Climate Catastrophe Prompts New PETA Campaign Urging Government to Support Plant Farming
22 April 2024
London – Today, in honour of Earth Day, PETA is launching a new campaign calling on government officials to stop subsidising the environmentally disastrous meat, egg, and dairy industries to the tune of billions of pounds each year and redirect those crucial funds towards farmers who are cultivating healthy and nourishing crops that don’t cause animals immense suffering and require far less energy, land, and water to produce.
According to the United Nations, agriculture is responsible for a third of human-generated greenhouse gases, and the meat and dairy industries are leading polluters. The organisation encourages a global shift towards vegan eating to combat the worst effects of the climate catastrophe. But even though household consumption of animal-derived foods is declining across the UK, the number of intensive animal farms in the country continues to grow, propped up by taxpayer funds. The National Food Strategy reports that 85% of total agricultural land in the UK is used to grow crops to feed animals kept on farms – 1 billion are killed in abattoirs each year – instead of food for humans.
“While the planet- and-animal-killing meat, egg, and dairy industries gobble up resources and pump out dangerous emissions, life-giving plant farmers are struggling to make ends meet,” says PETA Vice President of Vegan Corporate Projects Dawn Carr. “PETA urges officials to help save all our skins by supporting animal farmers in transitioning to plant farming and reminds the public that they can combat the climate catastrophe every time they sit down to eat simply by choosing vegan foods.”
The United Nations warns that animal agriculture subsidies are fuelling the climate catastrophe. Financial institutions invested a staggering £380 billion in meat and dairy corporations between 2015 and 2020, while less than £4.7 billion was invested in animal-free farms between 2010 and 2020.
Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint, and slashes their risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.
Contact:
Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]
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