“Change is imperative, and I endorse the Plant-Based Treaty, for the animals, the planet and human health.”

Moby has backed a campaign that is calling on governments to reverse the climate crisis caused by animal agriculture.

The ‘Plant-Based Treaty,’ is a landmark international treaty and the first of its kind to put food systems at the heart of combating the climate crisis.

According to the grassroots campaign, fossil fuels and animal agriculture are the driving forces behind the accelerated global warming as well as the extensive biodiversity loss, large-scale deforestation, species extinction, water depletion, soil degradation and ocean dead zones.

Plant-Based Treaty

Modelled on the popular Fossil Fuel Treaty, the initiative ‘aims to halt the widespread degradation of critical ecosystems caused by animal agriculture, to promote a shift to more healthy, sustainable plant-based diets and to actively reverse the damage done to planetary functions, ecosystem services and biodiversity’.

It urges leaders to negotiate a global agreement around the following three principles:

RELINQUISH – No land-use change, ecosystem degradation or deforestation for the purposes of animal agriculture

REDIRECT – An active transition away from animal-based agricultural systems to plant-based food systems

RESTORE – Restore key ecosystems and reforest the Earth

“ We are urging scientists, individuals, groups, businesses and cities to endorse this call to action and put pressure on national governments to negotiate an international Plant-Based Treaty,” a statement on the official website reads.

The campaign, which has kicked off in nearly 100 town and city halls worldwide including Manchester, Bristol, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Rome, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto, Seoul, Mumbai and Ankara is looking to create bottom-up pressure for leaders to endorse the campaign.

Leveraging this grassroots support, the campaign will work towards 10 million individuals, 10,000 organisations, 10,000 businesses and 50 cities to endorse the treaty by 2023, ahead of the Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement (GST).

Paris Agreement

Under the 2015 Paris pact, countries entered into an agreement to limit global warming to below 2°C – and preferably 1.5°C – above pre-industrial levels.

However, experts say that this target is seemingly impossible if governments only focus on reducing the use of fossil fuels- an important way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Animal agriculture and climate crisis

Studies show that meat, dairy and egg farming are also major drivers of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions and restricting methane levels is probably our best shot at avoiding temperature rises above 1.5°C, and the biggest opportunity to slow warming between now and 2040.

Anita Krajnc is the Global Campaign Coordinator for the Plant-Based Treaty. She said:  “The sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agreement makes it clear that it is more critical than ever to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and identifies plant-based diets as a key method of achieving this.

“It is now imperative that we drive awareness of how our food systems – and animal agriculture in particular – are contributing towards the climate crisis.”

She added: “With just five years left to reverse the worst effects of climate change, business as usual is no longer an option. It’s time to switch toward a plant-based economy to reverse the damage we have caused to the environment, and to promote a healthier society.”

‘Change is imperative’

Over 1,000 individuals, 151 organizations and 43 businesses have already endorsed the treaty along with several high-profile celebrities such as Moby, Leona Lewis, and Sophie Aldred.

Vegan icon Moby, in a statement, said: “As the production of meat and dairy is a leading cause of the climate emergency, it’s clear that we cannot solve the climate crisis without going plant-based.

“Change is imperative, and I endorse the Plant-Based Treaty, for the animals, the planet and human health.”

• Read: 1 billion children at ‘extremely high’ risk due to climate change, UNICEF report warns

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Mohsina Dodhiya

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