Meet the students fighting for a plant-based Leeds University

If you’re a plant-based student at Uni of Leeds, you’ll be unfortunately familiar with walking into the Refectory or campus Co-op for a bite to eat before a lengthy session in Eddy B, only to be met with endless meat options and a sad-looking falafel and hummus wrap in the corner of the shelf.

However, for Plant Based Universities Leeds, the concern regarding the university’s catering is less about better meal deals and more about the impact that our meat consumption is having on the planet. 

“Our current dietary lifestyles are completely unsustainable,” AJ, the campaign’s organiser, told The Tab. “We are going to be forced to make changes, whether or not we do it consensually. We believe universities should pave the way towards a more sustainable future by transitioning towards plant-based dietary systems.”

His concerns certainly have some scientific backing. The UN estimates that livestock farming is responsible for up to 14% of greenhouse gas emissions, and it’s the leading reason for deforestation in forests such as the Amazon.

It’s for these reasons, among many others, that Plant Based Universities (or PBU) are now campaigning for the University of Leeds to transition to 100 per cent plant-based catering. 

While Plant Based Universities (PBU) is an international organisation with branches at 95 universities across the UK and Europe, the previously inactive Leeds chapter was revived by AJ, a third year Politics, Philosophy and Economics student, in September of this year.

It was through his studies that AJ first became interested in following a plant-based diet. In his first year, he took a philosophy module on animal ethics and was tasked with writing an essay about the ethics of consuming animal products.

In the essay, he argued that there was no ethical way to consume meat or exploit animals for personal gain.

“I realised I was going to have to practice what I preach,” he said.

Since then, he has been following a vegan lifestyle, as well as becoming involved in several activism groups. Through campaigning with the Leeds Green Party, he met Vlad, the regional organiser for PBU, and together, they relaunched the campaign. The Leeds branch of PBU had previously gone dormant several years prior after failing to gain traction. 

They were later joined by Molly, a fellow third year student studying Philosophy, Ethics and Religion. Like AJ, she switched to a plant-based diet in her first year of university, and told The Tab she has “never looked back.”

“We’re basically advocating for a more sustainable catering system at the university,” she said. “It’s an institution that is at the forefront of change and has the ability to make actual, tangible environmental impact in our society.”

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University of Leeds’s current sustainability goal is reaching Net Zero by 2045. Molly and AJ argue that switching to plant-based catering could be instrumental in achieving this. 

Of course, in any campaign for a change as large as this, there are roadblocks along the way. AJ explained that they believe the university’s primary concern is that a switch to plant-based catering will lack popular support among the student body. 

However, when he, alongside the rest of the committee,  hosted their first action day last month, they were blown away by the turn out. They believe this is a huge step in demonstrating to the university that going plant-based is a viable option.

“We want to show that the university shouldn’t be afraid to make these changes because they do have student support,” AJ said. 

Since the campaign began in September, PBU Leeds’s Instagram page has gained almost 800 followers, and the group now has over 40 active members. They have also received endorsement from numerous students and members of staff alike.

Meanwhile, their petition, launched just under two weeks ago, has already amassed over 300 signatures of its goal of 1,000. 

Despite a strong start, the road to their ultimate goal is still a long one. Molly and AJ acknowledge that even if the university does decide to make the change, it will be a gradual process throughout which PBU will need to provide support every step on the way.

PBU Leeds has since been in correspondence with Leeds University Union, and its committee has even met with the university itself to discuss their ideas further. Molly and AJ and say that so far, the experience has been largely positive, with both the union and university showing real interest in the campaign and its aims.

“It shows that it’s not students vs. staff,” Molly said, “It’s about working in tandem to create that change.”

You can find more details and sign the petition here.

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