Woke students force veganism on top British university | Politics | News
Only 12 students voted (Image: PlantBasedUnis)
Woke students have voted to impose vegan menus at one of the UK’s most prestigious universities. Just 12 members of the University of Southampton Students’ Union backed a plan to make plant-based food the default option in all bars, canteens and cafes on campus; critics slammed the decision and demanded that students have “freedom of choice”.
Victoria Atkins MP, Shadow Environment Secretary, said: “What happened to freedom of choice? Why are 25,000 students being forced to have a vegan diet just because a few hundred of them signed a petition?” He added: “If the students’ union is so worried about the environmental impact of food, they’ll probably also ban avocados from the other side of the world, grown in the smoke-blackened embers of rainforest deforestation.”
Ms Atkins said: “Students should have the option to buy quality, local meat and dairy products produced in the UK that meet the highest animal welfare standards in the world.” The changes, which will come into force next academic year, follow a 12-3 vote by student union delegates.
Just under 4% of students signed a petition supporting the proposal.
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Rural campaigners have criticized the system as a “misleading and unfair demonization of meat and dairy consumption”. The Countryside Alliance said a “small minority of students” led to the decision, which spokesman Johnnie Furse said excluded “a large number of students who did not want or consented to this”.
Speaking to the Daily Express, he urged people to support farmers and “not portray them as the enemy”, adding: “British livestock farmers produce meat and dairy products to some of the highest standards of welfare and sustainability in the world.” Mr Furse said vegan products were “often overly processed or imported from the other side of the world and often have a large carbon footprint”.
He added: “The vast majority of the British public accept all this, which is reflected in the fact that vegan products are increasingly being rejected and their sales have fallen steadily over the last two years.”
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Farmers are unfairly portrayed as the enemy, campaigners say (Image: Getty)
The University of Southampton, part of the elite Russell Group, is now one of 20 universities to join the Plant-Based Universities group backed by Greenpeace UK and Green Party Boss Zack Polanski. Eco-activists in the group claim on their website that universities “legitimise the livestock and fishing industries,” a multibillion-dollar industry that employs people across the country.
But Southampton academics praised the move and Associate Professor of Climate and Environmental Change Dr. Becks Spake heralded the change as “excellent”. He said: “The University lives up to its responsibility to lead on climate action. This decision is in line with scientific evidence showing that shifting to plant-rich diets is essential to reduce emissions, protect nature and secure food for future generations.”
Matthew Rochford, a PhD student at the university, said he was “delighted” by the decision and that it “recognised the devastating impact of animal agriculture”, which he described as “one of the biggest problems we face today”. However, Southampton University Students’ Union distanced itself from the vote. The Students’ Union is an independent organization that operates its own food and drink outlets on campus.
A University of Southampton spokesperson said: “We are aware of the recent vote by our Students’ Union. While we have no current plans to change our food and drink offer in university-run outlets, feedback from students will help shape future updates to our menus.”
They added: “We are proud to have a diverse staff and student community and to offer a diverse menu in our campus kitchens to suit different tastes, beliefs and dietary needs.”
