5OkOqdKwytFCshClAvDwlI3o5w%3D&reserved=0
[4] AQUASTAT – FAO’S Global Information System on Water and Agriculture fao.org/aquastat/en/overview/methodology/water-use/index.html
[5] Soy: food, feed, and land use change (2020). Available from: TableDebates.org [6] Ritchie, H. (2021) “If the world adopted a plant-based diet, we would reduce global agricultural land use from 4 to 1 billion hectares”. Available from: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fourworldindata.org%2Fland-use-diets%23%3A~%3Atext%3DResearch%2520suggests%2520that%2520if%2520everyone%2Cfor%2520land%2520to%2520grow%2520crops&data=05%7C02%7Csuideas%40uwe.ac.uk%7C8ce0aa0270ac4b19929108dd5801b083%7C07ef1208413c4b5e9cdd64ef305754f0%7C0%7C0%7C638763486740298616%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=PVwH8GVpOO%2BP4XMCsLv4ihUDMqTz4T7AIRC2nX2dL8E%3D&reserved=0
[7] Michael A. Clark et al., (2020) Global food system emissions could preclude achieving the 1.5° and 2°C climate change targets. Science370,705-708. Available at: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.science.org%2Fdoi%2F10.1126%2Fscience.aba7357&data=05%7C02%7Csuideas%40uwe.ac.uk%7C8ce0aa0270ac4b19929108dd5801b083%7C07ef1208413c4b5e9cdd64ef305754f0%7C0%7C0%7C638763486740306814%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=LlQT77JK5UOitCDlONAdpG%2FXwAal%2Bn1torrPSLAIiUU%3D&reserved=0
[8] Springmann, M., Van Dingenen, R., Vandyck, T. et al. (2023) The global and regional air quality impacts of dietary change. Nat Commun 14, 6227. Available at: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1038%2Fs41467-023-41789-3&data=05%7C02%7Csuideas%40uwe.ac.uk%7C8ce0aa0270ac4b19929108dd5801b083%7C07ef1208413c4b5e9cdd64ef305754f0%7C0%7C0%7C638763486740316412%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Ebhj9fFGQuGdHiWQ2KJi37JZxw7xNyPOLX5HFLMgkQY%3D&reserved=0
[9] Carrington, D. (2018) Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth. Available from: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2018%2Fmay%2F31%2Favoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth&data=05%7C02%7Csuideas%40uwe.ac.uk%7C8ce0aa0270ac4b19929108dd5801b083%7C07ef1208413c4b5e9cdd64ef305754f0%7C0%7C0%7C638763486740326540%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=FoO%2FwolUqNfHBB%2BlpW5SUkXTasOT3RlkcMIUB0Z42Fw%3D&reserved=0
[10] British Dietetic Association (2021) Vegetarian, vegan and plant-based diet. Available at: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bda.uk.com%2Fresource%2Fvegetarian-vegan-plant-based-diet.html&data=05%7C02%7Csuideas%40uwe.ac.uk%7C8ce0aa0270ac4b19929108dd5801b083%7C07ef1208413c4b5e9cdd64ef305754f0%7C0%7C0%7C638763486740335360%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=QDS0HvvvPYHPCVsuxPAJdH6k82jWP8ZQMlMmPM4GBWA%3D&reserved=0