Air India announced that it has made one simple change that will save the airline $1.5 USD million (Rs 10 crore) and spare hundreds of thousands of animals from short, brutal lives and untimely deaths – it stopped serving non-vegetarian meals.

Air travel is one of the most notorious carbon polluters, which harms wild animals by changing natural habitats and acidifying oceans. Offering a plant-based meal not only saves animals directly by not serving them, but saves more animals by reducing greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions from farming that harm wild animals and the planet. There is a large body of evidence linking meat-based diets with unsustainable levels of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide production. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that meat-based diets use more energy, land, and water than a plant-based diets.

As an environmentally conscious company with a strong track record of promoting environmental sustainability, Virgin Airlines is ideally placed to lead the industry in a transition to plant-based meals. The time has never been better to call on Virgin to go meat-free!

Please join us in asking Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America (Alaska Airlines) and Virgin Australia to take the next step in reducing their carbon footprints. Make plant-based meals the default option on all flights!

1. If you live in the U.S., please call 877 359 8474 (customer service representatives are available 24/7).

After the prompt, press “0” and respond to the auto-prompt by stating “something else” to be connected through to a customer service representative.

Once connected, you can say something like, “Hi, I’m calling to express my support for Virgin Airlines to make plant-based meals the default selection on all flights. This simple switch will cuts costs, dramatically reduce greenhouse gas and carbons emissions, easily address an array of dietary requirements, and reduce waste. Will you please pass my message on to management?”

2. After your call, please send our letter:

Dear Executive Team,

Increasing numbers of consumers are choosing plant-based diets to support the environment and decrease their carbon footprint. Yet, meat-based meals continue to be the default meal option for your airlines. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Just recently, Air India stopped serving non-vegetarian meals, showing this progressive move is one that can be implemented without hardship.

There is a large body of evidence linking meat-based diets with unsustainable levels of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide production. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that a meat-based diet uses more energy, land, and water than a plant-based diet and was less viable for the future. By simply switching from a meat-based meal to a plant-based meal as the default option, Virgin Airlines could go a long way toward decreasing the environmental impact of airline travel.

There are thousands of tasty and nutritious plant-based recipes available that exclude meat, dairy, and egg. These meals could easily address an array of dietary requirements and reduce the number of special meal options that Virgin Airlines currently offers. In addition, plant-based meals cost less and are healthier. In a 2012 study in the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, investigators found that meat-based diets cost individual consumers $746USD more per year, and were less nutritious. There is no need to compromise your award-winning service – we are asking you to simply switch the default meal option so that passengers can still select a meat-based meal if they wish.

Offering a plant-based meal as the default option will save you money, increase profit margins, cut tons off your carbon footprint and cement Virgin’s reputation as the premier modern airline.

Not only will this simple switch cuts costs, it also reduces greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions. As an environmentally conscious organization with a strong track record of promoting environmental sustainability, Virgin Airlines is ideally placed to lead the industry in a transition to plant-based meals.

We applaud Virgin Airlines’ commitment to ecological air travel solutions, including the use of biofuel and carbon offsets. We ask that Virgin Airlines again show leadership in the field of environmental sustainability by making plant-based meals the default selection on all flights.