Critics’ Choice Awards serving only plant-based meals, following Golden Globes

It is the second major Hollywood ceremony of the year to shun animal-based products

(Getty Images for The Critics' Ch)

The Critics’ Choice Awards has become the second major Hollywood awards ceremony to announce it is going meat-free for 2020.

Organisers of the event, which will take place on Sunday 13 January in Santa Monica, have confirmed that the celebrity guests will only be served plant-based foods.

This will include a menu of vegetarian tacos, burritos and burgers.

Joey Berlin, CEO of the Critics Choice Association, said in a statement: “When planning this year’s awards show, we wanted to be mindful of the impact our event has on the environment.

“[I am] looking forward to providing our incredible honourees, nominees and guests with delicious and thoughtful food during our show.”

The Association said it also wanted to “shine a light” on the “ever-growing climate crisis our world is facing” by taking animal products off the menu.

The Golden Globes, which took place on Sunday 7 January, adopted the same approach to cooking for its star guests, serving a vegan three-course meal.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) said it wanted to raise awareness about food consumption and waste with its meal choice.

Joaquin Phoenix – who won best actor in a drama film – was reportedly instrumental in the body deciding to make the switch.

He praised the HFPA during his acceptance speech for “recognising the link between animal agriculture and climate change” and said it was a “bold move” changing the menu.

Guests were served a menu including a chilled golden beet soup and king oyster mushrooms with risotto.

The HFPA also eliminated single-use plastic from the ceremony, serving guests with glass water bottles instead of plastic.

As of 2019, approximately 1.16 per cent of the UK population (600,000 people) followed a plant-based diet, according to The Vegan Society.

A study conducted in June 2018 by researchers at the University of Oxford concluded that following a vegan diet is the “single biggest way” to reduce your environmental impact.

The team discovered that cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint by as much as 73 per cent.

“A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use,” said lead author Joseph Poore.