Ireland’s Former President Urges Young Leaders to Go Vegan

Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson spoke at the One Young World Summit in Ottawa, Canada where she urged attendees to change their eating habits in an effort to achieve “climate justice.” Robinson stood in front of approximately 1,300 attendees—comprised of young leaders from 196 nations—and asked them to consider their environmental impact. “We need each of us to think about our carbon footprint,” Robinson said. “Eat less meat, or no meat at all. Become vegetarian or vegan.” The impetus behind the former Irish president’s speech was the Paris Agreement on climate change signed in April asking nations around the world to reduce their carbon footprint. “We have to change. We cannot go on with business as usual,” Robinson urged. The former president currently serves as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and her moving speech comes just after the 71st General Assembly of the United Nations, where the global organization failed to discuss the impact of animal agriculture on climate change.