Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union Council (TCDSU) has voted to lobby for more plant-based options in College catering services.
TCDSU council voted this evening in favour of a motion to campaign for the replacement of animal-based products with “similarly-priced, healthy, ethically and sustainably sourced plant-based alternatives”.
The motion was proposed by second-year PPES class representative László Molnárfi and was seconded by the union’s Environmental Officer Sam Foley.
The motion stated: “As Ireland’s leading university, we should provide leadership and raise our profile as a sustainability-oriented university prepared to play its part in ameliorating catastrophic climate change and biodiversity loss.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, farming is responsible for 36 per cent of all greenhouse gases emissions. The motion will also see TCDSU lobby “to ensure that all foodstuff in the catering service is audited with a climate-first approach”.
A similar motion was brought to the last meeting of council which proposed that TCDSU lobby for a total ban on animal products in the catering services, but it was agreed that an amended motion would be brought to the following meeting, as an outright ban on animal-based products could exclude students with certain dietary requirements.
Correction: November 15th, 2021
An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of the writer. She is Maebh Gallagher
