Vegan Donut report tabled at COP 28, advancing conversations towards a plant-based future.
"Safe & Just: The Vegan Donut Economics Approach to Food Systems," a flagship report presented by the Plant Based Treaty at COP28, calls for an urgent revolutionary transformation of our global food system. Inspired by Kate Raworth's Donut Model and the Planetary Boundary framework, the report emphasises the need for integrated systems thinking to address the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequity.
Key Insights from the Report:
Urgent Need for Transformation: The global food system, a significant environmental stressor, must evolve into a carbon sink and an agent of biospheric resilience.
The Plant Based Treaty: The report proposes the Plant Based Treaty as a crucial guide to achieving a safe and just future, outlining 40 detailed proposals to halt animal agriculture expansion, promote plant-based diets, and restore ecosystems.
Climate and Ecological Risks: The report highlights the risks of surpassing critical climate thresholds and the urgent need for action to mitigate these dangers. Shifting to plant-based diets is identified as a key solution for ecological safety, social equity, and climate change mitigation.
Food-Related Emissions: The report underscores the rapidly depleting carbon budget and the necessity of addressing food-related emissions through public education and policy shifts, promoting plant-based diets, and reducing antibiotics in animal farming.
Subsidy Reorientation: Advocating for reorienting subsidies away from animal agriculture and fossil fuels and towards plant-based systems is crucial to restoring ecological balance.
Global Food System Challenges: Animal agriculture, which is responsible for 58% of global food emissions while providing only 18% of calories and 37% of protein, is identified as a significant environmental stressor.
Climate Urgency: Global warming has already reached 1.2°C, with the 1.5°C carbon budget depleting rapidly, underlining the need for immediate action.
Asia's Challenges and Opportunities: Asia, with its dense population and rapid economic growth, faces significant challenges in balancing food security and environmental sustainability. Transitioning to plant-based diets is deemed crucial, with India as a major agricultural hub capable of significantly contributing in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and resource pressure.
Aprajita Ashish, Regional Liaison of Animal Save Movement, Country Director of Animal Climate & Health Save India, and Coordinator of Plant Based Treaty, remarked on the report presented at COP 28, “The Safe & Just Report calls for policymakers, businesses, and individuals to embrace a plant-based food strategy. It underscores the interconnectedness of food systems with broader environmental and social issues and advocates for urgent, comprehensive reforms to ensure a sustainable and equitable future.”
Aprajita presented the Vegan Donut Economics Model and Plant Based Treaty at a panel at COP 28
