Bristol students praised for rejecting meat and dairy ban at its SU outlets

The Countryside Alliance has praised students at the University of Bristol after a meeting of its student council voted against a motion to ban meat and dairy at its SU outlets.

Last week, Bristol University students voted on a motion that would transition its SU towards 100 percent plant-based catering, and would require the SU to lobby for all on-campus vending machines to be plant-based. The motion’s proponents cited concerns about meat and dairy production contributing to global emissions. 

The motion was opposed by 57 percent of the council, whilst 11 percent abstained, and 32 percent supported it.

One SU Officer who opposed the motion explained that whilst sustainability is important, “there are more suitable alternatives, such as lobbying the University to source meat from more ethical sources…”

Their comments were welcomed by the Alliance,  who are leading the Rural Fightback campaign, which lobbies councils to back local farmers and growers and require locally sourced meat, dairy, and plant-based products at council-catered events. Presented as a motion before council, it has successfully passed in Cornwall, North Northamptonshire, Suffolk and Portsmouth.  

The initiative responds to a number of councils, including Oxfordshire and Enfield, that have mandated vegan catering at their events in the face of local food producers.

Bristol SU’s rejection of its campus going vegan, Bristol joins Edinburgh University, which similarly rejected a motion to mandate plant-based menus at Student Association venues this year. In 2019, students at the University of East Anglia voted to overturn a previous decision to switch to all-vegan catering at its SU outlets.

Sabina Roberts, External Affairs Officer at the Countryside Alliance, said: “We’re pleased to see students voting overwhelmingly against compulsory diets and in favour of common sense. The vote by Bristol’s Student Union demonstrates the sensibility of our Rural Fightback, which we have been taking across the nation. People should have the freedom to choose what goes on their plate; we should be encouraging the public to eat locally sourced produce, which reduces food miles, not forcing them to follow any one particular diet.”

She added: “British meat is amongst the most sustainable in the world. Farmers should be celebrated for their contributions to sustainability endeavours through regenerative farming techniques and the production of renewable energy.