Cities trim beef, add veggies for the climate
Cities around the world aim to cut emissions by committing to greener menus
Creamy kale Caesar salad and Ghanaian red red stew are among the new dishes clients were invited to try at a Toronto shelter this fall.
It's a step toward meeting the city's Coolfood Pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its food purchases by 25 per cent by 2030 relative to 2019 levels.
The United Nations estimates about a third of human-caused greenhouse gases is linked to food. (The rest is mostly from burning fossil fuels.)
So as part of their plans to fight climate change, cities around the world and across Canada are committing to provide less carbon-intensive meats and more plant-based foods through services such as shelters, day cares and community centres, as well as at events such as festivals.
Canadian cities and towns that have made a commitment to promote plant-based foods include Montreal, Rainbow Lake, Alta., and several Ontario communities, such as Kingston, Brampton and Toronto.
Why cities are looking at greener food policies
James Nowlan, executive director of Environment, Climate and Forestry for the City of Toronto, said food emissions are the largest source of "indirect" emissions in Toronto — those not produced directly by burning fossil fuels for things like heat and transportation.
The local government serves about 3,200 tonnes of food a year through its shelters, child care centres and its senior and long-term care homes.
"It touches a lot of residents," Nowlan said. "But it also enables us to show leadership to demonstrate how others can reduce their emissions."
The city council for nearby Brampton, Ont., passed a motion this past November that commits to developing a plant-based food strategy. It includes featuring plant-based food and drink options at city council meetings and civic events; requiring plant-based catering options at events in city spaces such as parks; looking into plant-based food options and plant-based default food options in city facilities and during regional events; and raising awareness about sustainable food practices.
Coun. Navjit Kaur Brar, who brought the motion forward, said many people in her community are vegetarian or vegan, including herself.
"I think making sure that we are providing and catering to that community is also important," she said.
There was already a growing local interest in plant-based and healthier food options, especially among young people and the aging population, she said. "This is for us to kind of bring it up a notch and just make [people] more aware that there are plant-based options and how it can impact our environment and health."
How Toronto is serving more plant-based food
In addition to setting a food emissions target, Toronto — alongside London, Tokyo and around a dozen other major cities — signed the C40 Good Food Cities Declaration. It commits to specific policies, including aligning food procurement to the Planetary Health Diet, a plant-heavy, low-meat diet endorsed by a committee of scientists as healthy and sustainable.
Toronto started by analyzing greenhouse gas emissions from the food it served. It found that beef made up just three per cent of the food it purchased by weight, but 48 per cent of the city's food emissions.
Nowlan said the city decided to reduce beef consumption. It's testing strategies such as replacing it with chicken, fish or plant-based proteins, or by simply blending plant-based proteins into the beef — "so ... you still get the same kind of taste that people are used to, but it's actually lower in emissions."
It's also been working with dietitians and its staff on how to do this while still meeting the nutritional needs of clients.
This past September, Toronto Shelter and Support Services had a workshop and demonstration for staff on how to cook with plant-based proteins, with Human Society International's Food Forward program. At the event at Toronto's Junction Place shelter, staff showed off dishes such as moimoi, a Nigerian bean pudding, and misir wat, an Ethiopian dish of spiced lentils. Food Forward chef Amy Symington demonstrated how to make others, such as potato and tahini soup and Caesar salad with tempeh bacon. Shelter clients got to try it all.
Toronto shelters, day cares and seniors' facilities have already started introducing more plant-based entrees to their menus.
Nowlan said city staff have "really seen positive feedback" about the changes. He added that these steps give city staff an opportunity to talk to the clients it serves about those changes.
"People have a deep attachment to food," he said. "And so you need to have that conversation to build support, to build buy-in and to build trust as you start to move to other types of food, to look at alternatives."
Plant Based Treaty targets cities
Anita Krajnc is the global campaign co-ordinator for the Plant Based Treaty, which aims to "put food systems at the heart of combatting the climate crisis." It offers 40 suggestions for doing that, from calculating greenhouse gas emissions from food to creating plant-based meal plans for schools, hospitals and nursing homes.
One of the groups it targets to support the treaty is cities.
Krajnc said cities deal with food policy in many ways, from promoting healthy eating to providing amenities such as community gardens. "So, you know, cities can play a huge role."
Since 2021, the treaty has been endorsed by 39 cities, including Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and three Canadian cities — Rainbow Lake, Alta., Brampton, Ont., and, as of this week, Caledon, Ont.
In some cases, it has been controversial.
When Kingston, Ont., Coun. Conny Glenn originally tried to get her city to endorse the plant-based treaty, the proposal was voted down. Mayor Brian Paterson told the Kingston Whig-Standard that endorsing the treaty sent "the wrong message to our rural residents and our rural economy."
Rainbow Lake, Alta., declined to talk to CBC News about this topic, citing, in part, negative feedback from the community after a previous media interview.
In an article last April, Plant Based Treaty volunteer Juan Enrique Hinojosa told the Toronto Star that when he reached out to Canadian municipalities about the treaty, he received some positive responses, but also hostile responses, including one that called him an "urban green Nazi."
Montreal, Brampton, Kingston take action
Still, momentum continues to build.
Caledon, Ont., endorsed the Plant Based Treaty just this Tuesday. Brampton did so as part of Brar's motion in November.
Montreal City Council passed a motion in 2022 to adhere to the C40 Good Food Cities declaration, like Toronto. It said it would offer a minimum of 75 per cent vegetarian foods at city-organized events and favour vendors who use local products, reduce food waste and promote vegetarian cuisine.
Coun. Glenn in Kingston tried a different approach this fall, and council passed her motion in October, committing the city to "always ensuring that plant-based options are included and prioritized whenever food is purchased or funded" and promoting such options by positioning them at the front of a buffet table, for example. The motion asks staff to develop a draft strategy for doing that by the end of 2025.
Glenn envisions interesting plant-based options, alongside the usual beef burgers, at events such as the mayor's fundraising barbecue, where vegetarian choices haven't always been available.
"Why not portobello mushroom burgers, which are absolutely delicious?" she said. "I'm hoping that we'll see some really interesting options come forward."
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