The organizers of the “last chance” climate conference involving world leaders in Glasgow, Scotland, tried to make sure the menu reflects the meeting’s goal. Nevertheless, for some activists, the food options are nowhere near green enough.
The COP26 menu lists the kilograms of CO2 emissions per kilogram of food next to each item. According to goals set by the Paris Agreement, an average meal should emit less than 0.5 kilograms of CO2 per kilogram of food. Critics blasted the menu for having nearly 60% of dishes include meat or dairy, and therefore higher carbon emissions. The haggis and burger options have 3.4 kilograms of CO2, 3 kilograms more than the goal emission.
“The utterly reckless inclusion of meat, seafood and dairy on the COP26 catering menu is a damning indictment of the UK government’s utter failure to grasp the root cause of the climate crisis,” Joel Scott-Halkes, a spokesman for activist group Animal Rebellion, told the Big Issue. “It’s like serving cigarettes at a lung cancer conference. As long as such illogical decisions are being made, the climate emergency will never be resolved.”
GRETA THUNBERG TO WORLD LEADERS: ‘SHOVE YOUR CLIMATE CRISIS UP YOUR ARSE’
The advocacy group Animal Rebellion protested the conference for not advocating a meatless future.
The menu also included salmon — Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of Salmon and Trout Conservation, said the farming of which damages the environment.
“It is, by any reasonable set of criteria, unsustainable, and to include farmed salmon on the COP26 menu beggars belief,” Graham-Stewart said. “One wonders what level of scrutiny and due diligence was applied before the menu was finalised.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The menu received mixed reviews when it was announced last month. Jennifer Molidor, a senior food campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Bloomberg that while the selection was an improvement from previous conferences, the beef should not have been included.
“Overall it’s a huge improvement from past menus,” Molidor said. “[But] beef has no place at a climate conference.”
The average meal in the United Kingdom currently emits 1.7 kilograms of CO2e, with meat and dairy products contributing the most to carbon emissions.
