There are many reasons to switch to a plant-based diet: to stop the abuse and killing of billions of animals, to improve human health, to reduce the risk of pandemics, and to address greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and many other environmental problems.

This brief discusses ways to encourage plant-forward diets and animal product reduction among the population of a city. It recognizes that cities are key players in this transition and identifies several ways they can do so. Although the report focuses on U.S. cities, other forms of local government can draw inspiration from the options proposed. 

The author explains that U.S. cities have often taken the lead in implementing progressive policies, frequently moving ahead of their state government and the federal government. The first step a city needs to take to promote a plant-forward diet is to find out what laws it has to comply with, keeping in mind that some of them are vague. These vary from county to county. In the U.S., cities need to make sure they’re complying with federal and state laws, any existing ordinances, as well as certain international trade laws. 

Despite these restrictions, this report shows that many options are available. The authors begin by reporting on some that have already been implemented in the United States 

1. Procurement: Reduce the procurement of animal products in public services such as schools, prisons, or hospitals in favor of plant-based products. For example, Berkeley, California has committed to Vision 2025, which includes a 50% reduction in purchasing animal products used in government operations. New York City has committed to reducing beef purchasing by 50% for city government operations, along with phasing out buying processed meat by 2030. Some school districts have adopted Meatless Mondays and banned processed meat from lunches.
   • Benefits: Cities typically have the authority to manage their spending, including food procurement, without facing legal challenges. Reducing the purchase of animal products can save cities money in the long run, as it did in a school district that cut their animal product purchases by 30% and saved $42,000 annually. 
   • Challenges: Changing food procurement policies could face opposition based on cultural beliefs about meat consumption or the idea that the government should not have a say in dietary choices. Strict federal and state procurement guidelines may limit a city’s ability to create its own standards. Additionally, procurement policies favoring plant-based products could face legal challenges under the Commerce Clause from states reliant on the meat industry.
2. Strategic planning: Formally integrate the reduction of animal products directly into city policy planning, as Seattle, Portland, and Oakland have done, by pledging to reduce their meat consumption as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
   • Benefits: Including meat reduction goals in a city’s strategic planning can help maintain the issue on the city’s agenda. 
   • Challenges: City strategic plans are generally non-binding and often regarded as aspirational. This can lead to a lack of concrete action or a false sense of progress. Focusing too narrowly on one target, such as carbon footprint, creates the risk of overlooking other important impacts like social, health, and animal welfare.
3. Informational campaigns: Create informational campaigns to educate citizens about the importance of a plant-forward diet and the means to achieve it, as Dallas, Texas and Portland, Oregon have done by promoting Meatless Mondays via public-private partnerships.
   • Benefits: Informational campaigns can raise awareness about the harms of meat consumption and the benefits of more plant-forward diets, thereby shifting consumer preferences and building support for sustainable food policies. These campaigns don’t require new laws to be implemented and face minimal legal challenges. 
   • Challenges: These campaigns may not always be effective in persuading audiences. 
4. Subsidies: Provide subsidies to financially encourage citizens to switch to a plant-based diet, as New York City has done by financially supporting community gardens. Additionally, in several cities nationwide, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program offers financial matching for fruit and vegetable purchases.
   • Benefits: Pricing can directly affect consumer behavior — lower prices on fruits and vegetables have been found to lead to increased consumption. 
   • Challenges: Subsidy programs can be expensive to implement.
5. Bans: Ban certain animal products from the market, as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago have done with foie gras.
   • Benefits: Instead of relying on consumer choice, bans can limit access to certain products, signal that a particular practice is considered unacceptable, and potentially influence other jurisdictions to enact similar policies. 
   • Challenges: Bans can face political and legal challenges, especially where strong consumer preferences or industry dependence exists.

In addition to these options, the authors suggest six less commonly used methods:  

1. Divestment: Stop investing city funds in animal agriculture-related industries and ask outside investors to do the same. 
2. Securities law: Rely on securities laws or organizations such as the Securities and Exchange Commission to require disclosure of the health risks of consuming animal products, particularly because it can affect investors’ financial risks.
3. Voluntary restaurant grading and certifications: Establish a voluntary certification program to highlight restaurants that support the transition to a plant-based diet, such as those that offer at least one vegan option. 
4. Required restaurant offerings: Require restaurants to offer at least one vegan or vegetarian option on their menus.
5. Labeling menus: Require restaurants to post information on their menus about the impact of different dishes, such as greenhouse gas emissions.  
6. Taxes: Impose taxes on animal products. 

The authors also offer some general tips to help ease the transition to a plant-forward diet. First, it’s important to try and experiment. Just because a policy fails doesn’t mean it’s useless. Failures provide information to help implement better solutions, especially as there are political and cultural differences between cities. Cities also need to work with different local actors, from associations to companies, as many are already involved in this transition. Advocates can encourage local politicians to take action using options outlined in this report.