RVV has attended two environmental meetings in the last week. On Monday evening, a member of RVV joined two more local campaigners at a `Sustainable Redditch` meeting with Redditch Borough Council. On Thursday evening, a member of RVV was one of three guest speakers at a public meeting titled “What on Earth shall we do about Climate Change?”

Sustainable Redditch Meeting
RVV is one of the three main groups within the Redditch Alliance of Greens. The other two being the Redditch Trade Justice Network and Redditch Friends of the Earth. A member from each group was invited to an informal `Sustainable Redditch` meeting with two councillors and two council environmental officers at the town hall. The meeting was primarily aimed at helping the council become more sustainable in terms of their energy usage, their fleet of vehicles and also housing, transport etc within the borough. But RVV feel that as livestock farming is one of the biggest causes of climate change, local councils should be doing something to tackle this issue too!

As millions of people search for ways they can reduce their `ecological footprint`, many are becoming aware that they can make a considerable difference simply by changing their diet! So, it is essential that those who have chosen eco-friendly diets, or are considering it, are properly catered for. There is much evidence to suggest that many more people would switch their diet if more choice was available. RVV put forward the following suggestions at the meeting and left all those present with a copy of `Eating the Earth` by The Vegan Society:

• Provide at least 2 veggie/vegan options in council staff canteens and have a colour coded labelling system which would illustrate the vast differences in ecological impact of what is on the menu. Perhaps implement some kind of policy whereby staff are encouraged to choose the local, organic, veggie, vegan options. And make the same menu options available in any public service buildings where you have some control, such as schools, care homes etc.
  
• Hire veggie/vegan caterers for all council organised events, as you have done for the Morton Stanley Family Fun Day the past 2 years.
  
• Ensure that cafes/restaurants on council land have at least 2 veggie/vegan options on their menu and that they use local, organic produce wherever possible.
  
• Promote awareness of the issues to council staff by having a 'No Meat Monday', where only veggie (and ideally) vegan options were provided.
• The council could perhaps print a window sticker: “Eco-friendly options here” which could be given to suitable cafes, restaurants, shops.
  
• Support the re-introduction of a Redditch farmers market, community allotment projects and composting schemes etc.
  
• Work with the Kingfisher Shopping Centre to bring a major food and grocery supplier back into the town centre, allowing the general public to do all their shopping in the town centre.
  
• Implement a policy where all cleaning products, cosmetics, toiletries and office products used at the town hall, crossgates etc are eco/animal friendly. Leicester City Council implemented a similar policy last year which banned the use of animal tested products, but that could very easily be stretched to include natural, organic, free of harmful chemicals etc. Such products are now widely available, such as Bio D, Ecover etc. The lack of chemicals is of benefit to human health as well as the environment.
  

RVV are under no illusions that the council will think seriously about implementing many of the above at the present time, but at least they are now alot more aware of the facts and they have some fairly radical solutions infront of them. RVV and the other groups present have been invited back to a follow-up meeting in January 2008, and will continue to advise in the meantime.

Public Meeting - What on Earth shall we do about Climate Change?
Throughout October, a local church group have staged a series of meetings on climate change. At the first, there was a screening of Al Gore`s film `An Inconvenient Truth` and the second looked at what the bible has to say about our environment. At the third meeting, a member of RVV was one of three guest speakers invited to talk about climate change and what they were doing about it. The other two speakers were from Redditch Friends of the Earth and the Sustainability Officer from Worcester County Council.

The RVV talk gave brief details about the group meetings and other activities but focused mainly on the impact of livestock farming on the planet, with an emphasis on climate change. During the talk, our eco-veggie posters were on display. It was very worthwhile indeed and we hope to give further environmental talks at meetings in the future. Please contact us if you would like a speaker for your meeting.