COP31 Climate Summit Sets 60% Meat-Free Menu Target and Adds Plant-Based Cafés

World leaders arriving in Antalya, Türkiye for the COP31 climate summit, which runs from November 9 to 20, will find a menu that is mostly meat-free, after the COP31 Presidency set a goal of 60% meat-free catering for the conference.

The target was announced by the Food & Climate Action Group, a coalition of more than 20 non-profits campaigning on food inside the UN climate talks, including ProVeg International, the Plant Based Treaty and Climate Bridges. As well as the 60% goal, the hosts have arranged fully plant-based cafés on site, invited two Antalya-based vegan businesses to trade in the food court, and promised clearer labeling with ingredient and nutrition information.

It is a big turnaround from just two years ago. COP28 in Dubai made two-thirds of its menu meat-free, but COP29 in Baku slipped right back, with only two meat-free outlets in the food court. Last year at COP30 in Belém, a ProVeg catering survey found 51.2% of all meals and snacks were plant-based or vegetarian, beating the 40% target, though beef was still on the menu.

Juliette Tronchon of ProVeg International said:

At COP28, the Presidency's decision to make plant-rich options a predominant part of the catering offer set a historic precedent. It showed what happens when ambitious leadership meets sustained civil society pressure, above all from young people. Through the Food@COP campaign launched after COP25 under YOUNGO, a demand was turned into reality at the world's biggest climate conference: shifting towards plant-based food systems is essential to meeting the Paris Agreement targets, and COP28 showed that climate events can lead by example.

Nilgün Engin of the Plant Based Treaty added: "There is growing awareness of the connection between our global food system and climate change, so it is vital that the international conference dedicated to this space offers meal choices that are minimising harm."

Honestly, you'd think a climate summit serving climate-friendly food wouldn't be news. But food and farming produce around a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, so what goes on the plate at COP sends a signal to every delegation in the room. Oxford University researchers found that a global shift to plant-based eating could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 66% and save more than 8 million lives by 2050, and a later Oxford study showed a vegan diet cuts climate impact by 75%.

This is the latest big-event menu to go green, after the Golden Globes went 100% plant-based in 2020 and the Paris 2024 Olympics served 60% plant-based food to spectators. Policymakers have been edging this way for years, from 24 MEPs demanding Europe shift to plant-based diets to the UN advising countries to tax meat and cut subsidies and Denmark publishing the world's first national plant-based action plan. Earlier this year 35 UK hospitals cut food emissions by 22% by putting plants first.

Leaders, lead by example. The future is looking brighter.