8Th Campion School Model United Nations | 3Rd – 4Th October 2020
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 Committee: Environmental Commission (EC) Topic: The question of the role of Veganism and reduced meat consumption in protecting the environment Student Officer: Hannah Clark Position: Deputy President Personal Introduction Dear delegates, My name is Hannah Clark and I am a 16 year old student at Campion School. This will be my first time in a chairing position, and so far I have attended 2 conferences. I am truly honoured to serve as a Deputy President in the Environmental Commission, and I hope that the 8th Annual CSMUN Conference will be a great experience for us all. I believe that the Environmental Commission gives delegates a very unique opportunity to explore subjects that are very relevant to each and every one of our lives, as we can see in the topics we have been given this year. This study guide will hopefully help guide you in the right direction when it comes to forming your opinions and ideas in correlation with your countries policies. I encourage you all to do further research and to fully immerse yourselves into this topic. I look forward to working with you all, and sincerely hope that the conference will be allowed to take place regularly. With that, I wish you all the best with your research and encourage you to put yourselves out there when the time comes! Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions, I am here to help you with whatever you need, just send me an email. 1 CSMUN | Environmental Commission 8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 Best regards and good luck with your resolutions! Hannah Clark, [email protected] Topic Introduction A vegan is someone who does not eat, drink, or otherwise consume or use any animal products.1 This affects vegans in many different aspects of their life, ranging from the clothes they buy or the shampoo they use, to the type of milk they put in their coffee. It is a lifestyle that has been growing gradually over the years, gaining even more support. People of all ages are making the decision to follow a vegan diet, but the highest percentage of vegans, at 40%, are between the ages of 25 and 34.2 One of the main reasons for this is the fact that veganism has become a lot more popular through its portrayal in the media. This means that people who have access to social and news media and who are independent (as opposed to the 16-24 group, where half the demographic depends mostly on their family) have been influenced more. Being able to see how the meat and dairy-heavy diets of previous generations have affected the environment and their health has really pushed millennials towards veganism. 1“What Is a Vegan and Why You Should Consider Veganism.” Reporting on Animals, Animal Rights, and Human Choices, 5 Feb. 2020, https://sentientmedia.org/what-is- a-vegan/ 2“Vegan Profile.” Www.Imaner.Net, www.imaner.net/panel/profile.htm 2 CSMUN | Environmental Commission 8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 Veganism has existed as a concept since the Arabic poet al-Maʿarri, more than a thousand years ago and3 the term “vegan” was first coined in 19444. Judging exactly when veganism became popular can be complicated, however, there have been many notable surges. For example, there has been a 600% increase in vegans over the past 3 years5 alone in the U.S. The amount of change and growth that the vegan “trend” has seen since 2010 is incredible, with thousands of people shifting to vegan diets, new organisations and events being created and a whole new range of products appearing on the market. It has become so well-known for a few reasons, the main ones being the fact that it is known to be a sustainable and environmentally friendly diet, that it is ethical and that it has been proven to have some health benefits. All of the above make veganism seem like a very healthy and sustainable way of living, however, veganism does come with a few flaws. For example, studies have shown that 3Yaman, A. (2017, February 24). This 11th century Arab poet is the original hipster. Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://stepfeed.com/this-11th-century-arab-poet-is- the-original-hipster-0223 4 “A Brief History of Veganism.” Time, https://time.com/3958070/history-of- veganism/#:~:text=Veganism%20is%20an%20extreme%20form 5 Veganism Is at an All-Time High: Is It A Fleeting Fad or The New Norm? 22 Dec. 2018, www.singleplatform.com/blog/restaurant-industry/trends/the-rise-of-veganism-a-fleeting-fad-or- the-new-norm/ 3 CSMUN | Environmental Commission 8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 vegans sometimes face certain deficiencies in vitamins and amino acids.6 Apart from that, the vegan diet has been claimed to be unsuitable for children7, as it is crucial for them, to be getting all of the necessary nutrients a normal animal and dairy based diet provides. Additionally, while the environmental problems caused by the meat industry are reduced through the increase in vegans; veganism also leaves its own carbon footprint and other environmental problems on the earth.A lot of popular vegan foods come from more exotic areas of the world and get exported all around it. Furthermore, the kind of land suitable for the production of said foods has to be within specific climates for them to grow properly, so the production of vegan options can frequently be at the expense of biodiversity, rainforests etc. 6 Laidlaw, S A, et al. “Plasma and Urine Taurine Levels in Vegans.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Apr. 1988, https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article- abstract/47/4/660/4694739 7 Campbell, L. (0387, April 24). Is a Vegan Diet Safe for Children? Retrieved July 08, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/is-a-vegan-diet-safe-for- children 4 CSMUN | Environmental Commission 8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 Definition of key terms Veganism Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude [...] all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.8 Animal products Materials derived from the body of an animal.9 This can be anything, from the meat taken from its body, to the milk taken from its udders, to the skin taken off its back. 8“Definition of Veganism.” The Vegan Society, www.vegansociety.com/go- vegan/definition-veganism 9Rauch, Joseph. “What Are Animal Products and Byproducts?” Public Goods Blog, 22 Apr. 2020, https://blog.publicgoods.com/what-are-animal-products-and- byproducts/ 5 CSMUN | Environmental Commission 8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 Animal husbandry A branch of agriculture concerned with the production and care of domestic animals.10 Its focus is to breed and raise animals with the aim to derive the various products they produce (meat, eggs, milk, skin, fat). Factory farming (or intensive animal farming) A system of farming in which a lot of animals are kept in a small closed area, in order to produce a large amount of meat, eggs, or milk as cheaply as possible.11 10“Animal Husbandry.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/animalhusbandry 11“FACTORY FARMING: Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/factory-farming 6 CSMUN | Environmental Commission 8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement is an international treaty that seeks to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.12 Its aim is to limit global warming temperatures to 1.5º and to provide adequate support for countries in their efforts to battle climate change. Demitarianism Cutting one’s meat consumption in half.13 This is a diet encouraged by the UN mainly to people from first world countries to try and reduce meat consumption where it is possible. Background Information 12Rouse, Margaret. “What Is Paris Agreement? - Definition from WhatIs.com.” SearchDataCenter, TechTarget, 2 June 2017, https://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/definition/The-Paris-Agreement 13 “Demitarian.” Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, https://new_words.enacademic.com/1006/demitarian 7 CSMUN | Environmental Commission 8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 Fig.1 Shows the difference in the resources required to produce animal products and plant based products The term vegan was first coined by Donald Watson in 194414, an English advocate and activist for animal rights. 80 years later, veganism has become a worldwide movement, 14“Where Did The Word ‘Vegan’ Come From?” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, 23 Dec. 2019, www.dictionary.com/e/veganism/ 8 CSMUN | Environmental Commission 8th Campion School Model United Nations | 3rd – 4th October 2020 with over 600,000 vegans recorded solely in Great Britain in 2019 by the Vegan Society.15 16 Veganism and mainly the reduction in meat consumption have been proven to have a major impact on the environment. The U.N. has spoken out in a climate report back in August 2019, warning that the dairy and meat consumption, namely in HICs (Hgher Income Countries), are contributing heavily to global warming.17 The land and water required to produce meat and dairy products is higher than that needed for vegan options.18 Methane emissions from cows as well as the issues the Amazon rainforest is facing due to the land expansions from both meat and dairy companies and plant based products companies. The U.N., along with many other organisations and 15“Statistics.” The Vegan Society, www.vegansociety.com/news/media/statistics 16 Bobby Magill Follow @bobbymagill.