Berkeley Becomes First US City to Commit to Vegan Meals

This week, the Metropolis Council of Berkeley handed a decision to slash the quantity of animal merchandise town purchases by 50 p.c by 2024, with progress on the objective to be reported to the Council by the Metropolis Supervisor by January 31, 2022. Additional, the decision adopts a long-term objective of phasing out all purchases of animal merchandise and changing them with plant-based meals. The feasibility and timeline of the later objective will likely be reported by the Metropolis Supervisor to Council by June 30, 2022. The decision will end in extra plant-forward meals at city-supplied locations akin to summer time camps, senior facilities, and the Berkeley Metropolis Jail. 

“Berkeley has been a frontrunner in addressing local weather change, passing and implementing quite a few measures that cut back our greenhouse fuel (GHG) emissions and enhance the environmental high quality of our neighborhood, area, and world. One critically essential sector that accounts for about 25% of worldwide GHG emissions and vital emissions right here in Berkeley is our meals,” the decision states. “It’s clear that the world can not meet international GHG discount targets with out considerably curbing consumption of animal merchandise. Excessive-meat-eating nations like the USA, which consumes 2.6 occasions extra meat than the worldwide per capita common, should assist shoulder this accountability.”

The decision was authored by Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín and Councilmember Sophie Hahn, and was the results of advocacy by a coalition of animal-rights teams, together with Direct Motion In all places (DxE), Extinction Revolt Oakland, The Animal Save Motion, East Bay Animal PAC, Individuals for the Moral Therapy of Animals, and The Suitcase Clinic. 

“This can be a crucial step for town to take as a part of our broader local weather efforts, in addition to constructing on our lengthy custom selling the humane therapy of animals right here within the metropolis of Berkeley,” Mayor Arreguín stated.

Berkeley: a metropolis with a historical past of vegan initiatives

In 2018, Berkeley counted one other first when it grew to become the primary metropolis to undertake “Vegan Monday,” a step past the favored Meatless Monday initiative the place residents are inspired to take away all animal merchandise from their plates each Monday. The “Inexperienced Monday” decision—launched by Metropolis Council members Kate Harrison, Cheryl Davila, and Hahn—is an effort to additional tackle town’s plan to fight local weather change and to develop into carbon impartial by 2030. To set an instance, the Metropolis Council itself now solely serves vegan meals at its conferences. 

The town can also be an early pioneer in implementing recycling applications, divesting from fossil fuels, and different environmentally pleasant initiatives. On the subject of resolutions that profit animals extra immediately, Berkeley has been taking motion, as properly. Previous to California changing into the primary state to move a ban on fur gross sales in 2019, Berkeley grew to become the second metropolis—following West Hollywood’s 2013 ban—to ban fur gross sales inside metropolis limits in 2017. 

The intention of getting this new decision on the books in Berkeley is each for the aim of building a path to combating the local weather disaster by divesting from animal agriculture and likewise to set a precedent for different cities to make comparable modifications. The animal-rights activists who fought to get this decision handed in Berkeley at the moment are increasing their efforts to encourage San Francisco (which already handed a partial decision to divest from animal agriculture final yr), Chicago, and different cities to make comparable commitments. 

“The general public is rising up and taking motion in opposition to the destructiveness of animal agriculture,” Almira Tanner, Berkeley resident and DxE Lead Organizer, stated. “We’re hopeful this historic step can spur a wave of laws to guard all life on Earth whereas we nonetheless have time.”