Collaborative Proposal Creation
Create, improve and sponsor proposals in a respectful, fully bilingual environment. Grow proposals in the "Hothouse", for promotion to the "Workshop", to become official GPC policy.
- Proposal text
- The GPC supports phasing out subsidies to the animal agriculture industry through a fair and just transition, encouraging the production of alternatives to that industry’s animal products.
- Type of Proposal
- Public policy that the party would represent
- Objective / Benefit
- Animal agriculture is the largest or second-largest contributor to climate change, depending on how it is measured. It is also responsible for the vast majority of habitat destruction world-wide. If the world adopted a vegan diet, 3 billion hectares could be reforested (the size of Africa). Removing subsidies to this destructive industry is as imperative as removing subsidies to the oil and gas industry. The wider environmental community understands this. The scientific community has shown this. It is time for the Green Party of Canada to follow the science. These policies would be instrumental in making Canada a more ecologically sustainable country and help Canadians move closer to living a "1.5 Degree Lifestyle."
- If your proposal replaces an existing policy or policies, which one does it replace?
- Adds to current GPC policy
- List any supporting evidence for your proposal
- 1. There is no such thing as sustainable beef. Here is a 127-page scientific meta-study on the claims of regenerative "sustainable" beef: https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/reports/fcrn_gnc_report.pdf 2. A recent study showing that eating a vegan diet cuts environmental impact by 75%. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/20/vegan-diet-cuts-environmental-damage-climate-heating-emissions-study 3. Animal agriculture is the primary driver of habitat loss https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26231772/ 4. Meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein, despite using the vast majority – 83% – of farmland and producing 60% of agriculture's direct greenhouse gas emissions. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216 5. If the livestock sector were to continue with business as usual, this sector alone would account for 49% of allowed emissions to keep warming to 1.5C https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2018.1528965?journalCode=tcpo20
- Does this proposal affect any particular group and what efforts have been made to consult with the group or groups?
- N/A
- Jurisdiction: Is this proposal under federal jurisdiction?
- Yes
- Please indicate the language the proposal is being submitted in.
- English
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Reference: PVC-PROP-2023-08-4149
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Some Canadian agriculture is big business. Some is family business. I won't object to phasing out subsidies for big business. But, to the extent that farming is part of our indigenous and settler culture and heritage, we need to tread lightly.
Some animal agriculture is an environmentally destructive form of monocropping. Some is an integral part of mixed farming and caring for the soil. In some instances, ranching has preserved native grassland that would otherwise have been lost. Recent proposals for introducing solar farms while preserving or enhancing agricultural uses (including grazing) are quite interesting.
We need a more nuanced policy.
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