New Campaign Pressures UN to Add Animal Agriculture to Climate Change Agenda

Food awareness organization ProVeg International released a new video campaign this week to urge the United Nations (UN) to include animal agriculture on the climate change agenda during the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24). The animated clip depicts the devastating effects of animal agriculture on climate change and highlights supporting statistics. The clip highlights that the top five meat and dairy companies produce more greenhouse gas emissions than the largest oil producers and that if United States consumers replaced beef with beans, the country would achieve 75 percent of its climate-change goals by 2020. “The UN has the power to unite nations to tackle climate change, and to prioritize policies that are impactful. Obviously, the fossil fuel industry needs to be curbed and trees need to be planted and not felled,” ProVeg International Director Jasmijn de Boo told VegNews. “However, with a growing world population, the gains that can be made by transitioning towards a more plant-based diet are huge. One of the most effective solutions to climate change can be served on a plate, filled with delicious plant-based dishes.” Representatives from ProVeg are meeting with delegates at COP24 in Poland to encourage meaningful discussions about animal agriculture during the climate change conference. At the onset of COP24 on Monday, a group of environmental organizations challenged the UN to rethink its meat-heavy menu at the 12-day conference by publishing statistics proposing that if the 30,000 visitors to COP24 chose meat dishes, the conference would be responsible for producing 4,500 metric tons of greenhouse gases.