Lancaster University votes to ban meat and dairy at outlets
Rural campaigners have hit back after a small group of students at Lancaster University voted to ban meat and dairy products at its campus-wide catering outlets.
The Students’ Union voted to transition to 50% plant-based catering by 2025, and 100% plant-based catering by 2027. 18 out of 19 members voted in support of it.
The move, however, has been branded an “attack on freedom of choice” against the majority of Lancashire’s student population, which comprises of some 13,000 students.
Lancaster has become the 12th university to pass a similar motion, joining institutions such as Cambridge, Newcastle and Warwick who have also committed to transitioning towards plant-based catering.
At other universities, including Bristol, East Anglia and Edinburgh, students fought back, voting against motions that banned meat and dairy at student union outlets.
Speaking in response to the new result, a spokeswoman for the group, Plant-Based Universities Lancaster, said it was “a massive step in the right direction”.
Responding to the vote, the Countryside Alliance said vegan campaigners should not impose a diet in university-affiliated buildings.
“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.
“Vegan campaigners are welcome to present their arguments in favour of plant-based diets, but should not impose a diet in university-affiliated buildings.
“Students should take on their democratic duty and consider placing forward a counter-motion that keeps meat on the menu.”