Haywards Heath Town Council becomes first town council in Europe to endorse Plant Based Treaty

This treaty aims to stop and reverse the damage to ecosystems that is caused by animal agriculture while promoting sustainable plant-based diets.

The adoption of the treaty was driven by the town council’s Environment Working Group’s priorities with sign-off from the Environment and General Purposes Committee and ratification from the Full Council on July 18.

It is a companion of the UNFCCC/Paris Agreement, which commits governments to address the climate crisis and take more action for a low carbon future.

Green councillor Richard Nicholson said: “The Climate Crisis is no longer a distant future threat but an existential crisis that is upon us in 2022.”

He said: “We must all act immediately, and moving to a plant-based diet is the most impactful thing any individual can do to help address the grave situation we face.”

A town council spokesperson said: “The Town Council is launching an Education and Business Environmental Awards Scheme.

“The Plant Based Treaty and food waste reduction will be cornerstones of these initiatives along with the town council’s Carbon Calculator.

“The Town Council will also seek to engage local community, environmental groups, and Parish councils to help progress these ground-up activities.”

The town council added that it is not directing residents to follow the basis of the treaty.

Instead it is ‘signposting that it exists as part of its Environmental Commitment Policies to share information within the community’.

The core principals of the treaty are:

Relinquish – no land use change, ecosystem degradation or deforestation for animal agriculture.

Redirect – a transition away from animal-based food systems to plant-based systems.

Restore – restoring key ecosystems, particularly restoring forests and rewilding landscape.

The town council said it has taken a ‘science-based approach to the climate crisis’, using research from project drawdown.

A spokesperson said: “While the Town Council is unable to build large solar farms or wind turbines, we can educate and encourage the local community to reduce food waste and move to plant-based diets to reduce CO2 emissions; activities which are as impactful as a large-scale move to green energy.”

They said moving to plant based foods helps increase global biodiversity, improves health and reduces food bills.