Lobbying Sebastian Zösch, M.A. Veggie – Summit – Meeting April 2010
Lobbying • Why Lobbying • Why Lobbying on EU-level • Whatto Lobby for • Howto Lobby • Financing • Discussion
Why Lobbying
Hypothesisofstability dog meat veganism vegetarianism organic meat regular meat 4
Example: Battery Cages • 80 % of (German) customers were against eggs from battery cages • 80 % of customers continued to buy eggs from battery cages => raising awareness and trying to convince customers didn‘t solve the problem => only changing legislation (by lobbying) showed long-lasting results
Why Lobbying on EU-level • Many topics are EU-issues • 27 countries • > 500 Million people • more countries joining => More impact => Less costs
Whattolobbyfor General challenge: • the bigger the issue, the harder to influence • Small issue: defining „vegetarian“ • Big issue: getting rid of subsidies for animal products • Which projects have the best input /output-ratio for us? • Where can we „tip the scales“?
Whattolobbyfor • Promotingvegetarianism • Veggiedays • Subsidies / CAP • School fruitsprograms / 5-a-day • Conferences / eventsrelatedtoveggie • Veggie Club for MEPs • Protectingvegetarians • Labeling / definitions („vegetarian“, „vegan“) • Nutrition guidelines (e.g.: vitamin B12) • Anti-discriminationlawsforveggies
1.a. Veggieday • Getting more European cities to introduce a Veggieday • Get the institutions of the EU to officially support the Veggieday • Present the Veggieday at the „Open Days“ in October 2010 (workshop) • Get support/subsidies from Eurocities
1.b. Subsidies / CAP • CAP (common agricultural policy) • EU spends 50.000.000.000 Euros each year on agricultural subsidies • Most of that money doesn‘t support our cause • „beef“ alone receives 5-times more money than „fruits and vegetables“ • These subsidies are put into question in 2010
1.c. School fruitprogramsand „5-a-day“-campaign • The EU supports programs that distribute fruits and vegetables to school children • In Germany this program mostly failed due to lack of financial support • Fruits & Vegs lobby is already active • The 5-a-day campaign seems quite a success in the UK (there are logos on many packages)
1.d. Conferences / events • Great example: „Less meat = less heat“ • There‘s a conference on „animal welfare education“ in Brussels in October • Participating and influencing such events to make sure the veggie option is included may be usefull • Working to have more similar events related to „Veggie“
1.e. Veggie Club for MEPs • There are many „Clubs“ for MEPs and their assistants in Brussels („Beer Club“, „Chocolate Club“, etc.) • So far, there‘s no „Veggie Club“, but some MEPs showed interest • Having a „Veggie Club“ would be useful to: • Raise awareness for the issue • Connect like minded MEPs • Get contact to veggie-friendly MEPs • Get support for various projects
2.a. Labeling / definition • EVU-Position Paper • Support from lobby agency (Hill&Knowlton, paid by EVU) • Meetings with • Several MEPs • Staff from the European Commission • Other lobbyists
1.b. Nutrition Guidelines • RDA for Vitamin B12 has been increased from 1,0 micrograms to 2,5 micrograms in 2009 • Producers don‘t have to follow these guidelines • Should we contact producers and ask to raise their amount of vitamin B12 in fortified products • Are there other vitamins or nutrients where we‘d like to see the recommendations changed?
1.c. Anti-Discrimination • In UK „veganism“ is considered to be a so-called „deeply held believe“ and has to be respected • Does this status seriously help vegans? • What is the situation in other countries? • Does it make sense to lobby for an EU-wide recognition of „vegetarianism“ and „veganism“ as a „deeply held believe“?
Howtolobby • Lobby from national offices by national staff • Difficult to distribute costs • Hire a lobby agency to lobby for us • expensive, maybe as supporting consultants • Hire a freelancer lobbyist to lobby for us • expensive, maybe as supporting consultants • Setting up our own EVU-office with staff in Brussels • Expensive
Howtolobby • Hire somebody who can work from EVA‘s office in Gent
Financing • Part time employee (50%) would cost about 20.000 Euros per year • Initial budget should last at least two years, thus: 40.000 Euros • Total budget of „learning partnership“ (nine participants) is 155.000 Euros • Thus providing ¾ of the lobby budget (30.000 Euros) from the learning partnership funding should be feasible • Rest could come from EVU
Long termoptions • ENSAs (European Natural Soy Association) yearly budget is about 500.000 Euros • Doing also lobbying for ENSA might provide us with additional funding • Germany: change VAT of soy milk (Alpro) • Getting EU funding for EVU
Discussion
