Are universities, our hallowed institutes of higher education and progressive thinking, failing students by ignoring scientific consensus on the impact of animal agriculture on the environment? Vaania Kapoor Achuthan, a student at University College London, discusses the aims of a bold new plant-based universities campaign.

Groups of students at over twenty UK universities are calling for a transition to 100 per cent plant-based on-campus catering in a campaign against University complicity in the climate crisis. This campaign is supported by the climate and animal justice movement Animal Rebellion which has previously taken direct action demanding a transition to a just and sustainable plant-based food system, most notably against McDonald's by shutting down all four of their UK distribution centres in 2021.

We already know that meat, fish, eggs, and dairy use around 83 per cent of global farmland, yet only provide 37 per cent of our protein and 18 per cent of our calories. Better use of this land could remove 8.1 billion metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. Joseph Poore, a researcher at the University of Oxford states that “a vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gasses, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. Avoiding consumption of animal products delivers far better environmental benefits than trying to purchase sustainable meat and dairy.” It is facts like these, provided by the faculty of universities including those mentioned, that means switching to just and sustainable plant-based catering is a necessary step for universities to take.

In December 2021, The Guardian reported that the majority of universities are failing to even meet their short-term targets. Global Food Security, a group of the UK’s leading public funders of food-related research, concluded that the transition towards plant-based products generally correlates with a lower environmental impact. This was a study conducted largely by faculty from universities across the UK. Science is staring universities in the face and imploring them to stop the sale of animal products.

The student population are statistically the most likely demographic to be supportive of such a claim with the highest proportion of vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians, and are the population group most concerned about the climate crisis. In October 2021, Berlin’s universities implemented a policy stating that on-campus menus can only include 4 per cent of meat and fish, showing the potential to really achieve a radical demand through climate messaging. We have also recently seen the Academy Awards and Berkeley City Council adopt policies to have fully plant-based establishments in response to climate breakdown.

Universities have a large cultural capital in our society, and their shifting has a great influence over the broader society’s ethical views and sustainable practices. This is particularly because they educate the leaders of our future society and because they are the very institutions where much of our understanding about the climate crisis has emerged from. Currently, universities act to legitimise the industries of animal agriculture and fishing, and this needs to change.  If we can convince universities to adopt fully plant-based menus, it will speed up the tide of this urgently needed culture shift.

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As a student at University College London (UCL), I believe that universities are sites of knowledge, advancing our scientific understanding of the harmful environmental impact of meat, fish and dairy industries. They, therefore, have a responsibility to listen to that science and take necessary action. Universities claim to be preparing us for the future, whilst also threatening it by selling environmentally-harmful animal products. More plant-based options will not alleviate universities' direct involvement in the climate crisis. We will continue campaigning until our universities display actual progress towards 100 per cent just and sustainable plant-based catering.

According to Nathan McGovern, a student of King’s College London, “the campaign is imminently achievable. Plant-based options are rife amongst cafes and restaurants in UK universities. All we are asking is that the next easy, logical step is taken. It is an entirely possible, and utterly necessary move towards sustainable practice.”

Once a university passes a policy motion to adopt a plant-based catering, Animal Rebellion puts the university in touch with two groups that are willing to work with them: Plant-Based Health Professionals and ProVeg:

1. Plant-Based Health Professionals so that the new menu is fully inclusive and allergy-friendly whilst also nutritious and health 

2. ProVeg runs a programme called "school plates" where they provide sample plant-based menus and work with schools to help them turn current dishes into similar vegan dishes. 

Outreach campaigns have been started and policy motions have been filed at six universities (University College London, King’s College London, The University of Warwick, Lancaster University, Coventry University, and The University of Sussex) with over a dozen more, including Brunel University London and The University of Leeds, preparing to do the same. The number of groups is growing every week ​​with the intention to have a campaign running in every university in the country by the end of the year.  The campaign has also received global interest, with universities in The Netherlands and Australia keen on adopting it. Anyone interested in being involved or starting a campaign at their university is encouraged to register here:

For further information please contact universities[at]animalrebellion.org or message @plantbasedunis on Instagram.

Vaania Kapoor Achuthan is a student at UCL majoring in politics and international relations (BSc). She is also a Surge Camps Rep and the campaign liaison for the Plant-Based Universities campaign.

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