Insightful Initiatives: The School Plates Programme and Plant-Based Universities, Part 2 of 2

Despite having a busy schedule during her 2nd year of studies in Politics and International Relations at University College London, Ms. Achuthan dedicates her time to various organizations and causes such as: The International Public Policy Review (IPPR), Gender and Sexuality Diversity (GSD), Ethnic and Racial Diversity (ERD), in addition to this, she founded the Animal Rights Society of University College London and launched the Plant-Based Universities campaign.

“We are with 20 active Plant-Based Universities campaigns and our goal is to transition all university catering facilities across the UK to 100% plant-based catering by 2023/2024 academic year. So initially, students are the target, but at the end of it, it is the higher ups at university that we are trying to change. And through all of these meetings and negotiations, they've now been able to have Meatless Mondays at London Metropolitan University.

University of Oxford produced a study that said animal agriculture can cause up to 49% of global greenhouse gases. We are asking universities to simply listen to their researchers. At Bournemouth University, they passed a policy motion to make plant-based options more accessible. And what they did at Bournemouth University was they have equalized the price of plant-based options and meat options. Another win was University of Sussex. At the start of the campaign, the majority of the audience were against the plant-based university campaign, and at the end of the debate, the majority of the audience were in favor of the plant-based university campaign.”

“We are so aware of the impact of animal agriculture, the impact of meat, dairy and fishing on climate change that we're the ones most open to a vegan diet. I think exposing children at a young age to a plant-based diet is the way to go forward because changing habits can be difficult. I think the most important job to do right now, and the most fulfilling job to do right now, is in the realms for sustainability and environment. So, I'm definitely going to continue my work in this.”