ProVeg reacts to publication of FAO’s Roadmap to 1.5C at COP28

Food awareness organization, ProVeg International, has welcomed the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO’s) Roadmap to 1.5C for clearly recognizing the absolute necessity for dietary transformation.

However, ProVeg has also expressed concern about many of the recommendations of the same Roadmap, published at COP28 in Dubai at the weekend, including solely proposing methane reduction technologies, putting forward a blanket promotion of aquatic food and not prioritising crops for human consumption over animal feed.

ProVeg is one of 21 organizations to have signed a statement highlighting the concerns about the Roadmap and calling for a more holistic approach to tackling the climate, nature and health challenges posed by global food systems.

“We welcome the recognition by the FAO in its Roadmap to 1.5C of the need to change diets for both human and planetary health," commented Stephanie Maw, Policy Manager at ProVeg International. "However, the Roadmap falls short of highlighting the specific benefits of transitioning toward more healthy, plant-based diets, especially in regions with excessive consumption of animal-based foods.

“The UN’s IPCC and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have clearly stressed the need to shift to more plant-based diets in order to tackle climate change but the FAO has not taken this fully on board.

“In addition, the FAO Roadmap talks of 'methane reduction technologies' for livestock, which overlooks key aspects like the availability, scalability and affordability of these technologies, and fails to recognise the critical need for consumption shifts and livestock herd reduction, as recognised in UNEP’s Global Methane Assessment. Instead, we would like the FAO to consider the adverse impacts of industrial animal agriculture in pushing us across planetary boundaries and to focus on reducing global farmed animal numbers while implementing policies that accelerate a just transition to healthier, more sustainable, plant-based diets.”