Plant Based Treaty

Plant Based Treaty is a grassroots campaign aiming to put food systems at the forefront of combating the climate crisis

On July 15, 2021, the city of Toronto endorsed the Fossil Fuel Treaty.

City Councillor Shelley Carroll, Ward 17 - Don Valley North, added: “By endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Toronto is joining a network of cities globally in advancing our climate goals. We have seen lately that the effect of climate change is no longer in the distant future and more must be done for mitigation. This endorsement reiterates our commitment to an equitable and green post-pandemic recovery.”

“As the first city in the world to adopt targets to reduce citywide fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions, Toronto should endorse the Plant-Based Treaty, which is directed towards the other big part of the problem, emissions from animal agriculture (accounting for at least 20% of total anthropogenic greenhouse emissions).” - Professor Danny Harvey, Department of Geography, University of Toronto & IPCC Lead author.

We agree on a green post-pandemic recovery and believe Toronto needs to take the lead once again and promote a green food system and endorse the Plant Based Treaty.

Toronto is already taking significant action to combat climate change. The city declared a climate emergency in 2019, set a target to be net zero carbon by 2030 and earlier this year, completely divested out of fossil fuel companies.

As a C40 city, Toronto has signed up to the Good Food Cities Accellerator and has agreed to align its food procurement to the Planetary Health Diet, ideally sourced from organic agriculture. It is supporting an overall increase of healthy plant-based food consumption by shifting away from unsustainable, unhealthy diets.

Toronto is “one of the most vegan friendly places on the planet”, according to Happy Cow, an online rating company of vegan and vegetarian restaurants and health conscious food stores.

The UN 2021 Global Methane Assessment shows that we face a methane emergency with 32% of the world’s emissions from agriculture, mainly meat and dairy and 45% cuts to methane are required by 2030 to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C. CBC reports, “But when it comes to agriculture, there are no regulations, or even federal targets, in place. This is in spite of the fact that the industry is responsible for 24 per cent of Canada’s total methane emissions.”

Toronto’s “TransformTO Net Zero Strategy: A climate action pathway to 2030 and beyond” (November 2021) has the following 2030 target by sector for food on page 29: “Greenhouse gas emissions from food the City of Toronto procures are reduced by 25 percent”. We call on the goal to be strengthened to net zero to reflect the urgency in the IPCC reports, climate and methane emergency.

Baselining for a Circular Toronto (p. 27) states, “The carbon emissions associated with food consumption per person have an estimated footprint of 0.78 global hectares (out of a total carbon footprint of 2.8 gha per Toronto resident), with the highest scoring subcategories being meat and animal products.” It further states (p. 34): “The main footprint from food in Toronto comes from dairy, meat and fish and if action isn't taken on the food sector emissions will rise by 35% by 2050… The next steps in food policy development will be crucial to spur consumers' engagement and increase this momentum.”

Members of Parliament Julie Dzerowicz (Liberal MP for Davenport) and Elizabeth May (Green Party MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands) and Councillor Jaye Robinson (Don Valley West) have signed the Plant Based Treaty.

It is time for Toronto to take positive climate action and endorse the Plant Based Treaty. We encourage Toronto to continue to be a leader in climate action by fully developing an ambitious plant-based food strategy for the city so we can achieve net zero by 2030.

The Plant Based Treaty puts food systems at the heart of combating the climate crisis. The Treaty aims to halt the widespread degradation of critical ecosystems caused by animal agriculture, to promote a shift to more healthy, sustainable plant-based diets and to actively reverse damage done to planetary functions, ecosystem services and biodiversity.

The Plant Based Treaty has three main demands:

Demand 1   |  Relinquish:  Stop the problem increasing

No land use change, including deforestation, for animal agriculture

Demand 2   |  Redirect:  Eliminate the driving forces behind the problem

Promotion of plant-based foods and actively transition away from animal-based food systems to plant-based systems

Demand 3   |  Restore:  Actively healing the problem while building resilience and mitigating climate change

Restore key ecosystems and reforest the earth

18 cities worldwide have endorsed the Plant Based Treaty.

> Ask your city representatives to endorse the Plant Based Treaty by joining our City Action campaign.

> Go to our special Toronto campaign page to email Toronto councilors and download resources

> Follow, like, comment, and share our content on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok

> Check out our Position Paper “Appetite for a Plant Based Treaty? The IPCC repeatedly demonstrates that a vegan diet is the optimal diet to drastically reduce food related emissions” and share widely

On July 15, 2021, the city of Toronto endorsed the Fossil Fuel Treaty. City Councillor Shelley Carroll, Ward 17 - Don Valley North, added: “By endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Toronto is joining a network of cities globally in advancing our climate goals. We have seen lately that the effect of climate change is no longer in the distant future and more must be done for mitigation. This endorsement reiterates our commitment to an equitable and green post-pandemic recovery.” “As the first city in the world to adopt targets to reduce citywide fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions, Toronto should endorse the Plant-Based Treaty, which is directed towards the other big part of the problem, emissions from animal agriculture (accounting for at least 20% of total anthropogenic greenhouse emissions).” - Professor Danny Harvey, Department of Geography, University of Toronto & IPCC Lead author. We agree on a green post-pandemic recovery and believe Toronto needs to take the lead once again and promote a green food system and endorse the Plant Based Treaty. Toronto is already taking significant action to combat climate change. The city declared a climate emergency in 2019, set a target to be net zero carbon by 2030 and earlier this year, completely divested out of fossil fuel companies. As a C40 city, Toronto has signed up to the Good Food Cities Accellerator and has agreed to align its food procurement to the Planetary Health Diet, ideally sourced from organic agriculture. It is supporting an overall increase of healthy plant-based food consumption by shifting away from unsustainable, unhealthy diets. Toronto is “one of the most vegan friendly places on the planet”, according to Happy Cow, an online rating company of vegan and vegetarian restaurants and health conscious food stores. The UN 2021 Global Methane Assessment shows that we face a methane emergency with 32% of the world’s emissions from agriculture, mainly meat and dairy and 45% cuts to methane are required by 2030 to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C. CBC reports, “But when it comes to agriculture, there are no regulations, or even federal targets, in place. This is in spite of the fact that the industry is responsible for 24 per cent of Canada’s total methane emissions.” Toronto’s “TransformTO Net Zero Strategy: A climate action pathway to 2030 and beyond” (November 2021) has the following 2030 target by sector for food on page 29: “Greenhouse gas emissions from food the City of Toronto procures are reduced by 25 percent”. We call on the goal to be strengthened to net zero to reflect the urgency in the IPCC reports, climate and methane emergency. Baselining for a Circular Toronto (p. 27) states, “The carbon emissions associated with food consumption per person have an estimated footprint of 0.78 global hectares (out of a total carbon footprint of 2.8 gha per Toronto resident), with the highest scoring subcategories being meat and animal products.” It further states (p. 34): “The main footprint from food in Toronto comes from dairy, meat and fish and if action isn't taken on the food sector emissions will rise by 35% by 2050… The next steps in food policy development will be crucial to spur consumers' engagement and increase this momentum.” Members of Parliament Julie Dzerowicz (Liberal MP for Davenport) and Elizabeth May (Green Party MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands) and Councillor Jaye Robinson (Don Valley West) have signed the Plant Based Treaty. It is time for Toronto to take positive climate action and endorse the Plant Based Treaty. We encourage Toronto to continue to be a leader in climate action by fully developing an ambitious plant-based food strategy for the city so we can achieve net zero by 2030. What is the Plant Based Treaty? The Plant Based Treaty puts food systems at the heart of combating the climate crisis. The Treaty aims to halt the widespread degradation of critical ecosystems caused by animal agriculture, to promote a shift to more healthy, sustainable plant-based diets and to actively reverse damage done to planetary functions, ecosystem services and biodiversity. The Plant Based Treaty has three main demands: Demand 1   |  Relinquish:  Stop the problem increasing No land use change, including deforestation, for animal agriculture Demand 2   |  Redirect:  Eliminate the driving forces behind the problem Promotion of plant-based foods and actively transition away from animal-based food systems to plant-based systems Demand 3   |  Restore:  Actively healing the problem while building resilience and mitigating climate change Restore key ecosystems and reforest the earth 18 cities worldwide have endorsed the Plant Based Treaty. What else can you can do: Help us implement a Plant Based Treaty! > Ask your city representatives to endorse the Plant Based Treaty by joining our City Action campaign. > Go to our special Toronto campaign page to email Toronto councilors and download resources > Follow, like, comment, and share our content on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok > Check out our Position Paper “Appetite for a Plant Based Treaty? The IPCC repeatedly demonstrates that a vegan diet is the optimal diet to drastically reduce food related emissions” and share widely 