Meat of the Matter

Municipalities across the country are stepping up to fight climate change, but for most, a key strategy has been missing from the menu of solutions: climate-friendly food purchasing.  Meat and dairy generate more global greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector, yet reducing the consumption of animal products through institutional purchasing remains a largely untapped yet highly effective, cost-saving approach to mitigating climate change while promoting public health. This guide describes step-by-step actions municipalities can take to adopt climate-friendly food purchasing practices and offers a variety of tools and approaches, including a model food purchasing policy and climate-friendly food standards as well as sample policies from cities and counties across the country. The guide also offers guidance on how municipalities can use the money saved from purchasing fewer animal products to buy more sustainable food.

Read the full report
Read the executive summary
Read the press release
Read the model climate-friendly food purchasing policy and standards
Read the letter from groups urging municipal leaders to take action. Add your organization’s name here.
Read about the 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

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Additional Resources

• FOE op-ed; The School Lunch Recipe for Climate Action, SF Examiner, November 30th, 2017
• FOE op-ed: Less and better meat is key to a healthier planet less and better meat, Food Tank,  October 6, 2017
• Why cities fighting climate change should take a look at food policy, Curbed, October 4, 2017
• FOE Report: Shrinking the Carbon and Water Footprint of School Food
• K-12 School Food Resources
• Friends of the Earth Comments on San Diego County’s Climate Action Plan, September 2017
• Friends of the Earth Recommendations on the U.S. Federal Food Service Guidelines for Health and Sustainability (September 2015)
• The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ resolution supporting Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommendations around sustainability
• Letter by U.S. Mayors to the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture supporting the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Council regarding the health and environmental benefits of promoting less meat and more plant-based foods in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.