Plant-Based Campus Launches In India
Screenshot from the Plant-Based Campus Somaiya Vidyavihar University Launch Training
On 20 June, students at Somaiya Vidyavihar University (SVU), Mumbai launched the first Plant-Based Campus (PBC) campaign in India. The initiative calls on the university administration, its catering providers, and affiliated organisations to transition to a 100% plant-based food system to address the climate and environmental crises.
The launch comes at a critical time as India has recently experienced heatwaves exceeding 45°C. A 2019 study found that dairy was the food category responsible for the highest share of India’s food-related emissions, and that increases in food-related emissions were largely due to higher intake of meat and dairy.
Whilst Somaiya Vidyavihar University’s catering is already fully vegetarian, transitioning towards 100% plant-based catering can have a significant positive environmental impact, and set a new precedent for sustainability within Indian institutions. It would also complement the university’s existing sustainable development commitments.
Tanay Parekh, a Bachelor’s student in and co-Coordinator at PBC SVU says:
“We're already facing the consequences of the climate crisis in India before much of the rest of the world. Without immediate food systems change, we risk making the present and the future much worse. Universities are where the future is, and the youth have no choice but to care about this. Plant-based catering is the way to go.”
Another student emphasises India’s long philosophical history of environmental care which views humans’ relationship with nature as part of an interconnected system. They also emphasise the need to critically examine our own impacts on the environment, and to make it easier to live more sustainably as Plant-Based Campus aims to promote.
The launch of the first Plant-Based Campus campaign outside of the Nordics represents an exciting opportunity to scale global impact. Plant-Based Campus is seeking global expansion to maximise its cost-effective approach to driving material food-system change, and PBC SVU serves as an important trial to understand how food system change can take place within different external contexts. Launching a campaign in India was identified as a high-priority due to its large student population, high rate of vegetarianism, rapidly growing consumption of animal products, and as it is one of the countries most impacted by climate change and unsustainable food systems.
According to Clara Gausepohl, who is supporting Plant-Based Campus campaigns in India:
“There are many challenges when launching international campaigns, and we can’t just use our approach in the Nordics and expect it to work the same in India. It’s not just that the administrative and governance frameworks are different but, importantly, also the cultural and religious relationship to food. We’re taking this complexity into account, learning from local campaigners, and giving them support, resources and room for experimentation with strategy. I’m very confident in the team and the long-term success of PBC campaign across India!”
The Plant-Based Campus Somaiya campaign is now initiating discussions with key stakeholders, and is planning community events to introduce more students to this initiative. Students at Somaiya University who want to get involved can contact the campaign through Instagram or via the Plant-Based Campus contact page.
Plant-Based Campus is a democratic student-led campaign working with universities and higher education institutions to transition to 100% plant-based catering to reduce emissions.
