Lancaster University Students’ Union latest to vote to go vegan-only

Students at Lancaster University have become the latest to join the Plant-Based Universities (PBU) campaign, after voting to transition to vegan-only food on campus.

18 out of the Students’ Union’s 19 delegates voted to approve the targets, which mandate a 50% vegan menu for on-campus establishments by 2025, and an entirely vegan menu by 2027. The decision makes Lancaster the 11th UK campus to have voted to transition to an all plant-based menu.

The PBU campaign seeks to align British higher education institutions with goals for sustainability and net zero, by moving away from the animal agriculture industry. The project promotes “just and sustainable” food consumption, and is now looking to expand into Europe, having raised over £4,000 towards a target of £10,000 to achieve this.

Reducing consumption of meat and dairy products is a crucial step in meeting our climate and health targets

Professor Rebecca Willis

The vote’s results were received positively by some. Professor Rebecca Willis, a member of the University’s Environment Centre, said: “Reducing consumption of meat and dairy products is a crucial step in meeting our climate and health targets.

“I’m really pleased that Lancaster’s students are asking our university to lead the way on this vital issue.”

The official decision to eliminate meat and dairy products from campus remains under the authority of Lancaster University’s management, who have stressed that no agreement regarding changing catering services has been reached.

A statement highlighted the institution’s commitment to Net Zero by 2035, and ongoing efforts to provide plant-based options on all menus – but it said that “more than anything, […] students prefer to have choices on campus”.

The Countryside Alliance, an organisation supporting British farms, has objected to the vote as not sufficiently representing Lancaster’s student population.

It seems preposterous that a minority group of students could take a decision so complex and personal […] and force it onto the wider student body

Countryside Alliance spokesperson

Sabina Roberts, a spokesperson for the group, said that a body of 19 delegates could not possibly accurately represent the opinions of 13,000 students, suggesting that: “This decision absolutely should have been put to a student vote.”

“It seems preposterous that a minority group of students could take a decision so complex and personal – an individual’s dietary choices – and force it onto the wider student body.”

The University of Warwick’s Students’ Union voted in November 2023 for union-run catering outlets to transition to vegan-only food products by 2027, with efforts for private establishments to join the initiative.

PETA UK has called the PBU campaign a “plant-powered revolution in UK universities”. As more students’ unions join the campaign – the PBU claims campaigns in as many as 80 universities – it is clear that British and European students are taking an increasingly active role in pressuring their institutions to commit to mitigating the climate crisis through plant-based catering systems.