Congratulations to event grant recipient, Climate Tracker, an international organization that trains aspiring young journalists to learn and write about climate change! Climate Tracker recently hosted a three-day Climate Journalism Workshop in Poland, bringing together participants from four different countries and providing delicious vegan food for all activities.
International Program Manager Arthur Wyns relayed that the event was a great success. “Reducing meat consumption is an important element in tackling climate change, a fact most participants were unaware of going into the workshop,” he said. “Differently from other such events we have organised in the past, this all-vegan workshop led to many more heated discussions on environmental issues such as meat consumption, lifestyle change, and sustainability. Some of the young journalists have already written about the subject in their national media since the workshop.”
“Only a few of the participants were vegan or vegetarian,” said Wyn. “For most participants, eating vegan was a new experience they would not have undertaken on their own. Many participants were surprised how delicious and varied the food was they were served.” Wyn also mentioned that the caterers were new to creating plant-based meals as well, and they found the process a creative challenge, proudly sharing the results on social media. Menus for the multi-day event included local Polish foods, Middle Eastern style tasters (think hummus and olives), vegan burgers, and fresh juice.
After the event, Climate Tracker adopted a formal menu policy which states all projects going forward “are obliged to be 100% vegetarian, and should aim at being entirely plant-based.” The group plans to incorporate this new policy into a broader sustainability policy in the new year.
Thank you, Climate Tracker, for walking your talk as an environmental organization by providing vegan food for your trainings and implementing a plant-based events policy!