As the end of the COP28 climate summit approaches, alt meat brand Meatless Farm is calling on the UK government to “Make COP Matter” with a new campaign.
The company is asking the government to “support farmers, shift subsidies, and ‘Meat Less'”. For the latter, Meatless Farm has drafted a plan outlining regulatory and financial measures that could scale down the production and consumption of meat, while also increasing the availability and consumption of plant-based foods. These include tax breaks and grants for farmers who produce plant-based foods, more R&D into alt proteins, and new food sustainability laws.
“Eating fewer animal products is vital in the fight against climate change”
The campaign has been partially inspired by UN climate chief Simon Stiell, who says that “Good intentions won’t halve emissions this decade or save lives right now”. To drive this point home and attract the attention of politicians, Meatless Farm has pulled up outside the Houses of Parliament in a digital campaign van with the slogan ‘No More Hot Air’.
The design features a cow burping out hot air clouds, highlighting how little change has happened as a result of previous COP summits. It is also a nod to the environmental impact of methane, which is mostly produced by cows and is the second-biggest greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. The government has pledged to decrease methane emissions by 30% by 2030, but is not on course to meet this target.
“Things haven’t got any better”
Last year, COP27 featured pavilions relating to food system change for the first time ever, and COP28 marks the first time that the majority of the food served to delegates will be meat-free following campaigning by youth activists. This year’s summit also features a dedicated Food, Agriculture, and Water Day, and the COP28 Presidency will call on governments to sign a Leaders’ Declaration on Food Systems, Agriculture and Climate Action to ensure they commit to food system change.
However, despite an increase in plant-based initiatives, there may be challenges in making progress towards a more sustainable food system; major meat companies and lobbyists are also present at the summit, with the aim of pushing a pro-meat message to policymakers.
“For far too long, food has not been a COP focus,” said Alison Reilly, Head of Marketing at Meatless Farm. “Finally, as of this year, it’s on the agenda. Eating fewer animal products is vital in the fight against climate change, and the easiest way to do this is to switch to a more plant-based diet.”
She added, “There have been 27 previous COP summits, that’s how long world leaders have been getting together to talk about climate change, and things haven’t got any better, in fact they’ve got a lot worse. Last year was the hottest year on record, and every year to come will be hotter still. We need to reduce the temperature in order to prevent devastating climate change in the decades ahead. We need actions rather than hot air to come out of COP28.”
