LOS ANGELES (Oct. 20, 2022) - In Defense of Animals, PawPAC, and the Animal Alliance Network happily welcome a unanimous vote by the Los Angeles City Council to adopt a resolution in support of the Plant Based Treaty initiative, a historic measure that will save the lives of millions of farmed animals, encourage plant-based lifestyles, and help mitigate the climate crisis. The city is recommending the “United States to enter into a Plant Based Treaty and make a plant-based approach to food and food purchasing a centerpiece of its greenhouse gas emissions policy.”

Pending the concurrence of Mayor Eric Garcetti, the City of Los Angeles would be able to be listed along with 19 other cities which have endorsed the Treaty, such as Boynton Beach, Fla., and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Los Angeles’ resolution supports the Plant Based Treaty initiative, which is a companion to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)/Paris Agreement targeting food systems to combat 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 the damage done to planetary functions, ecosystem services, and biodiversity. 

“It was so exciting to provide public comment during this historic council meeting and to hear the official vote in favor of this landmark resolution,” said Lisa Levinson, Campaigns Director for In Defense of Animals. “Los Angeles has the power to help heal our community and our planet as we stand at the precipice of a climate catastrophe.”

“Last year, over 8,000 In Defense of Animals supporters urged their local officials to consider endorsing the Plant Based Treaty in their respective regions, and the Los Angeles City Council listened, adopting a resolution in support of this global initiative. This is a historic moment for animals and the environment, and sets a precedent for other cities to follow suit,” said Erin Dobrzyn, Farmed Animals Campaigner for In Defense of Animals.

“We are grateful to Councilmembers Paul Koretz and Marqueece Harris-Dawson for their vision on plant-based climate solutions and for their leadership in a transition away from animal-dependent food systems, which must now be prioritized from the local to the global level, if we are to truly tackle this climate crisis,” said René Rowland, Chair of PawPAC, a California pioneer organization in animal protection. “We also thank Councilmember Nithya Raman for helping to raise the Council’s awareness to these issues when she, along with Councilmember Koretz, personally endorsed the Plant Based Treaty.”

“We are elated by the decision of the Los Angeles City Council to pass the Plant Based Treaty Resolution for the sake of the people who live in Los Angeles and around the world. We want to extend a huge thank you to Councilmember Paul Koretz and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson for introducing the resolution. We also greatly appreciate the support from Councilmember Nithya Raman who endorsed the Plant Based Treaty in January,” said Ellen Dent, Executive Director, Animal Alliance Network and Plant Based Treaty City Campaigner. “The passing of this resolution will undoubtedly bring the necessity of plant-based systems change to the forefront of Climate Change prevention policy where it needs to be. We are honored to have worked on this historical measure with the assistance and support of so many other like-minded people from several organizations, including UnchainedTV, PawPac, Animal Save Movement, LA Animal Save, LA Fish Save, Youth Climate Save, In Defense of Animals, and the Humane League.”

Access the full text of the Plant Based Treaty.

The Plant Based Treaty includes a legally binding commitment to the three Rs: 

Relinquish: Stop the Problem From Increasing

Prevent land use change, including deforestation, for animal agriculture, through:

• No building of new animal farms or slaughterhouses.
• No expansion or intensification of existing farms.
• No conversion of plant-based agriculture to animal agriculture.
• No clearing of forests or other ecosystems for animal grazing, animal rearing, or animal farming of any kind.
• Banning all live exports.

Redirect: Eliminate the Driving Forces Behind the Problem

Promote plant-based foods and actively transition away from animal-based food systems to plant-based systems by:

• Declaring a climate emergency.
• Making food security a priority for all nations.
• Prioritizing a switch to plant-based foods in Climate Action Plans.
• Updating government food and dietary guidelines to promote wholefood, plant-based food.
• Mandating honest labeling of food products, including cancer warning labels on all processed meats which have been declared carcinogenic by the World Health Organization.

Restore: Actively Healing the Problem While Building Resilience and Mitigating Climate Change

Restore key ecosystems and reforest the Earth through:

• Reforestation projects and restoring key degraded ecosystems.
• Establishing no-fishing zones and replanting critical carbon absorbers in oceans.
• Focusing a shift towards nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

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Contacts: 

Animal Alliance Network - Ellen Dent, ellen@plantbasedtreaty.org, (626) 722-8390
In Defense of Animals - Fleur Dawes, media@idausa.org, ‪(415) 879-6879
PawPAC - René Rowland, rene@pawpac.org, (626) 999-2287

Animal Alliance Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts pig vigils outside of Farmer John, a slaughterhouse and meat packing facility in Vernon, CA. We show participants at our vigils the victims of animal agriculture first-hand while trying to offer as much compassion as possible to these individuals as they arrive on the transport trucks heading into the slaughterhouse. Our mission is to educate, take action, do outreach, and spread awareness of the daily abuse other animals endure due to human practices. We align ourselves with any and every organization that wants to make the world a better place for all beings.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization based in Marin County, California, with over 250,000 supporters and a 39-year history of fighting for animals, people, and the environment through education and campaigns, as well as its hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, and rural Mississippi. www.idausa.org/farmed-animal

PawPAC, a California statewide volunteer committee, works for the benefit of all nonhumans to help keep transparency in the California Legislature through humane scorecards, which, with other tools, inform endorsements in election years. PawPAC's ultimate goal is to promote the election of legislators who are committed to animal protection.

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