This group has an idea to help save the planet: Everyone should go vegan

One group says there's a straightforward way to make big progress in the fight against climate change: Everyone, everywhere should just stop eating meat. And all animal products.

The "Plant-Based Treaty," first proposed in 2021, is a self-described "global movement that seeks to restructure the entire planet's food production systems away from animal agriculture."

The group released its "Safe and Just" report at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai earlier this month. The report featured some of the best practices being rolled out by climate leaders such as New York City, where Mayor Eric Adams has made vegan the default in hospital menus and introduced "Meat Free Mondays" and "Plant-Powered Fridays" in schools.

So far, the Plant-Based Treaty has been signed by several cities — including Los Angeles — and tens of thousands of people. The movement says the world could combat human-caused climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that food production currently creates.

Critics say the idea is impractical. A climate expert says the longshot idea isn't enough to reverse climate change. But those behind the treaty say it's worth a shot.

Why do organizers say eating animal products is bad for the planet?

Anita Kranjc, global campaign coordinator for the Plant-Based Treaty, told USA TODAY that food systems contribute to a third of global emissions of the greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane) that cause climate change, with animal-based foods generating at least double the emissions of plant-based foods.

Kranjc says the treaty's use of "plant based" is synonymous with vegan: "Plant-based diets exclude animal-based products and are based on a diet of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and whole grains," she said.

Despite providing just 37% of global protein and 18% of calories, animal products are responsible for 83% of agricultural land use and 71% of global deforestation, she said.

Peter Kalmus, a data scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and associate project scientist at UCLA, is a proponent of the treaty: “Earth breakdown requires urgent action, and the animal agriculture and fossil fuel industries are the two biggest causes.

"Rapidly reducing animal agriculture and shifting humanity to a plant-based diet is one of the best, easiest and fastest things we can do to save the planet," Kalmus said. "It will also buffer food security in a time of increasing crop failures due to global heating. The world needs a Plant-Based Treaty.”

Meat industry says plan is expensive, impractical

Not surprisingly, the U.S. meat industry was dismissive of the plan: “Food costs are soaring across the country, yet activists are pushing to make high-quality protein like beef unaffordable to those who face the risk of malnutrition the most," Ethan Lane, the vice president of government affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, told USA TODAY.

"Consumers have caught on to this scam, and the stock prices of plant-based companies are reflecting that," he said. "The proponents of these ultra-processed fake meat products can make all the pacts they want, but it’s clear that the public knows this is the wrong approach.”

Core principles of the treaty

Proponents of the plan call for a negotiation of a global Plant-Based Treaty, which includes three core principles:

• No land use change, including deforestation, for animal agriculture
• Promote plant-based foods and actively transition away from animal-based food systems to plant-based systems
• Restore key ecosystems and reforest the Earth

Has anyone signed the treaty?

"We are collecting endorsements from individuals, groups, businesses and cities to create bottom-up pressure for a global Plant Based Treaty," Kranjc said. "Since our September 2021 launch, we have had 120,556 individuals, 1,294 organizations, and 1,604 businesses endorse the treaty. 22 cities have endorsed, including Los Angeles, Boynton Beach in Florida, and the Scottish capital of Edinburgh."

What do others say?

One expert not affiliated with the treaty – meteorologist Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania – told USA TODAY that "it’s certainly helpful for people to make voluntary lifestyle changes that reduce their own carbon footprint, and this is one way to do it.

"But we really need larger incentives in the way of climate policy so that the damage caused by climate change is internalized in our economic system, and people have an economic incentive to make climate-friendly choices when it comes to energy, transportation, diet, and all of the activities that contribute to carbon pollution," he said.