Will the COP26 Climate Summit Set an Example and Have a Totally Vegan Menu?

The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) climate summit is fast approaching. Ahead of the event, PETA has urged Alok Sharma – president of COP26 – to set a meaningful example during this time of climate emergency by implementing a fully vegan menu at the event.

Why Eating Vegan Diet Is Better for the Environment

The fishing, meat, dairy, and egg industries are not only cruel to animals but also cause catastrophic damage to the environment. For decades, the United Nations (UN) has identified animal agriculture as a leading cause of deforestation, pollution, ocean dead zones, habitat loss, species extinction, and zoonotic disease spread.

According to the UN, animal agriculture is responsible for about 14.5% of global greenhouse-gas emissions – which, by some estimates, is more than all forms of transportation combined.

Vegan foods have a far smaller carbon footprint than their animal-based equivalents, even when comparing imported plant proteins to flesh from grass-fed, locally farmed animals. And a switch to vegan eating can reduce food-related carbon emissions by 73%.

Simply put, going vegan is one of the best ways to reduce your impact on the environment.

Why COP26 Should offer a Completely Vegan Menu

Given everything we now know about the devastating impact of animal agriculture on the environment, serving meat, dairy, or eggs at a climate change summit would be like distributing cigarettes at a health convention.

Plants are the way forward, and a vegan menu would not only allow attendees to dine with a clear conscience but also set an important example for the world to follow.