Current Campaigns

Think Globally, Act Locally:
Greening Your Food … and Your City Council

Green is in and everywhere you turn, you hear advice about the things you can do to help the planet. Use cloth bags instead of plastic. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Take your bike instead of your car. Unfortunately, the one green tip we don’t hear enough, is one of the most significant.

According to a 2006 United Nations report, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouses gases than all the cars, trucks, planes, trains, and ships in the world combined and is one of the leading causes of climate change! That’s why one of the most effective ways to go green is to consume a plant-based diet.

Green Foods Resolutions

You can help promote green eating by encouraging a city council member to introduce a Green Foods Resolution. These resolutions encourage constituents to reduce their “foodprint” by eating lower on the food chain.

In October 2009, the small town of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, became the first community in the country to pass a Green Foods Resolution. Activist David Cook, whose newspaper column inspired his town council to consider the resolution, sees its passage as the planting of a seed, not just for Signal Mountain but also for the rest of the country. “Something will really grow out of this,” said Cook. “I think it is part of many things that are moving in the right direction, including community-supported agriculture, organic farming, a greater commitment to vegetarianism, more car-pooling, more questioning. It’s all tied together.

Alexandria, Virginia became the second community to pass a Green Foods Resolution in March 2010. Additional resolutions are now pending in NYC, where Farm Sanctuary is a key member of the Foodprint Alliance, and in several other municipalities across the nation.

The Benefits of a Resolution

Your campaign to get a resolution passed is an opportunity to educate your city council members about green foods issues. It may inspire lasting interest and support that could help you pursue binding citywide legislation.

Even just introducing a city council resolution can be a great strategy for increasing public awareness of your issue. A campaign for a green foods resolution creates opportunities for all sorts of activism – from providing fodder for letters to the editor and occasions for leafleting to eliciting mainstream media coverage and influencing policy in other areas of the country.

Though not legally binding, city council resolutions create a platform for important issues to be considered more widely and also influence future legislation affecting local communities. Green foods resolutions focus attention on the animal suffering and environmental destruction caused by factory farming, and they empower communities to fight cruelty and climate change by adopting more sustainable eating habits. When you campaign for a green foods resolution, you are working for a healthier planet, and you are saving lives.

Get One Introduced in Your Community

Getting a green foods resolution introduced in your community is easier than you might think. Many city legislators are eager to address concerns about climate change, and there is a good chance that, once you educate them about the connections between climate change and livestock production, they will want to support your efforts by introducing and backing a resolution.

Get started on a green foods resolution in your community.

Keep us posted on your progress!

Resources

• United Nations report from 2006 discussing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, entitled “Livestock’s Long Shadow”
• Global warming statistics

Read on for more information about the connections between animal agriculture and the environment.