District of North Vancouver council has passed a motion from Coun. Jim Hanson to prioritize plant-based foods when purchasing for any municipal functions.
People resent being dictated to what they should or should not eat, particularly when it comes in the form of sanctimonious preaching. To be clear, the motion does not ban anyone from enjoying a delicious burger.
What it does do is acknowledge the harm that raising livestock is doing to our climate – between 14 and 28 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – and shows leadership in making a change.
On a global scale, whether or not the district goes plant-based in its purchasing won’t amount to a hill of beans (which by the way are an excellent source of protein with a fraction of the carbon footprint of beef).
But confronting the horror of climate change requires us confronting our own habits as individuals in addition to broad, sweeping government action to wind down the use of fossil fuels.
Choosing to raise and consume fewer animals is relatively low-hanging fruit in the imperative to reach net-zero emissions.
More than a consensus among climate scientists, it also aligns with doctors’ orders, who have long been advising we need less meat and more veggies in our diets for our own health.
So we commend Hanson and the district council members who voted to take a step in the right direction, even if it earns them some beef from constituents.
Already, B.C. his charging headlong into another record-breaking season for drought and fire. Is more smoked brisket worth smoked lungs?
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