International celebrities have united through an open letter calling on world leaders at the COP27 climate conference to end factory farming and transform our global food system.
More than 200 prominent individuals – including actors Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Steve Coogan, and Dame Joanna Lumley – signed the letter.
Organised by the animal welfare and environmental NGO Compassion in World Farming, as part of its new End of the Line for Factory Farming global campaign – the open letter highlights and calls on world leaders to support and deliver a global agreement on food and farming at the United Nations General Assembly.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
It is being released on Solutions Day at the COP27 conference, while British TV personalities Chris Packham and Miriam Margolyes and award-winning authors Michael Morpurgo and Barbara Kingsolver also signed the letter.
New YouGov research released by Compassion this week shows that almost two thirds of people (63%) in 13 countries polled believe factory farming puts profits ahead of climate and environment.
Launched this week by Compassion in World Farming with partner NGOs from all over the world, the campaign aims to get a global agreement to end factory farming and transform our global food system so that it benefits people, animals and the planet.
The letter states: “If the global community is to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement targets and the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity, action must be taken now to end industrial animal farming.
“From pollution to the climate crisis and wildlife extinctions. From animal cruelty to human hunger and malnutrition. Take a closer look at almost any global challenge, and you’ll find food at its core. A system based on overproduction and unhealthy food is propped up by intensive farming methods.
“The livestock sector produces more greenhouse gases than the direct emissions of all the world’s planes, trains and cars combined. Without urgent action, intensive animal agriculture threatens our very survival. We need a food transformation. Our people, animals and planet cannot wait any longer.”
Head of Compassion in World Farming UK, Dr Nick Palmer, said: “This is the first campaign action from the new End of the Line for Factory Farming global movement dedicated to ending this cruel and unnecessary practice.
“It’s causing a climate and nature emergency – one third of global warming is driven by food production and consumption.
“Our open letter, released on Solutions Day at COP27, sends a clear message to world leaders highlighting the urgent need for action. It’s quite simple – without ending factory farming and transforming our food system, it will be impossible to meet climate targets.”
The news comes as more companies than ever are making global commitments towards cage-free production, according to the sixth annual EggTrack report by Compassion in World Farming.
