Viva! Street Actions

VIVA! LAUNCHES IMPORTANT NEW PETITION TO SAVE THE EARTH CARBON FOOTPRINTS MUST BE INCLUDED ON MENUS

BY JASMINE CLARKE, ENVIRONMENT CAMPAIGNER

Demand for meat, dairy, fish and eggs is destroying the planet. Animal agriculture is rooted in almost every single issue within the climate crisis, it is a leading cause of global heating and the main cause of deforestation, land use change, wildlife loss, and air pollution.

Eating a diet based on animal products is substantially more damaging to the planet than vegan alternatives. As Joseph Poore, climate researcher at the University of Oxford states: “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth.”

To drive home just how urgent the situation is and the need to switch to a vegan diet, Viva! has partnered with My Emissions to support Bristol restaurant, The Canteen, in calculating the carbon footprint of their menus to help consumers make an informed choice –which will invariably mean choosing vegan options.

We are calling on the Government to make this a legal requirement for restaurants across the country. Calorie counts have become mandatory on the menus of cafes and restaurants in England with more than 250 employees –carbon counts are also now essential given the urgency of the climate and wildlife extinction crises. Consumers need to know the part they’re playing in it and that requires the Government to take meaningful action.

Eating just one beef burger can generate as much as 3.05kg CO2e – that’s the equivalent of driving an average petrol car for over 10 miles. A vegan alternative is more than 10 times more at just 0.3kg CO2e.

What we choose to eat makes a huge difference to the planet. Carbon emissions, land use, water use and wildlife loss are all dramatically reduced by choosing vegan options comparted to meat and dairy choices. The chart shows just how great the difference is.

The campaign has started to make headlines in regional, national and international media, Forbes India, Yahoo news, Bristol Post, MalayMail amongst them.