Climate on Your Plate: Why Meat Matters This World Environmental Education Day
FOUR PAWS reminds us that protecting animals and the environment starts with what’s on our plate.
Cape Town, 23 January 2026 – As the world prepares to mark World Environmental Education Day on 26 January 2026, FOUR PAWS is spotlighting a critical issue: the link between meat, dairy and egg consumption, climate change and animal welfare. Emphasising urgent climate action through education empowers youth to make informed, sustainable choices that protect animals, people and the planet.
Why meat matters for climate and animal welfare:
- FOUR PAWS’ Meat Exhaustion Day report shows South Africans exceed the recommended yearly meat intake by May, highlighting the need to reduce consumption by up to 65% for planetary health.
- Globally, animal agriculture accounts for one-sixth of greenhouse gas emissions, with cows and sheep responsible for two-thirds of these emissions.
- Factory farming drives suffering for billions of animals annually and contributes to antimicrobial resistance, a growing health crisis.
FOUR PAWS asks Government to:
- End factory farming and promoting humane systems.
- Equip schools and communities with resources linking diet choices to climate and welfare impacts.
- Implement policies that reduce meat, dairy and egg production and support plant-based alternatives.
- Collaborate with institutions offering plant-based options and sustainable farming.
Community call to action
South Africa’s biodiversity and ecosystems are under pressure from climate change and livestock-driven land degradation. FOUR PAWS urges:
- Plant-based days in schools and workplaces.
- Curriculum integration of climate and animal welfare education.
- Community pledges to reduce meat, dairy and egg intake and choose high-welfare products.
- Policy advocacy for sustainable food systems.
Deidre Daniels
Public Relations Officer+27 (0)21 702 4277
+27 (0)78 675 8220
9B Bell Crescent, Westlake Business Park,
Green Building, Cape Town, 7945
A Public Relations professional with over eight years’ experience in fostering positive relationships between organisations and media.
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FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as 13 wild animal sanctuaries and cooperation projects across the globe, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org.za