This Indivisible Northwestern campaign focuses on asking student organizations, schools and departments at NU, and the Evanston government to change their food catering policies to plant-based defaults. Animal agriculture accounts for a whopping 15% of greenhouse gas emissions—the same as vehicles. Without forcing anyone to become vegetarian, governments can reduce meat consumption by adopting a policy of serving plant-based meals as the default at meetings and events. If people still want to eat meat, they could opt in rather than opting out. 

After over a year of living in a devastating global pandemic, which has called into question our reliance on factory-farmed meat, it’s time to consider how the food on our plate can pave the way for a brighter future for ourselves and our planet. As students at Northwestern, our voices can impact the food policies around us. 

It’s no secret that industrial animal agriculture places one of the largest burdens on Earth relative to almost any other form of human activity. Almost 27 percent of all habitable land is dedicated to livestock, while meat and dairy only provide 18 percent of the world’s caloric intake.  

Fortunately, we don’t have to start from scratch to change our status quo. Colleges and subdivisions like the Huxley College of the Environment and the Harvard Office for Sustainability, as well as dozens of leading environmental groups, have begun embracing plant-based foods as their new default. American shoppers have also changed course over the last decade: 2012 to 2018 saw a 287 percent increase in products with plant-based labels in response to surging demand. For Earth Day, even massive chains like Starbucks are nudging customers toward sustainable plant-based drinks.

Here at Northwestern, let’s be leaders in sustainability by aligning our everyday food choices and values with a new, plant-based default.

About us: Indivisible Northwestern is a chapter of Indivisible, a grassroots movement of thousands of groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders and rebuild American democracy. The goal of Indivisible Northwestern is to provide students with action-oriented opportunities to develop organizing and leadership skills, and to meet and work with other students interested in addressing social issues like climate change and social justice. We educate students on getting civically involved through a variety of activities, from calling Senators to text- and phonebanking, to make their voices heard and restore democracy to the people.