UN Policy

What we do & why

What

Engaging with international institutions to bring food system transformation and sustainable diets to the heart of the global policy agenda.

Why

Since 2017, ProVeg has increasingly engaged with international organizations, with a specific focus on UN institutions. ProVeg has received the United Nations’ Momentum for Change Award and works closely with key UN food and environment agencies. We have observer status with the UNFCCC and the IPCC, special consultative status with ECOSOC, are member of the CTCN and are accredited for UNEA. Furthermore, we are an official partner of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). This allows ProVeg International to increase its impact while advocating for a shift towards more plant-rich food systems in international meetings and negotiations.

By engaging with international organizations and building long-term relationships with UN institutions specifically, we aim to mainstream a shift towards plant-based diets as a proven climate change mitigation and adaptation solution.

Our approach

UN Working Groups

Co-chair of the 50by40 UNFCCC Action Group
Involved with WFA’s UNFCCC Working Group
Involved with the Official Children and Youth Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), also known as YOUNGO through our Youth employees and our Youth Board
Member of Climate Action Network, and through them, the official Environmental NGOs Constituency of UNFCCC (ENGO)
Member of the Global School Meals Coalition from the UN Food Systems Summit process
Member of the Beans is How Coalition
Member of the UNEP’s NGOs Major Group
Member of the High Level Political Forum’s NGO Major Group

Collaborations with NGOs

Joint campaigns including open letters, joint statements, social media actions
High-level meetings and negotiators dinners
Side events and press conferences at UN Conferences
Food4Climate Pavilion at COP27 and COP28
Action On Food Hub at COP29
COP30 Food Coalition

Our policy demands

The transition from animal husbandry to plant production should be made possible by bonuses and retraining.
The subsidies for animal products through a reduced VAT should be discontinued and socially cushioned.
Plant-based alternatives are to be promoted through a reduced VAT rate of 7%.
An information campaign about healthy, plant-based nutrition is to be launched.
In community catering, plant-based dishes should be offered daily as standard.
Alternative sources of protein (vegetable and cell cultured) should be promoted.

Food4Climate Pavilion

The launch of the Pavilion at COP27 last year, alongside other food system Pavilions, was groundbreaking because it signified recognition at UN-level of the relationship between climate change and food production.

ProVeg International is gearing up to build on the success of COP27 and further emphasize the need to make the shift towards plant-rich diets, adopt sustainable and resilient agricultural practices, and reduce food loss and waste.

A total of 15 partner organizations have already signed up to join ProVeg at its Pavilion, including: World Animal Protection, A Well-Fed World, Humane Society International, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, Four Paws, Food Tank, Mercy For Animals, the Jeremy Coller Foundation, Compassion in World Farming, Upfield, Impossible Foods, the MENA Youth Network, Young Professionals for Agricultural Development, the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences, and the YOUNGO Food and Agriculture Working Group.

ProVeg UN Youth Board

The ProVeg International UN Team is proud to present the Youth Board, comprised of 20 outstanding young people from around the world. These global youth activists advise our UN team and spread the message in the lead-up to COP29, this year’s edition of the annual UN Climate Change Conference, which takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Learn more about the Youth Board

About the ProVeg UN Policy Team

The current team is made up of a group of devoted policy experts who work tirelessly to achieve our mission to replace 50% of animal products, globally, with plant-based and cultivated foods by 2040. Read their bios to know more about them and their work within ProVeg International!

Juliette Tronchon

Head of UN Affairs

Juliette joined ProVeg in 2019 as an intern. She had been involved in a plant-based organization at university and wanted to continue on this path. It had also been her dream to live in Berlin for years. So by working for ProVeg, she accomplished two things at once.

Juliette’s job in a nutshell is running from one international conference to the other – life could be worse, right!? Leading the Food4Climate Pavilion at COP27 and COP28, she underscores the urgency of transitioning to plant-rich diets and implementing resilient agricultural practices, aiming to deliver a clear message to negotiators and policymakers. Juliette also co-manages the ProVeg Youth Board, actively empowering the voices of young individuals globally.

Juliette’s LinkedIn

Lana Weidgenant

Senior UN Policy Manager

Lana started her advocacy journey as a youth climate activist specializing in sustainable food systems. Prior to joining ProVeg, she was the UN Food Systems Summit Youth Vice-Chair of Shifting to Sustainable Consumption Patterns. Lana’s experience with the Food Systems Summit proved to her that it is politically possible to champion the transition towards healthy, sustainable, and plant-rich diets on the United Nations stage, and she was excited to join the ProVeg UN Policy Team to do exactly that.

Lana’s youth engagement background has translated into co-managing the ProVeg Youth Board, and facilitating youth food systems engagement at the UN headquarters. Based in New York City, Lana is able to lead ProVeg’s advocacy impact in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), as well as the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, and UN General Assembly. Lana has also found an exciting impact opportunity in being able to engage the catering teams of COP28, COP29, and the UNFCCC in bringing many more delicious plant-based options into the UN Climate Change Conference – which have brought us plant-based fuel and joy while working hard on the ground!

Lana’s LinkedIn

Stephanie Maw

Senior UN Policy & Advocacy Manager

Stephanie is passionate about advocating for a shift to more plant-based diets and food production as a multi-problem solution: for the environment, health, animal welfare and justice.

To achieve this, she engages with politicians, governments, policymakers and various UN agencies on food-related issues and works to influence climate change negotiations at COP and other key events. Additionally, she co-chairs the Food & Climate Action Group, a coalition of over 20 international NGOs, and strives to foster collaboration with other stakeholders and partners.

A plant-based food and language lover, Stephanie also enjoys working out and playing tennis, discovering nature, traveling and learning about history, culture and art.

Stephanie’s LinkedIn