More than half (51.2%) of all meals and snacks available to COP30, the climate talks that have been taking place in Belém, Brazil, this month are vegan or vegetarian. This exceeds the 40% target set by the Extraordinary Secretariat for COP30.
Food is a central theme at these talks, given the environmental impact of production and consumption – from climate change and deforestation to waste.
“We can’t discuss the climate crisis without talking about food systems, and transitioning to plant-rich diets is one of the most effective solutions for a person to reduce their impact on the climate,” said Stefany Guerreiro, food and nutrition project manager at ProVeg Brazil.
Guerreiro welcomed the positive focus on plant-based dishes but said she was surprised that beef was still available.
Proveg Brazil assessed the food on offer at 19 outlets at the summit, which closes this week. The survey audited 166 savoury dishes and 70 desserts and found that the offer of entirely plant-based dishes represented 30.1% of the total savoury meals (50 dishes), while vegetarian meals came to 21.1% (35 dishes). The dessert offer also stood out, with 47% of the 70 options being entirely plant-based.
The survey also found that 12% of the savoury dishes and snacks contained beef. This was “surprising”, Guerreiro noted. Livestock production is the largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in Brazil, well ahead of transportation and energy, and is estimated to account for approximately 60% of the country’s total emissions, according to calculations based on data from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals Estimation System (SEEG).
Plant-based options for hot drinks were also found to be wanting. Only 34.6% (9 out of 26) offered a plant-based dairy alternative, such as oat or soy. The majority (65.4%) were prepared exclusively with dairy products. Dairy milk has a far higher carbon footprint than many plant-based options, noted Proveg.
There were also issues with signage – in some outlets it was left up to customers to determine the ingredients – and cost – some of the vegetarian and vegan lunch and dinner options were pricey.
“Plant-based meals generally have cheaper ingredients so they should be more accessible to the consumer. The price can also be an incentive to consume more sustainable food,” Guerreiro said.
If there is one event in the world that should be entirely Plant based, this is it the COP meetings. It is shameful that they had beef and it is sadly still a disappointment to see the low percentages of plant based offerings.