Dear John,

Breaking news! In a huge win for animals, human health, and the planet, Los Angeles County just passed a first-of-its-kind policy to address the environmental costs associated with the county's food purchases by promoting and increasing procurement of plant-based foods. Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the United States, so the impact is significant. Mercy For Animals is grateful to Los Angeles County supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis for championing this policy.

Over the past year, Mercy For Animals worked closely with Horvath's office to create this policy in an effort to help mitigate the effects of climate change and spare animals a life in the food system. Mercy For Animals also met with county departments; consulted experts; and formed a diverse coalition of environmental, animal, and health advocates.

Under the new law, the county must update its nutritional standards to incorporate best practices for purchasing, selling, and serving more plant-based foods and identify ways county departments—including the Department of Health Services, Department of Parks and Recreation, and Department of Public Works—can increase plant-based food purchasing. This will help address many harms associated with industrial animal agriculture.

The Department of Health Services will also take the first step toward collecting data of the food the department purchases in an effort to estimate its greenhouse gas emissions.

When institutions reduce their food-related emissions, they often replace the most carbon-intensive animal products, such as beef and dairy, with chicken and fish, inadvertently leading to more animal suffering.

By securing policies that reduce the animal-based foods governments purchase and increase the plant-based ones, we can spare more animals a life of suffering in the food system.

We couldn't do this work without your support. Thank you for making a difference for animals and helping create a kinder food system.