As a companion to the UNFCCC/Paris Agreement, the Plant Based Treaty is a landmark international treaty and first of its kind to put food systems at the heart of combating 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 damage done to planetary functions, ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Demand 1   |  Relinquish:  Stop the problem increasing
No land use change, including deforestation, for animal agriculture

No building of new animal farms
No building of new slaughterhouses
No expansion or intensification of existing farms
No conversion of plant-based agriculture to animal agriculture
No conversion of any land for animal feed production
No clearing of forests or other ecosystems for animal grazing, animal rearing or animal farming of any kind
No new fish farms or expansion of existing aquaculture farms
Protection of Indigenous peoples; their land, rights and knowledge
Ban all live exports
No new large-scale industrial fishing vessels

Demand 1   |  Relinquish:  Stop the problem increasing
No land use change, including deforestation, for animal agriculture

No building of new animal farms
No building of new slaughterhouses
No expansion or intensification of existing farms
No conversion of plant-based agriculture to animal agriculture
No conversion of any land for animal feed production
No clearing of forests or other ecosystems for animal grazing, animal rearing or animal farming of any kind
No new fish farms or expansion of existing aquaculture farms
Protection of Indigenous peoples; their land, rights and knowledge
Ban all live exports
No new large-scale industrial fishing vessels
 

Demand 2   |  Redirect:  Eliminate the driving forces behind the problem
Promotion of plant-based foods and actively transition away from animal-based food systems to plant-based systems

Declare a climate emergency – join the 1,900+ local governments in 34 different countries that have already done so
Food security should be placed as a priority for all nations, with a focus on ending poverty and hunger and making nutritious food accessible for all

Acknowledge and support the pivotal role small farmers have in feeding the planet; support them to maintain (or restore) autonomy over their lands, water, seeds and other resources
Prioritize a switch to plant-based foods in Climate Action Plans
Update government food and dietary guidelines to promote wholefood, plant-based food
Design public information campaigns to raise awareness about the climate and the environmental advantages and health benefits of plant-based food, nutrition and cooking
Aim to reduce the public’s consumption of animal-based food through education in schools
Transition to plant-based meal plans in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and government institutions
Mandate honest labelling of food products, including cancer warning labels on all processed meats which have been declared carcinogenic by the World Health Organization
Introduce a meat tax (including fish) with proceeds funding restoration of land destroyed by animal agriculture
Subsidize fruits and vegetables to make a wholefoods, plant-based diet more affordable and end food deserts that hurt low income communities
Redirect government subsidies for animal agriculture, slaughterhouses and industrial fishing to environmentally-friendly production of plant-based food
End government subsidized advertising for the meat, dairy and egg industry
Create green bonds to fund a transition to a plant-based economy
Provide financial support and training for farmers, ranchers and fisherpeople to move away from animal production to diversified (ideally organic agroecological) plant-based systems

Demand 3   |  Restore:  Actively healing the problem while building resilience and mitigating climate change. Restore key ecosystems and reforest the earth.

Reforestation projects to be rolled out in appropriate ecosystems using native tree species to restore habitats to a previously similar state
Reforestation and restoration of the oceans is prioritised by designating additional areas of the oceans as zero fishing Marine Protected Areas (known as Highly Protected Marine Areas – HPMAs)
All existing Marine Protected Areas should be declared strictly no fishing zones and converted to HPMAs
Active programs rolled out to replant critical carbon absorbers in the oceans, such as seagrass beds
Restore key degraded ecosystems which are essential for carbon sequestration cycles: mangroves, peat bogs, forests, some types of grassland
Focus shift on nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation
Subsidies made available for farmers and landowners who practise good land stewardship and are actively restoring the land and the associated ecosystem services (such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity, flood defence, general climate change resilience)
Subsidies made available for rewilding and reforestation projects
Incentivised subsidies / grants for farmers to switch from animal agriculture to diversified plant production
Cities: increase trees and wildflowers, increase green community projects, wildlife corridors, green rooftops, local growing schemes, work towards biodiversity increases
Enhance food justice by providing access to healthy food for all, especially low-income communities of color
Repurpose available land freed up from animal grazing for: rewilding, reforestation (if appropriate), nature reserves, hiking zones, community growing, allotments (if appropriate), agroecological food growing (where possible)
Shift of some land ownership into community hands so the land can be repurposed for reforestation, green space and community food gardens and allotments