Urban areas are responsible for a large percentage of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are on the front lines of adapting to the effects of climate change. Rising to the challenge, municipalities around the country have pledged to reduce their GHG emissions and to develop climate action plans (CAPs) that outline the actions they will take to achieve targeted reductions. Missing from many municipal CAPs, however, are actions to reduce emissions from food production, transport, handling, and disposal—despite the growing recognition that addressing food-related emissions is key to meeting climate mitigation goals. This Article demonstrates that municipalities are well-positioned to incorporate food-related measures into their CAPs and, in particular, measures that increase the availability of plant-based proteins and engage the public on their benefits. Plant-based proteins, including whole-food plant proteins (such as beans and tofu) as well as meat analogs (such as plant-based burgers), represent not only an opportunity to advance climate mitigation goals but also provide co-benefits in the areas of environment, public health, resilience and food security, equity and inclusion, and animal welfare, while expanding the range of food choices available to municipal employees, residents, and visitors.

The Article begins by identifying key considerations for incorporating plant-based protein actions into CAPs. It then identifies key legal and policy considerations related to the scope of municipal authority and compliance and alignment with existing municipal policies. Based on this analysis, the Article then proposes a first-of-its-kind typology of municipal plant-based protein actions to increase the availability of plant-based proteins and engage the public on their benefits. The seven categories of actions in the typology include over thirty specific examples that range from incremental to ambitious. The Article also provides valuable resources for city managers, lawyers, and advocates in an appendix that identifies examples of each action drawn from a review of over thirty existing municipal CAPs.

Continue reading More Than a Hill O’ Beans: A Typology for Incorporating Plant-Based Protein Measures into Municipal Climate Action Plans and the Appendix.