Victory! LSE Students Vote to Ban Beef Following Campaign by PETA Campus Rep
Great news for cows: students at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) just voted for the institution to ban beef, making it the latest UK university to do so. The decision came thanks to pressure from PETA campus rep Phoebe Woodruff.
Phoebe advocated the move on environmental and ethical grounds:
“More students than ever are looking to limit their environmental footprint – and giving up all meat and dairy is the best and easiest way to do that. It’s encouraging to see the London School of Economics take a stand to protect animals and the environment. Everyone who wishes to eat with compassion can make the switch to a vegan lifestyle today – it’s never been easier.”
– Phoebe Woodruff, LSE student and PETA campus rep
In response to the climate emergency, Goldsmiths, University of London, and the University of Cambridge have banned beef, and the universities of Edinburgh and East Anglia have hotly debated doing so. Demand for vegan options from eco-conscious students is at an all-time high – and in response, institutions including Imperial College London and the University of Leicester have opened vegan cafés.
Why Ban Beef?
Just like humans, cows form close friendships, and they grieve when their friends or family members die. Yet in the beef industry, families are torn apart, calves are mutilated, and many cows are slaughtered when they’re just 18 months old.
Raising and killing cows for their flesh is also destroying our planet. The production of beef is responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than that of any other food – a staggering 40 times more than the production of beans or peas. The beef industry is a major contributor to the Amazon rainforest fires, deforestation, drought, and water and air pollution.
Don’t Stop at Beef
The production of all animal-derived foods, including meat, eggs, milk, and fish, emits more greenhouse gases than that of their plant-based equivalents. Globally, animal agriculture causes more greenhouse-gas emissions than all trains, planes, motor vehicles, and ships combined. You can see how vegan foods stack up against animal-derived ones on the BBC’s carbon footprint calculator.
Consider Who Else You’re Eating
Banning beef will spare cows the terror of slaughter, but switching to other types of meat is a bad move. Replacing beef with the same amount of chicken flesh would mean that over 130 times more animals would be killed. The figures are even more devastating if beef is replaced by fish, especially small species such as haddock or mackerel.
Chickens: The Most Abused Animals on the Planet?
Chickens raised for their flesh may be confined to filthy, windowless sheds with 50,000 or more other frightened birds. Bred to grow supersized upper bodies, these sensitive birds often endure crippling leg deformities, heart failure, and diseases resulting from abysmal conditions and intensive crowding.
Raising chickens for food harms the environment, too. Trees in the Amazon rainforest and surrounding regions are razed to grow soya, 90% of which is fed to intensively farmed animals, including chickens. Ammonia gas emitted by chicken farms is a deadly air pollutant that threatens human health and can cause premature death.
All Fishing Is ‘Overfishing’
Every single fish feels pain, has a unique personality, and wants to live. Can you imagine being hauled out of your home in a giant net, being crushed by the weight of others above you, and then suffocating or being cut open while you’re still alive? That’s the reality for billions of fish – whose ocean homes are being destroyed by human activity. No label or certification stops fish from going through hell.
The commercial fishing industry doesn’t just cause “target” fish to suffer – abandoned fishing nets – also known as “ghost gear” – mutilate and kill millions of other sea animals every year. It’s not possible to call ourselves environmentalists while chomping down on fish fingers.
Stopped Eating Beef? Well Done! But Don’t Stop There
The science is clear: eating vegan is the simplest, most effective way to reduce our carbon footprint. And each person who does so spares nearly 200 animals a year a lifetime of pain and a violent slaughter.
Going vegan is easier than ever. Just take our 30-day vegan pledge and we’ll send you regular e-mails to guide you through making the switch:
Will Your University Go Vegan?
Victories like this one are possible only when people speak up for animals. PETA campus reps are making a difference through activism at 20 universities across the UK. If you’re a student, why not join Phoebe and become one of these superheroes for animals? Stand up to speciesism and get involved in PETA’s eye-catching demonstrations, all while receiving our support and even a stipend for helping animals. Apply to become a PETA campus rep now:
