At a student council meeting on (7/3/23), members voted to adopt the motion proposed by organisers of the Plant-Based Universities campaign [1].
The motion means that the Students’ Union will adopt 60% plant-based catering by the 2024-25 academic year, with a 10% increase each year thereafter until 100% is reached, subject to financial viability.
This would mean the Students’ Union catering would be 100% plant-based by the 2028-29 academic year.
This follows the UK-first vote for completely plant-based Students’ Union catering at The University of Stirling in November 2022 and last month’s vote at The University of Cambridge [2].
Weeks after it was announced that the University of Cambridge Student’s Union voted to initiate talks with the University about removing all animal products from its menus, the Plant-Based Universities campaign can announce that organisers at the Queen Mary University of London have achieved a similar outcome.
Keenal Shah, 20, from Plant-Based Universities Queen Mary University of London said:
“The definitive action taken by the student’s council shows that the younger generation is prepared to tackle the climate crisis head-on with proportionate and visionary changes. We are no longer relying on the broken promises of governments and companies, but are taking on the responsibility to create a better world.
We are looking forwards to working with our Student’s Union to implement these changes and provide incredible and affordable plant-based options for all students here at Queen Mary’s”
The motion cited a 2018 University of Oxford study that concluded 76% of global farmland would be freed-up for rewilding programmes to restore nature and absorb carbon from the atmosphere [3]. It also referenced the ability to work with groups such as Made In Hackney to introduce high-quality menus [4].
Furthermore, the motion noted a YouGov survey that shows 55% of students would want to see more plant-based options on campus [5]. It called on the Students’ Union to act in accordance with its own sustainability policies regarding environmentally-friendly food.
The Plant-Based Universities campaign is a nationwide initiative of students who are pushing for their universities and student unions to adopt 100% plant-based catering [6]. The group claims that universities have an obligation to follow the scientific research that they produce, detailing the environmental impacts of animal farming and fishing. The campaign is active in over 40 institutions, with the group encouraging interested students to sign up to run local campaigns.
The Plant-Based Universities campaign is supported by the well-known animal and climate justice group Animal Rising.
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Notes To Editors:
[1] The results of the vote can be confirmed by contacting Brad Coales, Queen Mary University of London Students’ Union Secretary and Governance Advisor on 020 7882 8143 or brad.coales@qmul.ac.uk