Issue Type: Plant-Based Eating

Humane Society International / Europe

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Consumer, environmental and animal welfare organisations have come together to call on the new Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) to reject proposals that seek to prevent the producers of plant-based foods from using terms typically associated with meat or dairy, thereby banning widely-used and widely-understood terms such as ‘veggie burger’, ‘yoghurt style’ or ‘cheese substitute’.

Compassion in World Farming-EU, Eurogroup for Animals, European Environmental Bureau, European Vegetarian Union, FOUR PAWS, Humane Society International/Europe, ProVeg International, SAFE-Safe Food Advocacy Europe, The Good Food Institute Europe, and The Vegan Society signed a joint letter expressing their deep concerns regarding the proposed ban, which was included in a file forming part of the reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The organisations argue in the letter that consumers have long been accustomed to the use of such common-sense terms as ‘vegan sausage’ and ‘veggie burger’ to designate plant-based alternatives to meat, and that banning the use of those widely-understood terms would “result in confusing consumers and preventing them from making informed choices while purchasing products.”

Animal agriculture is a major greenhouse gas emitter, and experts agree that reducing global meat and dairy consumption could play a significant role in mitigating climate change. In light of considerable public support for policy action on climate change, the letter signatories also highlight that restricting the commercial speech of producers of plant-based products that are well known to have a lower environmental impact than their animal-based counterparts, would be counterproductive in achieving a greener CAP.

Finally, the letter points out that slowing down the development of plant-based alternatives would penalise the growing number of consumers looking for more sustainable food.

Alexandra Clark from Humane Society International/Europe said “During another heatwave that focuses our minds that we are in the midst of climate breakdown, it is madness that MEPs are spending valuable time on trying to limit the growth of the plant-based market by banning terms such as ‘veggie burger’ when instead they should be dedicated to making agricultural policy more sustainable and climate friendly. The European vegetarian and vegan food market has grown massively in recent years with consumers increasingly choosing to reduce or replace meat and dairy with plant-based options. Common sense terms like vegan sausage or cheese substitute have been used for years and it is absurd to suggest that banning them is in the best interest of consumers who are actively seeking out these products because they’re animal-free.”

Petitions against this proposal have now already gathered more than 80,000 signatures.

Media contact: Wendy Higgins whiggins@hsi.org

Humane Society International / United States

WASHINGTON – For World Water Day on 22 March, Humane Society International is urging consumers to eat a more plant-based diet to help combat the significant contribution to water scarcity across the world. Water security is one of the biggest challenges facing our planet, so World Water Day is the ideal opportunity to tackle one of the biggest causes of water usage – meat, dairy and egg production.

Globally 2.1 billion people live without safe water and around 4 billion people – nearly two-thirds of the world’s population – experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. According to the United Nations, 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030.

With more than 83 billion animals reared and slaughtered globally for the food industry every year, industrial scale animal agriculture impacts our environment in enormously detrimental ways. It is not only one of the leading contributors to climate change and deforestation, but it also uses vast quantities of water. Research shows that switching to more plant-forward diets could cut our water footprint in half, so by changing our diet to reduce or replace meat, dairy and eggs with more water-friendly plant-based foods, we can all help to preserve the world’s water.

The Top 8 Reasons to Eat Plant-Based for World Water Day
1. Farming (animal and plant) accounts for about 70 percent of water used in the world today, up to 92 percent of freshwater, with nearly one-third of that related to animal farming and growing crops to feed to animals.
2. Most of the total volume of water used for animal agriculture (98 percent) refers to the water footprint of the feed for the animals. About one-third of the world’s grain and 80 percent of the world’s soya is fed to the animals we rear for food.
3. Intensive animal farming can cause serious water pollution such as eutrophication, an excessive amount of algae in the water caused by run-off of animal faeces and leftover feed, often leading to loss of fish and other aquatic wildlife.
4. 725.6L of freshwater are needed to produce 100g of protein from beef, whereas tofu requires eight times less freshwater (92.9L)
5. 96 percent of fish eaten in Europe comes from fresh-water fish farming, but the vast quantities of fish excrement and uneaten fish food that settles on the pond bed makes the perfect environment for the production of the greenhouse gas methane.
6. A meat-free diet can cut our water footprint in half! Studies show that a healthy meat-free diet reduces our water footprint by up to 55%.
7. The United Nations Environment Assembly says that plant-based burgers require between 75 – 99 per cent less water; 93 – 95 per cent less land; and generate 87 – 90 per cent fewer emissions than regular beef burgers.
8. “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car,” said University of Oxford’s Joseph Poore, who led the most comprehensive analysis of the damage farming does to the planet.

Kitty Block, President of HSI, says: “With billions of people across the globe struggling to cope with severe water scarcity, we should all be looking to cut our water footprint. One of the most effective ways we can all conserve water is to reduce or replace meat and dairy with planet-friendly, plant-based products. The vast quantities of water used by animal agriculture to grow animal feed, hydrate billions of animals, disinfect abattoir equipment and process animal products is contributing to our planet’s water scarcity. In addition to the animal welfare and human health benefits of cutting meat, looking after the earth’s scarce resources is a compelling reason to eat plant-based for World Water Day.”

Other benefits come from reducing or replacing meat and dairy in our diet. Numerous studies indicate that a diet rich in plant-based foods has considerable health benefits. The World Health Organisation estimates that worldwide obesity has tripled since 1975, with more than 1.9 billion overweight adults, and 381 million children overweight or obese. Studies from direct to consumer wellness brand wellness Gold Bee show that people who eat fewer animal products have lower rates of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. Replacing meat, milk and eggs produced by industrial agriculture also benefits farm animals, billions of whom spend their entire lives in cages or crates, where they are unable to exercise, engage in their natural behaviours, and often cannot even turn around because of lack of space.

Media contacts:

  • HSI International Media Director Wendy Higgins, +44 (0) 7989 972 423 (mobile), whiggins@hsi.org
  • HSI in the United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-676-2337 (direct), 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org

Brussels premiere of BAFTA winner 73 Cows brings transition message to EU Parliament

Humane Society International / Europe

Brussels – European Union policy makers are being urged to help farmers transition away from animal agriculture and towards plant-crop farming in order to capitalise on the growing trend in plant-based eating. Speaking at an event this week at the European Parliament organised by Humane Society International/Europe, farmers, ecologists and academics agreed there is an urgent need for the EU to support transition farming to help farmers adapt and seize the economic opportunity of consumer diets shifting away from meat, dairy and eggs.

A major report from the Rise Foundation recently warned that Europe’s meat and dairy production must be halved by 2050 in recognition of its significant contribution to environmental degradation such as greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. The EU currently raises 9 billion farm animals for food each year – with more than 360 million of these animals spending all or part of their lives in intensive cage systems – and globally the figure is an estimated 82 billion animals.

Oxford University’s Dr Marco Springmann, and Harvard University’s Dr Helen Harwatt were joined at the Brussels symposium event by ecologist and rewilding expert Alan Watson Featherstone, and Swedish farmer Adam Arnesson who is transitioning his pig farm to grow oats for a plant-milk company. Policy makers were also treated to Europe’s first public screening of BAFTA 2019 award winning short film 73 Cows about British cattle farmers Jay and Katja Wilde who sent their herd to a sanctuary and switched to crop cultivation instead.

Alexandra Clark, HSI/Europe’s food policy consultant, said “European consumers are more aware than ever of the animal welfare and environmental impacts of meat, dairy and egg production. The current level of animal production is simply unsustainable, and the continued growth of plant-based alternatives is inevitable. This presents Europe’s farmers with an exciting opportunity to meet this changing demand by transitioning away from industrial animal agriculture to plant-crop production. With the current reform of the EU’s agricultural policy, MEPs have a clear chance to assist farmers in those transition efforts by shifting subsidies away from propping up industrial animal production, and instead supporting farmers switch to fruit, vegetables, fungi, grains and leguminous crops that are growing in demand from an increasingly plant-based public.”

The EU is currently reforming its Common Agricultural Policy, with a crucial vote planned in the Agriculture Committee in early April. Dr Helen Harwatt from Harvard University believes this is a major opportunity for EU policymakers to take leadership in animal to plant protein agricultural shifts.

Dr Harwatt said: “Repurposing portions of agricultural land to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be crucial for limiting warming to 1.5°C. In turn, restoring this land to its natural habitat opens the door for reintroducing animal species, which would help toward tackling the wildlife crisis. Animal to plant protein shifts are essential and policy makers must ensure that policies and support are put in place to help farmers make this transition”

Swedish farmer Adam Arnesson has shifted his farm production from solely animal-based to the cultivation of multiple crops for human consumption including oats for oat milk production. In doing so he has doubled the number of people his output feeds annually and halved the climate impact per calorie.

Farmers Jay and Katja Wilde, who star in Alex Lockwood’s 73 Cows short film, were keen for MEPs to understand that the pressure and fear for the future that many animal farmers feel, could be alleviated if support existed to help them ‘plant for the planet’.

Speaking at the EU Parliament screening of 73 Cows, Jay Wilde said: “We are thrilled that our film has come to the European Parliament where we hope it inspires politicians to vote for a better future for both farmers and animals. Giving our cows to a sanctuary to live out their years in a safe haven was the best decision of our lives, it became the only decision when sending them to the abattoir was no longer something I could live with. But it’s been a very scary journey too because you’re stepping into the unknown. This shift in farming isn’t just a personal choice, its necessary to protect the environment, so if there was financial and practical support to help farmers like me plant for the planet, it would make life so much easier.”

Spanish MEP Florent Marcellesi said “We need to leave behind our unsustainable farming model and animal-based diets. Instead, we should turn as soon as possible to ecologic plant-based ones and build a farming model which is sustainable, healthy and respectful to animal welfare.”

Italian MEP Eleonora Evi said “Climate change is here, it’s already happening. For our sake but also for the sake of every other species on this planet, we need to take action to mitigate its effects by adopting an ‘all hands on deck’ approach. This means opening up the dialogue to different stakeholders. The agriculture sector has one of the highest levels of emissions, and therefore must become part of the solution. The transition to sustainable production methods and re-naturalization of agricultural areas must inevitably be considered.”

Finnish MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen said “If everyone would shift their diets towards plant-based, it would be beneficial for public health, animal welfare, biodiversity and climate.”

Facts

  • Up to 20 percent (€ 32.6 billion) of the EU’s entire annual budget is spent on animal agriculture (including feed)
  • Around 71 percent of EU farmland is used to grow animal feed
  • Animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5 percent of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions
  • According to Euromonitor, in 2017 plant-based milks represented 12 percent of the global fluid milk market, and dairy alternatives are predicted to grow to a market value of €19bn by 2022
  • Europe is currently the largest market for meat substitutes, having a 39 percent global market share and, with an eight percent annual growth rate, they are predicted to reach a global net worth of €4.2bn by 2020
  • A 2017 report by Rabobank suggests that alternative proteins could represent a third of total EU protein demand growth in the next five years
  • The EAT-Lancet Commission found that a transformation to healthy diets from sustainable food systems is necessary to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement
  • The EAT-Lancet Commission also found that transformation to healthy diets by 2050 will require substantial dietary shifts, including a greater than 50 percent reduction in global consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar, and a greater than 100 percent increase in consumption of healthy foods, such as nuts, fruits, vegetables, and legumes
  • Humane Society International’s Forward Food program is one of the largest plant-based culinary training programs globally. Aimed at encouraging universities, caterers, and other institutions to provide more vegan options, Forward Food helps to facilitate diet shifts at scale. HSI believes that by making animal-free food options tastier, more satisfying and widely available, more and more people will opt for meat-free meals which is good news for animals, people and the planet. Humane Society International advocates compassionate eating – or the Three Rs: “refining” diets by avoiding products from the most abusive production systems, and “reducing” or “replacing” animal products with plant-based foods.

Media contact:

United Kingdom: Wendy Higgins whiggins@hsi.org +44 (0)7989 972 423

Humane Society International / Canada

MONTREAL – Humane Society International/Canada commends Health Canada for staying true to its promise of letting evidence, not industry, inform the latest food guide. The newly-released guide includes a key recommendation to shift diets toward a higher proportion of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and legumes.

HSI/Canada is encouraged by the emphasis on plant-based foods because of the clear benefits for human health, the planet and animal welfare. HSI/Canada runs a national culinary training program, Forward Food, to help Canadians access more nutritious and delicious plant-based foods.

Riana Topan, food specialist for Forward Food at HSI/Canada, said: “This guide will encourage Canadians to make more nutritious food choices and may help to curb many of the lifestyle diseases associated with insufficient vegetable and fruit consumption. Moreover, reducing the consumption of products generated by industrial animal agriculture will bring both environmental and animal welfare benefits.”

The new food guide is the nation’s first set of dietary guidelines that take a truly evidence-based approach to informing citizens about dietary choices that promote optimal health. Additionally, the Canada Food Guide will bolster important domestic industries. For example, this guide represents a major opportunity for Canada’s renowned pulse industry to continue growing.

Canadians are increasingly recognizing the benefits of a ‘flexitarian’ or ‘plant-forward’ diet, and the new national food guide reflects both the best available health research and consumer interests. The guide is an enormous step in the right direction, demonstrating Canada’s commitment to evidence-based dietary recommendations and a holistic approach to mindful eating.

By embracing concepts like “The Three Rs”— “reducing” or “replacing” consumption of animal products, and “refining” our diets by choosing products from sources that adhere to higher animal welfare standards—consumers can have a direct impact on reducing inhumane practices that are commonly found on factory farms.

Media Contact: Christopher Paré – office: 514 395-2914 x 206 / cell: 438 402-0643, email: cpare@hsi.org

Humane Society International / Europe

  • HSI

KATOWICE, Poland–At the United Nations’ global climate change conference, COP24, animal welfare charity Humane Society International and Israeli environmental organization Green Course held an official side event that brought together experts and policymakers to discuss pathways to incentivise plant-based diets and reduce reliance on meat, dairy and egg products from animals housed in intensive factory-farming environments. The Mitigation Potential of Plant-based Diets: From Science to Policy gave delegates a toolkit of policy recommendations and inspiration to see them implemented.

The focus of the panel was summed up by Florent Marcellesi MEP, “If we are what we eat, nowadays we are climate change. Around 15 percent of greenhouse emissions come from animal farming, almost as much as cars and planes. This is the result of our current unsustainable food system, based on the overproduction of low-cost meat. This means huge consequences over the climate, but it also impacts our health, the lives in rural areas and the animal welfare. Civil society is already organising to fight against the low-cost meat industry and its impacts, but we need policy measures. Let’s build an ecological food system that creates good quality jobs while protecting the climate, our health and the animals.”

With the key message that we must take action to ensure a sustainable future, Marie Persson of the Nordic Food Policy Lab said, “Governments play a key role in facilitating the necessary shift to healthy and low-climate impact diets. In the Nordic countries sustainable and healthy diets are moving up the agenda and while we are not seeing very harsh regulation, soft policy tools working in tandem with changing consumer preferences are proving to be a recipe for success.”

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Dr. Marco Springmann from the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food at the University of Oxford highlighted the need for dietary changes to stay within planetary boundaries of the food system, saying, “Without large-scale dietary changes towards more plant-based diets, there is little chance to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. Incentivising such dietary changes will require integrated, multi-component approaches that include providing information, access, and setting clear economic incentives. Important starting points would be to update national dietary guidelines to reflect the latest scientific evidence on healthy and sustainable diets, explore the use of full cost accounting of foods, and align agricultural policies with health and sustainability concerns.”

Dr. Cristina Tirado, director of International Climate Initiatives for the Center for Urban Resilience at Loyola Marymount University, said, “There are many opportunities to achieve co-benefits from actions that reduce emissions and at the same time improve health by shifting consumption away from animal products, especially from ruminant sources, in high-meat consumption societies, toward less emission intensive healthy more plant based diets, with more vegetables, fruits and pulses.”

Ifat Zur of Green Course said, “There is much policy discussion when it comes to sectors like transportation or energy, yet none relating to animal products. This is absurd, as the livestock industry is responsible for even higher greenhouse gasses than those other sectors, and livestock reduction involves several benefits on both individual and national levels. Policy should not only comply with research and public trends but also aim to take a leading role in the movement.”

The HSI/Green Course panel was the only event to directly address the implementation of national policies to shift towards more plant-based diets in order to combat climate change. And it was a message very much needed, as COP24’s meat- and dairy-focused menu options became the topic of much discussion amongst participants. HSI experts encouraged organizers of the massive two-week conference to replace its meat-dominated menus with more planet-friendly foods in the future, offering them culinary training on vegan cuisine from its Forward Food programme, which works with institutions and corporations to put more plants on plates.

Alexandra Clark, Humane Society International’s food policy consultant, said: “Industrial animal agriculture is a major cause of greenhouse gasses. While policies exist to reduce the climate impact of the energy and transport sector, Western governments have yet to adopt policies to reduce the climate impact of large-scale factory farming. Globally, 90 billion farm animals are raised for food each year – and the ramifications to the environment and animal welfare caused by the systems in which the majority of those animals are housed in are far too big to ignore. Governments must act. And with scientists warning that we are nowhere near on track to meet the 1.5 degrees necessary to avoid catastrophic climate change, it is critical that action is taken to move to more plant-based diets. COP24’s meaty menus symbolise the ostrich-like attitude of policy makers around the world. We hope they take us up on our offer of vegan culinary training to ensure that future climate change conferences offer more planet-friendly plant based food.”

Forward Food encourages universities, caterers, and other institutions to provide more plant-based options as the number of people wanting meat-free and dairy-free meals increases rapidly. In the UK, the programme is led by HSI’s Forward Food Chef, author and 2016 UN Special Ambassador for pulses, Jenny Chandler.

Speaking at the COP24 event, Chandler said “Everyone is seeing increased interest in meat-free eating and I love showing people that plant-based food can be really delicious and vibrant and not tasteless or worthy as is often assumed. HSI’s Forward Food programme is a fantastic way of getting chefs to embrace this trend and it feels great to be part of something that really can make a difference to people’s health, the environment and animal welfare.”

END

Media contact: Wendy Higgins, Director of International Media, whiggins@hsi.org

Future of Protein Summit 2018 looks to promote development of protein alternative

Humane Society International

  • Charanya Ramakrishnan

HYDERABAD—Humane Society International/India, with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Good Food Institute & Atal Incubation Centre, organised a conclave to discuss the future of clean and plant-based meat in Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. This was the first event of its kind in India.

The event featured Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Hon’ble Union Cabinet Minister of India, as the keynote speaker. She discussed the present trends of meat consumption and its impact on the environment and human health. While plant-based meat has been developed for decades, the trend is only beginning to grow in India. Clean meat, or meat cultured in laboratories from animal cells, is a new and developing technology being researched all around the world.

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“The current methods of producing eggs, meat, and dairy harm animals and contribute to climate change, food insecurity and antimicrobial resistance,” said N.G. Jayasimha, managing director of HSI/India. “We believe the time is ripe for India’s food technology and biotechnology industry to innovate in the field of alternative protein and propel this revolutionary movement forward.”

“Clean meat, while theoretically possible, needs major technological interventions for the necessary scaling up and reduction in production cost,” said Rakesh Mishra, director of CCMB. “Scaling up and cost reduction is also needed for future medicines like bioactives, antibody therapy, etc. Considering these needs, it is high time to focus on technologies that bring cell culture or equivalent approaches in the reach of medical and nutritional demand.”

“Plant-based meats and clean meat can and will be vastly superior solutions to feed our growing population. We think of these foods as leapfrog technologies, which will allow us to invest in food processing, nutrition, scientific research, and creating lucrative end markets for farmers,” said Varun Despande, managing director of Good Food Institute. “The world’s most visionary innovators, such as Bill Gates, Richard Branson and the largest meat companies and venture capitalists, are already coming on board. We firmly believe that Indian startups and scientists can join this pathbreaking sector, and contribute to building a healthier, more humane and more sustainable food system.”

HSI/India and CCMB, under the Atal Incubation Centre, are collaborating to develop and promote clean meat in India. The partnership aims to bring start-ups and regulators together under the same roof.

Conscious consumers can make the world a better place by following the Three Rs of eating: “reducing” or “replacing” consumption of animal products, and “refining” our diets by choosing products from sources that adhere to higher animal welfare standards. Donate now to help animals.

Media Contact: Neelam Naseeb, nnaseeb@hsi.org, +919205104695

Humane Society International

  • Savory Veggie Noodle Bowl. Stephanie Lundstrom

With plant-based protein predicted to be one of the biggest food trends in 2018 and sustainable food consumption on the rise, now is the ideal time to embrace positive change and join the green revolution. Green Monday SA is a food resolution you’re likely to actually keep. This global movement, promoted by Humane Society International/Africa, encourages South Africans to swap the meat, eggs and dairy on their plates for plant-based alternatives, one day every week. Eating more plant-based foods boasts a variety of benefits, from reversing chronic diseases to saving precious water resources.

In South Africa, we raise more than 1 billion farm animals for food every year. HSI/Africa offers these tips to improve our health, the environment and animal welfare:

  • Eat green for your health: Numerous studies indicate that a diet rich in plant-based foods can help improve your health. In South Africa, nearly 30 percent of men and 56 percent of women are either overweight or obese but research shows that people who eat fewer animal products have lower rates of obesity. Many of the deadliest chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, can also be prevented, treated and even reversed through a plant-based diet. It comes as no surprise that the World Health Organization recommends that we “consume more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains, and transition away from saturated animal fats to unsaturated vegetable oil fats.”
  • Eat green for the environment: Raising animals for food contributes to dangerous climate change, land environmental degradation, water pollution and water shortages. According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “animal agriculture is one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” It has never been more important for South Africans to save our precious natural resources, and with the death-threatening droughts we are experiencing, the focus is on water conservation. By consuming fewer animal products and eating more plant-based foods this year, we can help protect South Africa’s water supply. Producing meat, milk and eggs requires huge amounts of water, whether for growing feed, cleaning housing enclosures, hydrating the animals, disposing their waste or disinfecting slaughtering equipment. Amazingly, it takes more than 4,000 litres of water to produce a kilogram of chicken meat, significantly more than needed to produce almost every other plant-based food.    
  • Eat green for animals: Replacing meat, milk and eggs benefits farm animals in South Africa, millions of whom spend their entire lives in cages or crates, where they are unable to exercise, engage in their natural behaviours, and often cannot even turn around because of lack of space. South Africans consume 7.8 billion eggs each year – of which more than 95 percent are sourced from hens who spend their entire lives in battery cages. More than 50 percent of pregnant sows in South Africa spend their lives in gestation crates. By eating more plant-based foods, we can decrease the demand for animal products, which results in fewer animals enduring a life of extreme confinement and suffering. 

Local personalities, restaurants, food brands, government departments, educational institutions and other leaders of the industry have already joined the movement and implemented green campaigns for 2018. The University of Cape Town and the University of Witwatersrand have agreed to add daily plant-based options to all of its residence dining hall menus, and the Western Cape Government, Department of Health and HSI formed a partnership through the WoW! healthy lifestyles initiative to increase public awareness about the health and environmental benefits of plant-based foods.

“It is really easy to replace animal products in our meals with delicious and healthy plant-based foods,” says Leozette Roode, campaign manager for HSI/Africa. “Simply use nut milk instead of dairy milk and add pulses like lentils and beans to your soups and stews for protein. ‘Meaty’ vegetables like mushrooms are great in pasta and soaked cashews make the creamiest sauces. There are also a variety of plant-based meat brands available in South Africa to replace braai favourites like patties, schnitzels, nuggets and sausages.”

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HSI/Africa urges you to join the Green Monday movement as a New Year’s resolution that’ll last all year long! This year, you have the power to take charge of your health and make a positive difference to the environment and to animals. We can all stand up for animals every time we sit down to eat by reducing the number of animal products we eat, replacing them with plant based products or animal products from sources that adhere to higher animal welfare standards when possible.

For more information, please contact: Leozette Roode, lroode@hsi.org

Paulicéia to serve 100 percent plant-based foods on Mondays, improving environmental footprint and student health

Humane Society International

The city of Paulicéia in Brazil’s São Paulo state, in partnership with Humane Society International, has joined the global Meatless Monday movement, committing to offering exclusively plant-based meals at all its public schools one day a week. This program will impact approximately 120,000 meals a year.

Meatless Mondays is a popular global movement that asks people to leave meat off their plates just one day a week, on Mondays, as a way to help the planet, their health and animals. Studies show that animal production is a key contributor to climate change, deforestation, water pollution and water use. In addition, most animals raised for food spend their days in factory farms where their treatment and living conditions are largely inhumane. Studies also show that eating more healthy plant based foods can help prevent chronic diseases like obesity and heart disease.

HSI worked with Paulicéia on the implementation of its Meatless Monday program through workshops and plant-based culinary trainings for school cooks.

Paulicéia Mayor Ermes da Silva said: “We are very happy to adopt the Meatless Monday campaign with Humane Society International. Providing our city’s children with plant-based meals will allow for a future of healthy adults.”

Sandra Lopes, food policy manager for HSI in Brazil, stated: “We’re thrilled to work with Paulicéia on the adoption of Meatless Monday. In addition to the numerous benefits for our health, eating more plant-based foods is also one of the most effective ways we can help environment, including saving water resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as reducing animal suffering. We look forward to working with more school districts on similar programs.”

Millions of people and thousands of schools, hospitals and restaurants in Brazil and around the globe have adopted Meatless Monday.

A growing number of institutions in Brazil, including the Brazilian Ministry of Health and USP’s School of Public Health, are recognizing that a reduction in meat consumption is necessary to help animals, the environment and our health. In its 2014 Dietary Guidelines, the Brazilian Ministry of Health recommended that meat consumption be limited to reduce the risk of obestiy, heart disease and other chronic diseases in people, and to lessen stress on the environment and animals. In this same report, the Ministry stated: “Opting to consume various types of plant-based foods and a limited consumption of animal products indirectly results in a food system that is more just and less stressful (detrimental) on the environment, animals and biodiversity in general”.

HSI promotes humane eating- or the 3 R’s: “reducing” or “replacing” consumption of animal products, and “refining” our diets by choosing products from sources that adhere to higher animal welfare standards.

Facts:

  • The São Paulo city school district also participates in Meatless Monday, serving more than half a million plant-based meals every two weeks.
  • According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, animal agriculture is one of the greatest contributors to the most serious environmental issues, like global warming, and is a major consumer of scarce water resources. For example, in terms of protein, the water footprint is six times bigger for beef, and one and a half times larger for chicken, eggs and milk, than it is for legumes.
  • Choosing plant-based foods helps our health. Many of the chronic diseases plaguing the world, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, can be prevented, treated and, in some cases, even reversed with a plant-based diet.
  • Brazil is currently facing a new obesity and overweight epidemic, which is affecting 60 percent of the population, including children. One in three Brazilian children between the ages of 5 and 9 are obese or overwheight and face health risks as a result.
  • Meatless Monday also reduces animal suffering. Tens of millions of animals in food production in Brazil, like egg-laying hens and breeding sows, are intensively confined and spend their whole lives in cages so small they can barely even move.

Humane Society International

Billions of people are called to take a green step towards reducing their carbon footprint for World Environment Day, 5 June 2017. This year’s theme, “Connecting People to Nature,” aims to encourage us to appreciate nature, consider how intimately we depend on it, and make an effort to protect the Earth we call home. One easy, fun and delicious way for anyone to participate is to indulge in plant-based foods. Green Monday is a global movement that encourages South Africans to make a positive difference to the environment — one meal at a time. Replacing meat, eggs and dairy with plant-based foods such as nuts, grains, beans, legumes and vegetables, even just one day a week, can make a tremendous difference, especially as we face water restrictions, shortages of arable land and dangerous climate change.

We raise more than 1 billion land animals for food every year in South Africa and research indicates we are consuming more and more animal products. In just ten years, for instance, pork intake increased 77 percent and poultry intake rose 63 percent. We are also consuming more beef, eggs and dairy too. All of this comes at a price, as raising animals for food contributes to dangerous climate change, deforestation, water pollution and water shortages:

1. Climate-changing gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are released into the atmosphere at nearly every stage of meat, egg and milk production. These gases increase the chances for severe weather events and harm the atmosphere and oceans. In South Africa, animal agriculture accounts 60 percent of total agricultural carbon dioxide.

2. More than half of all land in South Africa is used to raise farm animals, a process which severely degrades the land and damages plant and animal species. Tremendous amounts of farm land are also used to grow feed for farm animals.

3. Raising farm animals pollutes our water, in large part because of animal manure but also because of chemicals used to grow animal feed.

4. Producing meat, milk and eggs requires huge amounts of water, whether for growing feed, cleaning housing enclosures, hydrating the animals, disposing their waste or disinfecting slaughtering equipment. Amazingly, it takes over 4,000 liters of water to produce a kilogram of chicken meat, significantly more than needed to produce almost every other plant-based food.

According to Leozette Roode, farm animal campaign manager for HSI/Africa: “It has never been more important for South Africans to save our precious natural resources, and with the death-threatening droughts we are experiencing, the focus is on water conservation. Humane Society International/ Africa asks that you consider replacing animal products with plant-based foods every Green Monday in order to help animals and to help us conserve and protect South Africa’s precious water supply.”

Other benefits come from a greener diet. Numerous studies indicate that a diet rich in plant-based foods can help improve your health. In South Africa, nearly 30 percent of men and 56 percent of women are either overweight or obese. Studies show that people who eat fewer animal products have lower rates of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. Replacing meat, milk and eggs also benefits farm animals in South Africa, millions of whom spend their entire lives in cages or crates, where they are unable to exercise, engage in their natural behaviours, and often cannot even turn around because of lack of space.

“It is really easy to replace animal products in our meals with delicious and healthy plant-based alternatives,” according to Ms. Roode. “Simply use nut milk instead of dairy milk and add pulses like lentil and beans to your soups and stews for protein. ‘Meaty’ vegetables like mushrooms are great in pastas and soaked cashews makes the creamiest sauces. There are also a variety of meat alternative brands available in South Africa to replace braai favourites like patties, schnitzels, nuggets and sausages.”

Since the launch of HSI’s Green Monday campaign in South Africa, not only have countless individuals begun to enjoy more plant-based foods every Monday, but also South African restaurants, food brands, government departments, and other leaders of the industry have also enthusiastically joined the initiative.

All of these efforts are helping to create a more environmentally sustainable South Africa. This year, World Environment Day happens to fall on a Monday, so make it a Green Monday.

HSI works with governments, farmers, and other stakeholders in the egg, meat, and dairy sectors to end the extreme confinement of animals in cages and crates, and improve the overall welfare of farm animals. We can all stand up for animals every time we sit down to eat by reducing the number of animal products we eat, replacing them with plant based products or animal products from sources that adhere to higher animal welfare standards when possible.

Contact: Leozette Roode Campaign Manager, Farm Animals: lroode@hsi.org, +27(0)713601104

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