Joaquin Phoenix gave a passionate and profound speech when he accepted his Oscar for his role in Joker. He spoke of the commonality of the injustices we need to fight - gender inequality, racism, queer rights, indigenous rights and animal rights.

And movingly spoke of the cruelty of the dairy industry: “We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakeable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.”

The meat and dairy industry is not only very cruel to the animals but is also one of the leading causes of the climate emergency we now face. In fact, going vegan is one of the biggest actions an individual can take to help prevent climate change. However, this is ignored by both the Conservatives and Labour when they talk of tackling climate change because it is an inconvenient truth they are not brave enough to face. But if we are serious about tackling climate change, we need to reduce our consumption of meat and dairy – or even better, go vegan.

Mark Dawes

Campaigns Officer

Waltham Forest & Redbridge Green Party