PRESS RELEASES | 2025

Alcorcón, becomes the 3rd Spanish city in 8 weeks to call for a global Plant Based Treaty

City will halt deforestation from expanded animal agriculture and promote plant-based diets by trialling vegan options in dining halls

Media Contacts:

• Spain:
  Enric Noguera, Plant Based Treaty Spain, +34 608 77 90 05, [email protected]
  
• Global: [email protected]
  
• Media assets: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/17ovxyBvm4aa0fhHFElM-k3eJQMIfv5wb 

Media Contacts:

• Spain:
  Enric Noguera, Plant Based Treaty Spain, +34 608 77 90 05, [email protected]
  
• Global: [email protected]
  
• Media assets: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/17ovxyBvm4aa0fhHFElM-k3eJQMIfv5wb 

July 17, Alcorcón, Spain — The city of Alcorcón has become the 3rd Spanish city in 8 weeks to endorse the call for a global Plant Based Treaty. They join 42 cities, including Parla and El Masnou in Spain, and other European cities such as Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Belfast. Alcorcón has made a commitment to promote healthy diets to prevent cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in Spain.

The government of Alcorcón made a public statement at their plenary session on Wednesday, 16 July, to announce the endorsement. They stated: “The current diet, rich in animal protein and processed foods, combined with a more sedentary lifestyle, is causing an increase in obesity, overweight, and associated chronic diseases that diminish the health of the population and increase healthcare costs… We are experiencing a climate emergency that requires rapid, strong, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gases, and that means addressing emissions from our food system. If we were to shut down all fossil-fueled engines, emissions from our food system would increase global temperatures by more than 1.5 °C.”

Eduardo Olano, councillor of health, consumption, and animal welfare said, “The challenge of the food transition is ethical; it’s about putting values into action, empathy, love, and building the best possible future. The signing of the Plant Based Treaty demonstrates that we believe in promoting health, animal welfare, and the scientific evidence that supports the climate emergency; that is, that food systems are one of the main causes of emissions and that plant-based foods must be part of the solution to address climate change, improve health, and coexist with animals. Food is something personal, with deep emotional and cultural roots. Let’s talk about what we need to develop healthily with calm, consideration, and respect. But let’s talk without hype, listening to scientific evidence, without conflicts of interest. Alcorcón and the world deserve it.”

The endorsement commits the Alcorcón City Council to:

1. Promote a healthy diet based on scientific evidence.
2. Support the fundamental role of small farmers in food.
3. Promote diversified, ecological, and organic agriculture through gardens and community farming.
4. Design information campaigns to raise awareness about the environmental benefits and health and animal welfare benefits of plant-based diets.
5. Reduce consumption of animal-based foods through education and awareness.
6. Promote the transition to plant-based eating plans in public and private settings.
7. Piloting a vegetarian and vegan option in the dining halls.
8. Encourage caterers to increase the availability of plant-based options on their menus.
9. Healthy Pottery Pot Contest and Alcorcón Vegetable Wednesday.
10. Encourage the food industry to join the Edinburgh Climate Pact and the Plant Based Treaty.
11. Encourage sister cities, the Spanish and Madrid governments to support the Plant Based Treaty.
12. Stop changes in land use, including deforestation, for livestock farming.
13. Forward the Plant Based Treaty motion passed by Alcorcón to the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and the Interior of the Community of Madrid, the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and the 2030 Agenda, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, and the parliamentary groups in the Madrid Assembly and Congress.

Enric Noguera, Plant Based Treaty City Campaigner, Spain, said, “Our recent floods, heat waves, and droughts show that the climate emergency is here and getting worse. Diet change can be a difficult conversation to have in Spain, but given the magnitude of the climate crisis and the impact that food systems have on this crisis and our personal health, it is not an issue we can afford to ignore. The political class should implement policies that can protect the population and facilitate a transition to a healthy and sustainable food system. That is why we applaud Alcorcón’s decision to support calls for a Plant Based Treaty and implement measures that promote healthy plant-based food. We hope this serves as an example for other cities and the country as a whole.”

Background

The Plant Based Treaty is modeled on the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and since its launch in August 2021, the initiative has received support from more than 40 cities, almost a quarter of a million individual endorsers, five Nobel laureates, IPCC scientists, and more than 4000 groups and businesses, including Heura, Jane Goodall Institute, Sociedad Española de Nutrición y Medicina Responsables (SENUMER), La Asociación de Residentes de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública (ARES MPSP), and La Asociación Madrileña de Salud Pública (AMaSaP)

The Plant Based Treaty has secured high-profile endorsements from celebrities, including Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, who issued a written statement calling for politicians to support the Plant-Based Treaty. They said: “We believe in justice for animals, the environment and people. That’s why we support the Plant Based Treaty and urge individuals and governments to sign it.”