Let’s Talk About It: Animal Agriculture and the Climate Crisis

The suggested revisions to the Climate Action Plan promote the benefits of plant-based diets and educate residents on the impacts of animal-based food. photo: AdobeStock

Summers in San Francisco are hard to beat, with sunny weather (but not too hot), excited tourists filling the streets, and local residents and their pets enjoying all the amazing parks that lace our city. 

But while it’s my favorite time of year, summers are starting to feel more precarious. Though we’re still early in the season, warnings are already showing up in our news feeds. “Dangerous heat wave,” “sweltering temperatures,” “threatened food systems”  - all phrases pulled from recent headlines related to climate change.

One glimmer of hope? Our city is leading by example and showing the world that it’s committed to taking climate change seriously. In fact, the San Francisco Environment Department is currently in the process of updating the San Francisco Climate Action Plan, which “charts a pathway to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”

The Climate Action Plan revision was brought to our attention by a local resident during the open public comment section of the Animal Commission’s June meeting. As this speaker pointed out, the plan outlines a variety of strategies and actions to achieve its goal of net-zero emissions, but it neglects an incredibly important element that could have an enormous impact on climate change: our diet. Currently, the draft fails to mention - even once - the major ways that animal agriculture contributes to our climate crisis.

There’s no shortage of data and research that shows how detrimental animal agriculture is to our environment (from emissions to deforestation to biodiversity loss to water pollution) and how beneficial a plant-based diet is for reducing emissions. Animal agriculture remains the leading cause of methane and nitrous oxide in the U.S. Even the United Nations cites the benefits of plant-based diets and emphasizes how critical it is for us to change how we eat if the world wants to meet ambitious climate targets. And, of course, among all these stats, we can’t ignore the billions of animals that are suffering in factory farms every year.

This sense of urgency led the commission to vote unanimously to urge the city to include strategies in the Climate Action Plan revision that promote the benefits of plant-based diets and educate residents on the impacts of animal-based food. What could this look like in action? Some suggestions we put forward include adding more plant-based food options at local schools, city-run events, and local hospitals, for example. 

We certainly don’t expect everyone to become a vegetarian overnight, but we do think that with better education and options, many people would make choices - at least occasionally - that would help reduce the environmental impact. We’re hopeful that city leaders will heed our recommendations and integrate these ideas into the final plan.

Last month’s commission meeting was also an inspiring reminder about how even small actions can have big results. After all, the reason commissioners rallied together to vote on these recommendations was because one San Francisco resident cared enough to come to our meeting and speak.

So whether it’s showing up at a city meeting or opting for tofu every once in a while, let’s be aware of how we can all use small moments within our control to help combat climate change. See you at City Hall!

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of Commissioner Garfinkel and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare.

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The next meeting of the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare is at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, July 10, Room 408 at City Hall (1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102). Information about remote access to meetings is available at our website. Agendas are published 72 hours prior to the meeting.