• By signing the Plant based treaty, Edinburgh has committed to a transition towards plant-based diets.
• It is the first European capital to do so, recognising how the sustainability of food systems can contribute to the fight against climate change.
• Conservatives and farming associations are calling for meat not to be eliminated entirely, but for sustainable production to be promoted instead.

Edinburgh is the first European capital to make an official commitment to promoting a transition towards plant-based diets in order to reduce emissions and combat climate change. Last January, the city council signed the Plant based treaty, launched during Cop26 in Glasgow. Before Edinburgh, the treaty had so far been endorsed in Europe only by Haywards Heath, a town of around 30,000 inhabitants in England.

What is the Plant based treaty

The Plant based treaty is based on three principles: no change in land use for livestock farming, an active transition from animal-based food systems to plant-based ones, and the restoration of key ecosystems. Among the concrete initiatives that can be adopted to implement these guidelines are, for example, the shift to plant-based meal plans in schools, hospitals, care homes for the elderly, prisons and government institutions, the introduction of a meat tax, and a ban on creating new livestock farms and on expanding existing ones. The treaty can be signed by individuals, organisations, businesses and city administrations, and so far 74,000 signatories have joined, including Nobel laureates, celebrities, NGOs and cities.

Edinburgh promotes plant-based diets to reduce the impact of meat consumption

"By approving the treaty we recognise that food systems are one of the main drivers of the climate emergency and that a shift to plant-based diets can contribute enormously to reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Steve Burgess, the Green councillor who brought the proposal to the council. "Plant-based diets are a win for everyone: they have a lower impact on the environment and on animal welfare, and they bring significant benefits for human health," he explained.

Before signing the treaty, Edinburgh city council produced an impact assessment which revealed that dietary habits account for almost a quarter (23 per cent) of Edinburgh's consumption ecological footprint, half of which (12 per cent) is linked to meat consumption. The next step will be an action plan to put the treaty into practice.

For those opposed to the treaty, meat is nutritious and can be sustainable

Conservative councillors opposed the signing of the treaty, arguing for the importance of the nutritional contribution of meat, while some of the city's farming associations accused the city council of turning its back on agricultural communities, emphasising that the way in which food is produced matters more than whether it is of animal or plant origin, and calling instead for the administration to support farmers engaged in producing sustainable food.