TED Climate Conference Applauded for Going Vegan
The popular media platform has led the way by serving plant-based food at their climate conference. Now, campaigners are calling for the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) to follow TED’s lead.
Credit: TED
The Countdown Summit, the first-ever in-person TED climate conference, has garnered approval from animal and climate action group, Species Unite, for serving a fully vegan menu during their highly anticipated event last week.
The summit brought together hundreds of leaders in Edinburgh, Scotland for four days of talks championing and accelerating solutions to the climate crisis. The event also saw leading thinkers from around the world connect with politicians, business leaders, policymakers, scientists, Indigenous leaders, artists, philanthropists, youth activists, and others - an initiative to inspire collaborations in making a net-zero future a reality.
“Animal agriculture’s devastating impact on the environment cannot be overlooked: intensive animal farming is responsible for an estimated 14.5%—16.5% of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions globally, on par with emissions levels of the entire transport sector,” said Elizabeth Novogratz, Executive Director of Species Unite. “Studies show that reducing meat and dairy production and consumption is one of the most effective actions we can take to avoid catastrophic climate change.”
“We applaud TED for listening to the science by serving plant-based, climate-friendly food at their climate conference. This sends a clear message to the world that they are serious about tackling animal agriculture’s catastrophic impact on our planet,” says Novogratz.
The Countdown Summit comes just weeks ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, which will bring together 120 heads of state as well as representatives from over 200 countries, members of the international business community, NGOs, and religious leaders. COP26 is considered a critical summit for global climate action where leaders are set to negotiate a “comprehensive, ambitious and balanced outcome that takes forward coordinated climate action” in order to limit global warming by 1.5 degrees.
Despite being one of the largest contributors to climate change, animal agriculture is not on the COP26 agenda as a priority in climate change mitigation discussions. This has caused widespread outrage, with some of the biggest celebrities including Moby, Joaquin Phoenix, and Billie Eilish signing an open letter urging the organizers of COP26 to “formally and publicly recognize the role of animal agriculture as one of the largest contributors to climate change”.
COP26 has also been criticized for its decision to serve meat to the roughly 25,000 people who will attend the summit. Species Unite is calling for the organizers to follow in TED’s footsteps by making the menu fully plant-based, setting an example for the rest of the world.
“If our world leaders are unwilling to make simple changes to their eating habits to protect our planet then what hope do we have of motivating everyday citizens to lower their carbon footprints?” says Novogratz. “Eating meat is not only cruel to animals and unhealthy for humans, but it is also the primary cause of much of the environmental degradation that is leading to mass displacement of vulnerable communities, food scarcity in many parts of the world, critical habitat destruction, water pollution, and widespread animal extinctions.”
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