The vegan and environmental organisation Plant Based Treaty staged a protest inside the entrance of COP29 (the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, held from the 11th to the 22nd of November 2024), calling for countries to negotiate a global Plant Based Treaty as an add-on to the Paris Agreement, and so moving humanity away from an animal-based food system. The proposed treaty has been endorsed by 33 cities, including Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Edinburgh.
During the protest, Plant Based Treaty scientific advisor Kimmy Cushman addressed the crowds with the following: “If we transition to a global plant-based food system, we could reforest and rewild 75% of agricultural land. We need a just transition now. 33 cities, 200k individuals and 3,500 groups and businesses have called on nations to negotiate a global Plant Based Treaty so we can say yes to lower emissions, yes to rewilding, yes to improved health, and yes to feeding humans instead of farmed animals.”
Protesters chanted loudly, with slogans like “Diet change, not climate change! Menu change, not climate change!” and “What do we want? A Plant Based Treaty! When do we want it? Now!”
Enric Noguera, Plant Based Treaty European City Campaigner, who was part of the protest, said, “Negotiating a global Plant Based Treaty as part of the Paris Agreement is key to addressing a third of greenhouse gas emissions caused by food systems. Cities like Edinburgh and Amsterdam are already implementing a number of Plant Based Treaty’s 40 suggested proposals, and showing the rest of the world how it’s done. A treaty can help scale up and secure resources to support a just plant-based transition.”
Plant Based Treaty also exposed how many items on the menu offered at COP29 were mislabelled as being vegan or vegetarian but contained animal products or meat. As animal agriculture is one of the major drivers of climate change, serving animal products at the UN conference is something that should not happen in any form — let alone under the wrong labels.
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