Dear UN Secretary General, António Guterres,

Climate emergency is a reality that will define Humanity’s present generation. It is also an opportunity to come together around the common goal of preserving nature and the life-sustaining ecosystems of our Planet. This is the fight of your life, and ours too.

As you mentioned in the most recent UN report (2021)— “Making Peace with Nature” —there is an urgent need to rethink the way we produce food, and to conduct a more thoughtful collective management of land resources, such as water, soils and the oceans. But the responsibility for this transformation cannot rest solely on the shoulders of abstract figures such as states or corporations. In our view, this responsibility rests with all of us and can be taken up by anyone, through small individual changes.

Small changes in our dish can mean big changes for the climate.

As noted by the UN Environment Program, changes in eating habits—especially in developed countries, where the consumption of meat and dairy products produced with intensive use of energy and water is high—would reduce the pressure on biodiversity and on the climate system. The livestock industry and the consumption of food of animal origin are — as highlighted by several entities and reports, , —among the factors that most contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases. It is estimated that this sector alone is responsible for at least 14% of total global emissions.

On the other hand, a plant-based diet is one of the most effective ways to mitigate our ecological footprint. A change in human diet, in the sense of including mostly plant-based protein, can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20% and bring us closer to the Sustainable Development goals set out in the Paris Agreement. It is a low-cost, high-impact solution, accessible to one and all.

We would therefore like to challenge you to lead by your personal example, by accepting to take a significant step towards adopting a plant-based diet. This small action has the potential of making a huge difference and sets an example for everyone, be it our grandchildren, the youth from around the world, or other world leaders.