Following the Nov. 9 release of a”¯Plant Based Treaty”¯position paper, “Critical for Survival”¯But It”™s Treated Like Dirt: How a Soil Treaty Can Save the World,” climate campaigners held a press conference to call for a rapid transition to plant-based diets and the negotiation of such a treaty at COP27 ”“ the United Nations Climate Change Conference ”“ in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.”¯
A grassroots coalition of 60,000 individuals, 2,000 groups and businesses and 20 cities is calling for the implementation of the treaty”™s three core principles ”“ to relinquish”¯the expansion of animal agriculture; to promote a shift to healthy, sustainable, plant-based diets through public education and”¯redirected”¯subsidies and taxation; and to reforest and rewild the earth and”¯restore”¯carbon sinks to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. The treaty urges governments to support food justice, help farmers in a transition”¯to plant-based agroecological agriculture and rewild the earth so we can live safely and ethically within our planetary boundaries.”¯
The proposition of a Soil Treaty was inspired by George Monbiot”™s book”¯“Regenesis:”¯Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet.” “One indication of how badly we have neglected the ecosystem that underpins our lives is that, while there are international treaties on telecommunication, civil aviation, investment guarantees, intellectual property, psychotropic substances and doping in sports,”¯there is no global treaty on soil,” he said. “The implicit belief that this complex and scarcely understood system can withstand all we throw at it and continue to support us could be the most dangerous of our assumptions about the global food system.”
Land degradation is a significant threat to our future survival. According to Plant Based Treaty, 52% of the world”™s soils are already degraded, which is a serious risk to food security. Based on current trajectories, 90% of the world”™s soil will be degraded by 2050 if action is not taken. Monbiot notes that “instead of developing new policies to protect our soils, our governments are accelerating their destruction.”
The “Critical for Survival”¦” position paper points to studies that consistently demonstrate that grazing farmed animals are detrimental to wider ecosystems, even when such grazing is carried out using so-called “regenerative” approaches. A review article found that the abundance and diversity of almost all animal groups increased once grazing animals were removed.”¯
“Land has been widely stripped to graze animals destined for human consumption or intensively farm large-scale monocultures to grow animal feed crops such as soy and corn,” said”¯Nilgun Engin, Plant Based Treaty campaigner.”¯“If we switched to plant-based diets, we could reduce our land use by 76% and restore our soil and biodiversity.”
Engin calls for a shift to vegan farming, adding mulch such as compost, utilizing permaculture and agroecological, nature-based principles, preventing topsoil erosion and using perennial crops and creating food forests ”“ all to improve and protect soils while providing locally-grown, nutritious, resilient food that doctors have long said is healthier.
Added Monbiot: “I”™m backing the Plant Based Treaty, which urges leaders to recognize animal agriculture as a leading cause of climate change and promotes a shift towards sustainable vegan meals. If COP27 organizers are serious about preventing an imminent climate catastrophe, they must address the elephant in the room: So long as we raise and kill animals for food, we”™re putting our future at risk.”
But given the ingrained love affair with meat, traditional farming and ranching, particularly in the United States where agriculture is a big, enmeshed business with a powerful lobby, can such a shift be possible?
