Oxford City Council in the UK has voted to serve only vegan food at internal council events, following a motion proposed by Labour councillor Paula Dunne.
Councillors unanimously approved the motion, after lobbying from the Plant-Based Councils campaign. Oxfordshire County Council, the higher-tier local government authority for the area, previously committed to hosting fully vegan council meetings in December 2021.
At the time, Oxfordshire Council also agreed to increase the amount of plant-based food available at local schools. This prompted backlash from Powys County Council in Wales, with councillors seeking to prevent a similar motion being passed locally. Last year, Exeter City Council also committed to plant-based internal events.
“Not sustainable on a finite planet”
Meanwhile, three UK councils — Haywards Heath, Edinburgh, and most recently Norwich — have endorsed the global Plant-Based Treaty and are calling on the UK government to support it.
As part of this endorsement, the councils are working to improve the accessibility of plant-based foods locally, such as by ensuring that animal-free options are available at council-run events.
“In the UK we eat twice as much meat and dairy as the global average, which is not sustainable on a finite planet, as there is not enough land in the world to meet this demand,” said Paula Dunne at a recent Oxford City Council meeting. “The rate at which we are eating meat and dairy is the leading cause of modern species extinctions.”
