At a heated Newcastle meeting this Nov 2nd‚ National Trust members backed a big food-service change: their cafes will now make half their menu plant-based (with over 57k members saying yes and 20k voting no)
The Trustʼs board explained their position: “Weʼll keep meat eggs and dairy while adding more plant-based choices; this helps both nature and brings in new visitors“ They also mentioned working with local farmers to help nature-friendly grazing practices
Charities like the National Trust need to lead the way in protecting nature‚ and tackling the climate crisis. This is a common sense vote in favour
During the meeting director-general Hilary McGrady faced questions about staff values after saying 70% of workers see themselves as progressive-activists. One Leicester member brought up patriotism concerns; however McGrady defended her team saying “weve got the best people possible to do this job“
Other hot-topics at the meeting included:
* Climate emergency response plans
* Volunteer sign-up process problems
* Quick-vote system debates
* Property history information panels
Former campaign group director Zewditu Gebreyohanes called the quick-vote system un-democratic but Trust leaders defended it saying members can choose whether to use it or not