Attachment 4 - Meatless-Cities-Workshop-Session-3-Primer-on-Procurement-PoliciesMEATLESS CITIES
A Workshop on How Cities Can Help Lead the
Transition to a Plant-Forward Food System
Session 3
Procurement Policies
June 16, 2021 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM
1
POLICY OPTIONS
Numerous cities have adopted policies to reduce the amount of meat products that they purchase, as well
as pushed for facilities to explore and provide alternative, plant-based offerings.
Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP). The GFPP is aimed at changing the way public institutions
purchase food, including by incorporating animal welfare and environmental sustainability standards into
their procurement policies. A number of cities have pledged to adhere to the GFPP, including Berkeley
(CA), Los Angeles (CA), Oakland (CA), San Francisco (CA), Washington, DC, Chicago (IL), Boston (MA),
Cincinnati (OH), and Austin (TX), in addition to numerous institutions within these cities. Though the
program is voluntary, participating cities have collectively shifted millions of dollars towards suppliers
aligned with the program’s values.
Procurement Commitments. Various cities have adopted commitments to reduce the amount of animal-
based food products they purchase. For example:
•Berkeley (CA) was the first city to adopt a progressive new food purchasing policy committing to
replace 50% of the city’s animal-based food purchasing with plant-based alternatives (Vision 2025
for Sustainable Food Policies).
•New York (NY) has committed to reducing the city’s beef purchases by 50% and phasing out all
purchase of processed meat by 2030 (NYC Green New Deal).
•San Francisco (CA) passed a resolution committing to reduce purchases of animal products in jails
by 50% in 2024 and in hospitals by 15% in 2023.
Meatless Mondays. School districts in several cities have adopted Meatless Mondays, including Baltimore
City Public Schools (MD), Buffalo Public School District (NY), and New York City Public Schools (NY).
Vegetarian & Vegan Food Options. Various cities have pushed for greater availability of plant-based
food options. For example:
•The school districts in Berkeley (CA) and New York (NY) now offer plant-based option at every
meal, and four schools in New York (NY) are fully vegetarian.
•Berkeley (CA) also requires vegan-only food to be served at city events and meetings on
Mondays.
•Looking beyond city facilities, Los Angeles has introduced legislation that would require
entertainment and travel venues to put at least one vegan dish on their menus.
Notably, states appear to be responding positively to these local procurement initiatives with plant-
forward policies of their own. In 2018, California passed a law requiring hospitals, prisons, nursing homes,
and other state facilities to provide at least one vegan meal option. In 2019, New York State passed similar
legislation requiring hospitals to make plant-based meals and snacks available to patients and to list the
vegan options on all written materials and menus.
ATTACHMENT 4
MEATLESS CITIES: A Workshop on How Cities Can
Help Lead the Transition to a Plant-Forward Food System
Session 3
Procurement Policies
2
POTENTIAL CHALLENGES
Despite potential political opposition, none of the above-mentioned examples of procurement policies
enacted by cities appear to have been challenged in the courts as unlawful.
However, the source of procurement funding could pose legal challenges. Food purchased by local
agencies using federal dollars must follow federal procurement guidelines, and food purchased using
state funds must follow state procurement guidelines. To the extent that cities are relying on state or
federal funding to purchase food, these guidelines could potentially limit their ability to reduce their
procurement of animal-based food products.
Moreover, geographically preferential laws have been challenged under the Dormant Commerce Clause
on the basis that they discriminate against commerce from other states. If procurement policies favoring
plant-based products over meat products were implemented, parties in states that rely heavily on the
meat industry might bring these challenges.
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION
1. How effective are procurement policies in helping cities reduce their consumption of meat? Can
they be effective in influencing consumer behavior?
2. How might procurement policies be designed to overcome or otherwise minimize the risk of
potential legal challenges?
3. City policies aimed at reducing the procurement of animal-based food appear to have been
largely focused on city facilities. To what extent can cities require non-public institutions and
businesses to reduce their procurement of meat and other animal-based foods or otherwise
require them to offer plant-based options? What challenges would cities face?
4. What are the political challenges to changes in procurement policies? How might political
opposition to procurement policies be overcome?