Brampton, ON: Brampton City Council ratified a motion introduced by Regional Councillor Navjit Kaur Brar and Regional Councillor Gurpartap Singh Toor and has become the first city in Ontario to endorse the Plant Based Treaty. Brampton has committed to including a plant based approach as a part of the city’s climate plan.
Brampton joins 33 other municipalities worldwide to endorse the Plant-Based Treaty and to call for global play-based treaty to be added to the Paris Agreement.
The motion was passed unanimously at the Committee of Council on November 13 and recognizes the need to, “improve accessibility and promote the consumption of plant based foods in Brampton to help mitigate and adapt Brampton to the impacts of climate change, improve social justice and economic well being and support Brampton in reducing its consumption based emissions.”
Regional Councillor Brar, when introducing the motion, stated that “We have to acknowledge the importance of diverse food options to meet the dietary needs of Brampton’s residents, looking at not only personal preferences for plant-based foods and locally sourced foods, but also food sensitivities as well. Considering plant-based, locally sourced and sustainable food procurement options for city events, city facilities should be a key part of our city’s climate action plan.”
The motion commits Brampton to developing an ambitious plant-based food strategy, including: (1) Environmentally friendly plant-based food and drink options will be featured at city council meetings and civic events; (2) Events in Brampton’s open spaces will be required to include plant based catering options; (3) An evaluation will be conducted to increase plant-based food options in City of Brampton facilities; (4) The city will promote a plant-based awareness week and use municipal communication channels to educate residents about sustainable food practices; and (5) An action plan will be developed to implement changes following the treaty endorsement, with progress to be reported in 6 months.
Councillor Brar and Councillor Toor met with members of the Plant-Based Treaty cities campaign earlier in the year and were motivated to endorse the treaty and encourage the City of Brampton to consider tangible actions to include a plant-based approach in its climate action plan. Brampton joins “a global initiative calling for a Plant Based Treaty that, through its three R’s – Relinquish, Redirect and Restore – aims to halt the accelerating expansion of animal agriculture, incentivise and promote a plant-based food system, rewild critical ecosystems in line with the global commitment to limit warming to 1.5C and work to mitigate the climate crisis with fair equitable transition plans.”
