How Vegan Is New York City’s Own ‘Green New Deal’ Initiative?

While Congress may have failed to agree on a Green New Deal, New York City has responded to climate change by passing its own unprecedented deal called “OneNYC 2050.” But how tough is this action by the Big Apple against the environmentally destructive meat industry?

In a commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the $14 billion OneNYC 2050 initiative backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio attempts to address the city’s environmentally destructive addiction to animal flesh. New York plans to reduce the amount of meat served in city-operated facilities such as schools, hospitals, and jails. It also plans to completely eliminate cancer-causing processed meats from these facilities’ menus. The new measures include additional initiatives to reduce by 50% the amount of beef purchased by the city.

As of now, there don’t appear to be any hard mandates in place to address OneNYC 2050’s meat-reduction initiatives. But the city has already begun more animal-friendly projects that are worth getting excited about.

In 2017, New York officials helped pass “Meatless Monday” programs in 15 schools in Brooklyn, and Mayor de Blasio expanded the program to all 1,700 public schools just this year. The city has also worked with NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue to create a plant-based food program to treat patients suffering from various chronic illnesses such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

PETA applauds New York City’s efforts to reduce its meat consumption. We’ll continue to push everyone (Green New Deal supporters and otherwise) to go vegan—and to support programs that spread the ecologically sound, good vegan word.

Don’t Wait to Join the Vegan Revolution

The United Nations has stated that meat consumption must decrease by as much as 90% in order for us to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. You can easily reduce your contribution to climate change by going vegan today. Go even further by persuading a friend or loved one to do the same!

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Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and provides the public with information on these issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party