Cornwall councillors recently shared their initial plans for a 2030 target for Cornwall to become carbon neutral. Although many of us have been way ahead of the game in terms of identifying the environmental crisis that faces the world, even belated action by the council should be encouraged and supported. That there was also a recommendation to engage with the public to ask what they think of these initial plans is also to be applauded. What was less of a good idea was to initially test out these plans with the public at the recent Royal Cornwall Show, Cornwall's 'premier' agricultural event and a hotbed for all those very much reliant on livestock farming. Perhaps there is a nervousness with Cornwall councillors in mentioning anything that relates to animal agriculture in a predominantly rural county, but the omission of any mention relating to such within their initial plans to combat climate change is a little amiss to say the least.....or am I being cynical?
Within their plans are ideas around transport, housing, energy, environment and waste. Whilst many of the suggestions, if not all, are reasonable, pledge number 3 suggested by Cornwall-based climate change consultants Climate Vision rings the truest with me. It states "Educate yourself about the science and impacts of climate change". Do that one thing and you might then hit on addressing the environmental impact of animal agriculture.
Being that this is a vegan blog, predominately read by vegans, I am not about to start stating the facts about the impact that can be made by changing to a plant based diet (read down further for useful links). All I am saying is that anyone living in Cornwall will understand that suggestions of using more public transport, the push towards electric car use, and building more (energy efficient) homes (don't get me started with that one) are a little laughable at the present moment and even looking a few years ahead. To sit these suggestions in a list that omits anything to do with animal agriculture very much skews the responsibility onto very few residents of Cornwall that I know of. Farmers may disagree but I doubt they would agree either with using more (mostly inefficient) public transport, have enough money to buy an electric car, or building more housing full stop (unless they make a ton of money by selling off development land). Reality needs a little checking here.
Sorry once more I am being cynical. The thing is I am fed up of piecemeal suggestions that are either designed to make other people richer, out of the reach of many, or just plain guilt infested unrealistic suggestions. On a very personal level, you can make a change that will have a huge impact, and that is changing to a plant based diet, or at least making even small moves in that direction. It doesn't have to cost that much either if you avoid the vegan 'junk food' items out there. An open mind and a commitment to make a difference is all you need. You vegans out there know that already though so on that note, and the reason for this blog post in the beginning, is that a petition has been started to Cornwall Council calling for them to recognise the environmental impact of animal agriculture. Please sign it. I don't think it necessarily matters if you are not a resident of Cornwall as by signing it will send a message to all councils planning the same initiatives around climate change.
The link to the petition is below Beautiful People and for those not familiar with the science behind the impact of animal agriculture there are plenty of useful links to read within the petition -
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