Municipalities and other local governments around the country are setting climate mitigation targets and adaptation goals. These municipalities typically develop a Climate Action Plan (CAP) that outlines the measures they plan to take to meet their targets and goals. Often missing from these CAPs are measures to increase the availability of plant-based proteins and engage the public on their benefits. These actions are rarely included even though it is estimated that on average food accounts for 25 percent of consumption-based emissions and plant-based proteins (such as beans, nuts, legumes, and plant-based burgers) have a relatively low carbon footprint per gram of protein.
CAP actions that increase the availability of plant-based proteins and engage the public on their benefits have the potential not only to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions but to advance municipal public health, equity, resilience, and other goals—as well as expand the range of food choices available.
This Toolkit provides municipalities and stakeholders with background information and a Menu of over 40 potential actions—ranging from ambitious to incremental—based on examples drawn from over 36 CAPs and numerous expert interviews.
Have Feedback? This Toolkit is designed to be a living document that will be updated periodically to include additional measures to increase the availability of plant-based proteins and engage the public on their benefits. Tell us how you used the Toolkit or about additional actions that should be added: https://forms.office.com/r/mkzhR3pvU1.
The Toolkit is available through ELI’s Center for State and Local Governance: Publications | Environmental Law Institute (eli.org)