Civic Plate
We work alongside community members in various cities, counties, and states to ensure that their values are reflected in their governments’ food-purchasing decisions.
Governments are significant food purchasers, procuring food for a variety of public events, meetings, and institutions. By focusing on the purchase of plant-based food, cities, counties, and states can tackle a range of critical issues effectively.
Environmental Sustainability:
Increasingly, leading scientists and NGOs recognize the staggering environmental impacts of animal agriculture and urge us to change course. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted the significant climate-change mitigation and adaptation opportunities of plant-rich diets.United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, P. R. Shukla et al., eds., Climate Change and Land: An IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems (Rome: United Nations IPCC, 2019), summary for policymakers, sec. B.6.2. This is why more and more people are looking to plant-based meals, which have a much smaller carbon footprint than animal-based ones—63% smaller in a recent analysis.“Greener by Default at the University of Victoria,” University of Victoria, accessed July 11, 2023, https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/defaultveg/environment/. Animal agriculture accounts for about 15% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.P. J. Gerber et al., Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock: A Global Assessment of Emissions and Mitigation Opportunities (Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013), 15. A Chatham House report calls for a global shift toward plant-forward eating and highlights “a general belief that it is the role of government to spearhead efforts to address unsustainable consumption of meat.”Laura Wellesley, Catherine Happer, and Antony Froggatt, Changing Climate, Changing Diets: Pathways to Lower Meat Consumption (London, UK: Chatham House, 2015), vii. In conjunction with national and international policy leaders, cities and counties play a pivotal role in supporting this crucial shift.
Improving Public Health:
According to the American Medical Association and American College of Cardiology, plant-based foods can help prevent many chronic health problems.Hyunju Kim et al., “Plant‐Based Diets Are Associated with a Lower Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All‐Cause Mortality in a General Population of Middle‐Aged Adults,” Journal of the American Heart Association 8, no. 16 (August 2019): 012865. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups.“Heart Disease Facts,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 15, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/data-research/facts-stats/index.html#cdcreference_1. Fortunately, diets higher in plants are linked to reduced risk of both heart disease and hypertension.Sarah Alexander et al., “A Plant-Based Diet and Hypertension,” Journal of Geriatric Cardiology 14, no. 5 (May 2017): 327–30; “The Right Plant-Based Diet for You,” Harvard Health Publishing, March 30, 2021, https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-right-plant-based-diet-for-you. Diets high in plant-based foods can also help prevent type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and other diet-related diseases, all of which harm society in terms of healthcare costs and lives lost.Joshua Gibbs and Francesco P. Cappuccio, “Plant-Based Dietary Patterns for Human and Planetary Health,” Nutrients 14, no. 8 (April 2022): 1614.
Promoting Inclusivity:
Offering more plant-based food options could better accommodate a variety of diets chosen for moral, health, or religious reasons. This would affect the 30 to 50 million Americans—predominantly people of color—who are lactose intolerant.“Lactose Intolerance,” Boston Children’s Hospital, accessed January 22, 2025, https://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions/lactose-intolerance#:~:text=A%20lack%20of%20lactase%20can,Native%20Americans%20are%20lactose%20intolerant. In a 2019 Gallup poll, 23% of American respondents reported reducing their meat consumption in the preceding year, and the percentage was higher among people of color at 31%.Justin McCarthy and Scott DeKoster, “Nearly One in Four in U.S. Have Cut Back on Eating Meat,” Gallup, January 27, 2020, https://news.gallup.com/poll/282779/nearly-one-four-cut-back-eating-meat.aspx.
Fiscal Efficiency:
Procuring more plant-based foods is likely to result in cost savings. In a 2024 analysis of university catering, Bryant Research found that food costs for plant-based meals were on average 30% cheaper than meat-based meals and 21% cheaper than vegetarian meals.Billy Nicholles and Chris Bryant, Climate-Conscious & Cost-Effective: The Case for Plant-Based University Catering (Bristol, UK: Bryant Research, 2024), 1. And according to The Sustainable Restaurant Association, serving more plant-based dishes reduces ordering costs, as meat and dairy products are generally more expensive than plant-based foods.Jocelyn Doyle, “8 Benefits of Putting More Plant-Rich Meals on the Menu,” The Sustainable Restaurant Association, September 3, 2024, https://thesra.org/news-insights/insights/8-benefits-of-putting-more-plant-rich-meals-on-the-menu/.
Our mission is
to empower communities and governments to embrace plant-based solutions for a healthier and more sustainable future.
How We Work
Legislative drafting
We collaborate with elected officials and their staff to draft policy language that aligns with a given jurisdiction’s existing goals and priorities.
Strategic advising
We consult with government bodies to ensure that policy adoption and implementation is strategic and effective.
Running public opinion surveys
We run public opinion surveys and focus groups to measure constituent support for a plant-based food purchasing policy in a given jurisdiction.
Engaging community members
We engage community members and stakeholders within a given jurisdiction at each step of the process.
Building coalitions
We build diverse coalitions of organizations excited to support a policy to increase plant-based food purchasing in a given jurisdiction.
Our Successes
2025
Hennepin County, MN, adopted an administrative policy requiring plant-based food to be served by default at county-sponsored meetings and events. Animal-based foods, such as meat and dairy, will remain available upon request.
Civic Plate, a project of Mercy For Animals, and Wholesome Minnesota collaborated with a team of local volunteers and a County Commissioner to develop a policy that champions public health and inclusivity.
2025
In 2025, we collaborated closely with the City of Sammamish, Washington, to create a plant-based by default catering policy for city-sponsored events and meetings. The policy tasks the city with serving plant-based foods by default at city-sponsored events and meetings, giving attendees the option to request foods with animal products (meat, dairy).
2025
In 2025, we guided Los Angeles County in adopting a second plant-based food purchasing motion. The second motion tasks the county with incorporating the updated Standards for Prepared Foods, Snacks, and Beverages into all new and renewing county contracts. It also tasks the county with setting ambitious greenhouse gas emissions-reduction goals associated with its food purchasing and recognizes purchasing more plant-based foods as a way of achieving this goal.
2024
In 2024, we collaborated with Los Angeles County, California, to pass a groundbreaking motion that required the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to update its Nutrition Standards for Prepared Foods, Snacks, and Beverages to prioritize plant-based food options. Furthermore, it tasked relevant county departments with recommending ways to increase plant-based food purchases and reduce animal-based food purchases to lessen the county’s environmental footprint.
2024
In 2024, we worked closely with the City of West Hollywood, California, to pass a plant-based food purchasing policy. The resolution tasks the city with serving plant-based foods by default at city-sponsored events and meetings, giving attendees the option to request foods with animal products (meat, dairy).
Who We Are
Alex Cerussi
Alex Cerussi is the senior state policy manager at Mercy For Animals, co-leading the Civic Plate project and overseeing the organization’s state, county, and city policy initiatives related to food-system reform and sustainability.
Alex is currently the resolutions vice-chair of the American Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee and previously served as the committee’s chair. She serves as a member of Animal Defense Partnership’s Advisory Council and served as a 2024 member of the Bend City Council Advisory Environment and Climate Committee. Alex received a BA in political science from Elon University and her JD from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.
Claudia Lifton-Schwerner
Claudia Lifton-Schwerner is the state policy manager at Mercy For Animals, co-leading the Civic Plate project and lobbying local and state governments to increase their purchasing of plant-based foods in order to achieve their climate and sustainability goals and improve the healthfulness of the food they serve their staff and constituents.
Prior to her role at Civic Plate, Claudia worked at the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition and spoke to over 40,000 students, stakeholders, and business leaders about the environmental, social justice, public health, and animal welfare impacts of industrial animal agriculture. Claudia also serves as the co-chair of the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council. In this role, she guides government agencies in adopting plant-based default policies, and she supports Denver institutions in implementing the Good Food Purchasing Program.
Work with Us
Interested in collaborating on a policy to help increase the sustainability and healthfulness of government food purchases in your area? Contact us!
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Civic Plate is a project of Mercy For Animals, a public charity exempt from tax under IRC section 501(c)(3).
