Plant-Based Universities is an international student-led campaign calling for universities and student unions to adopt fully plant-based catering. [1] [2] The campaign began in late 2021 [3] by Animal Rising with the goal of 100% plant-based catering in universities in response to the climate crisis. [4] Its chapters have initiated votes in students' unions and, as of November 2024, had been successful in one Austrian and twelve British universities, with around 80 active campaigns across eight countries.
As of November 2024, the campaign had been successful in the following universities:
The University of Warwick is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of a government initiative to expand higher education. The Warwick Business School was established in 1967, the Warwick Law School in 1968, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) in 1980, and Warwick Medical School in 2000. Warwick incorporated Coventry College of Education in 1979 and Horticulture Research International in 2004.
The University of Stirling is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthrey Castle estate.
The Labour Party Conference is the annual conference of the British Labour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during the party conference season when the House of Commons is in recess, after each year's second Liberal Democrat Conference and before the Conservative Party Conference. The Labour Party Conference opens on a Sunday and finishes the following Wednesday, with an address by the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party; the Leader's address is usually on the Tuesday. In contrast to the Liberal Democrat Conference, where every party member attending its Conference, either in-person or online, has the right to vote on party policy, under a one member, one vote system, or the Conservative Party Conference, which does not hold votes on party policy, at the Labour Party Conference, 50% of votes are allocated to affiliated organisations, and the other 50% to Constituency Labour Parties, but all voting in both categories is restricted to nominated representatives. Conference decisions are not binding on the party leadership, even if carried unanimously.
George Joshua Richard Monbiot is a British journalist, author, and environmental and political activist. He writes a regular column for The Guardian and has written several books.
The European Vegetarian Union (EVU) is a non-profit, non-governmental umbrella organisation for vegan and vegetarian societies and groups in Europe. The union works in the areas of vegetarianism, nutrition, health, consumer protection, climate and environment, and food labelling.
Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as baked goods, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Originally a high street chain, it has since entered the convenience and drive-through markets.
Janet Anne Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon,, is a British Labour Co-operative Party politician. A former secretary and adviser to Neil Kinnock, Royall was appointed to the House of Lords in 2004 after having stood unsuccessfully to be MEP for The Cotswolds, and to be MP for Ipswich and Ogmore. She also stood to be a member of Gloucestershire County Council.
Lauren Wildbolz, is a Swiss vegan culinary expert, cook, entrepreneur and author of vegan cookbooks. The main topics of her work include veganism, organic and environmentally friendly food as well as animal welfare and the future of nutrition.
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan is a British politician who previously served as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology from July 2023 to July 2024, having previously served in the position from February to April 2023 before being temporarily replaced during her maternity leave.
Sentience Politics is a Swiss anti-speciesist political organization with the goal of reducing the suffering of non-human animals. Founded in 2013, their activities include political campaigns, such as ballot initiatives for sustainable food, fundamental rights for primates or a ban on factory farming.
Veganuary is an annual challenge run by a UK nonprofit organisation that promotes and educates about the vegan lifestyle by encouraging people to follow a vegan diet for the month of January. Since the event began in 2014, participation has increased each year. 400,000 people signed up to the 2020 campaign. The campaign estimated this represented the carbon dioxide equivalent of 450,000 flights and the lives of more than a million animals. Veganuary can also refer to the event itself.
Global Energy Monitor (GEM) is a San Francisco–based non-governmental organization which catalogs fossil fuel and renewable energy projects worldwide. GEM shares information in support of clean energy and its data and reports on energy trends are widely cited by governments, media, and academic researchers.
Julian Roger Hallam is an environmental activist who co-founded Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain, the cooperative federation organisation Radical Routes, and the political party Burning Pink. In April 2024, Hallam was given a suspended two-year sentence for attempting to block Heathrow Airport with drones. In July 2024, Hallam was convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for organising protests to block the M25 motorway two years prior, for which he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
Animal Rising is a British animal activist movement with the stated aim of compelling social change towards animal rights and a plant-based food system. They justify their actions with the impact of animal agriculture on climate change, species extinction and ecosystem breakdown.
A vegan school meal or vegan school lunch or vegan school dinner or vegan hot lunch is a vegan option provided as a school meal. A small number of schools around the world serve vegan food or are vegan schools, serving exclusively vegan food.
ProVeg International is a non-governmental organisation that works in the field of food system change and has ten offices globally. The organisation's stated mission is to reduce the consumption of animal products by 50% by 2040, to be replaced by plant-based or cultured alternatives. Instead of increasing the share of vegetarians and vegans, ProVeg's focus is on reducing animal product consumption in the general population.
The McPlant is a vegetarian burger sold by the fast-food chain McDonald's in several European countries. In 2021, McDonald's partnered with Beyond Meat, a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes, to create the McPlant platform. It features a plant-based meat alternative burger patty made from plant ingredients such as potatoes, peas and rice.
Arif Mohuiddin Ahmed is an English philosopher who is the Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom of the Office for Students, following his appointment in June 2023. Prior to this, Ahmed was a philosopher at the University of Cambridge, where he became a fellow of Gonville and Caius College in 2015, university reader in philosophy in 2016, and Nicholas Sallnow-Smith College Lecturer in 2019. His research interests include decision theory and the philosophy of religion, from an atheist and libertarian point of view. Ahmed studied mathematics at St Anne's College, University of Oxford and philosophy at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge.
The 2024 London mayoral election was held on 2 May 2024 to elect the next mayor of London. It took place simultaneously with elections to the London Assembly, some local council by-elections in London and regular local elections elsewhere in England and Wales. Following the Elections Act 2022, voting in this election took place under the first-past-the-post system for the first time, replacing the supplementary vote system. The result of the election was announced on 4 May 2024.