Newcastle University Students Agree to Go 100% Vegan

With 89 percent of votes in favor, Newcastle University students have agreed to go vegan. They have decided to embrace a more plant-based catering approach as part of a broader campaign urging universities to ban meat and dairy products from their menus.

University’s Student Council has voted to make at least 50 percent of the food served at ticketed events plant-based and 100 percent at all other events, wherever possible, according to a report by BBC.

The Plant-Based Universities campaign, led by Animal Rising, a UK-based animal activist movement, advocates for all universities to make their catering facilities fully plant-based to positively contribute to climate change, Erudera.com reports.

Plant-Based Universities’ Newcastle Coordinator, Ella Spray, stressed the importance of the university’s role in fighting the climate crisis. Regarding the motion, she said students can prove to the school that climate action is a priority for them.

“We are excited about working with the students’ union and the wider student community to make these changes work for everyone,” Spray said.

Over 80 UK universities moved to fully plant-based menus in the past year following student unions advocating for vegan meals. Additionally, over 650 academics supported the move, writing an open letter to UK universities and calling on them to embrace such an approach to fight climate change.

“We are in a crucial period for the future of all life on Earth, the decisions we make now will shape the future of humanity and the natural world. Our young people, many of whom study at your institutions, deserve to know that their universities are actively working to create a future for them to graduate into,” the campaigners said.

The letter, among other things, said that they are not trying to force people to go vegan; instead, they are asking for “institutional divestment within procurement”, just like universities were boycotting fossil fuel companies.

So far, several universities have switched to such menus, including the Universities of Stirling, Birmingham, Queen Mary, University College London, and more.

In November 2023, the University of Warwick joined the initiative, becoming the eighth university in the United Kingdom to embrace plant-based catering after its student union voted to remove meat and dairy from menus.

On the other hand, Edinburgh, York and Cardiff University are among the institutions that have rejected similar proposals. Edinburgh University turned down last year the proposal from the campaign group to shift to plant-based catering.

Newcastle University is a member of the Russell Group, which enrolls 27,000 students, including international students who hail from 145 countries.

Related:

>> University of Cambridge Students Support Completely Vegan Menus in Cafes & Canteens

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