The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a resolution on October 18th in support of the Plant Based Treaty, pending Mayor Eric Garcetti’s approval, Los Angeles would be the largest US city to do so.
The Treaty, which was unveiled on September 6 by Councilmembers Paul Koretz and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, calls on governments to restore the world’s ecological systems by halting deforestation, stopping the growth of animal agriculture, and encouraging a shift to a healthy, sustainable plant-based diet.
“LA is historically known to lead the nation in environmental trends… What happens in LA spreads to the rest of the world,” said Jane Velez-Mitchell, journalist and UnChainedTV founder.
The endorsement from LA comes just in time for the Buenos Aires, Argentina, C40 World Mayors Climate Summit, which runs from October 19–21. Los Angeles, after Buenos Aires in August 2022, is now the second C40 city to support the Treaty, according to the organizers.
Government pressure
The Plant Based Treaty, which was co-founded by activist Anita Krajnc and is modeled after the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, aims to compel national governments to negotiate a new environmental treaty that would complement the Paris Agreement.
The worldwide agreement intends to, among other things, stop the spread of deforestation linked to animal agriculture, promote a plant-based food system, and support public awareness campaigns on the advantages of plant-based diets.
A senior IPCC scientist supported the “Appetite for a Plant Based Treaty” climate position paper in June, pushing delegates at the UN Climate Change Conference to start discussions for a plant-based initiative.
Endorsing the Plant Based Treaty
The Treaty has so far gathered support from 19 cities, 59,000 individual endorsers, IPCC scientists, over 1800 NGOs, community groups, and companies, while Haywards Heath in the UK was the first city in Europe to do so in August.
“This landmark resolution marks a vital cultural shift as Americans prioritize both combating climate change and improving their health… As over 2,200 municipalities did with climate emergency declarations, I invite other cities to join us and endorse the Plant Based Treaty,” said LA Councilmember Paul Koretz.
Source: “Los Angeles City Council Votes Unanimously to Endorse Global Plant-Based Treaty” by vegconomist
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