Vegetarian- and vegan-friendly restaurants could get a boost with a Somerville Plant-Based Restaurant Week coming April 18-25, after its founders got their own encouragement Thursday: City Council endorsement of an initiative called the Plant Based Treaty.
Cambridge endorsed the treaty in January, making the two cities the sixth and seventh in the country, respectively, after Los Angeles, Culver City and West Hollywood in California; Hoboken, New Jersey; and Boynton Beach, Florida. Somerville’s Earth Month endorsement makes it the 70th city globally to support the initiative.
The biggest contribution to the city’s greenhouse gas emissions are from food, according to a January 2023 report, and that makes a shift toward more plant-based diets the most significant way to reduce local emissions. (Transportation is not far behind in creation of carbon dioxide or an equivalent.)
“I’ve been vegetarian for most of my life. It’s my personal choice because factory farming is not only inherently cruel, at scale it’s horrible for the climate. This resolution is both personal and practical,” councilor Jon Link said. “If we all shifted toward plant-based options, even just a little, it could make a real impact.”
A report based on Somerville’s consumption-based greenhouse gas inventory, written by Somerville residents and the Plant Based Treaty Boston volunteer team, includes three policy recommendations: to serve plant-based food at city events; transition school cafeterias to more plant-based food; and include more options and labeling of plant-based options at restaurants and grocery stores. All are more serious, longer-term solutions than a restaurant week, because the report shows that dining out causes slightly more emissions than eating meat, poultry, fish and eggs.
Further action items, including a call for a state-level shift toward plant-based foods, are in the council resolution sponsored by Ward 5 councilor Naima Sait.
It also asks the city to promote the Restaurant Week. “The city has an important role in terms of educating individuals on the benefits of plant-based diets in improving health, addressing food access and reducing consumption-based emissions,” Sait said.
Many Cambridge and Somerville restaurants have plant-based options already, because they know their customers want them. At the K-Bok Korean Fried Chicken restaurant that in January replaced Cantina Mexicana in Somerville’s Union Square, co-owner Yajaira Casserly and general manager Michael Robles said they added veggie dumplings, fried oyster mushrooms and a fried oyster mushroom sandwich specifically to counter an otherwise meat-focused menu.
The treaty team is inviting dozens of local businesses to participate by offering discounts or new all-plant-based menu items.
The Plant-Based Restaurant Week is still being organized stage, and restaurants are urged to sign up.
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