Luisa Mell’s PETA-Backed Vegan Protest Targets COP30 Menu in Belém

Overview

• On November 6 in Belém, the Brazilian activist staged a body‑paint performance outside the leaders’ venue, lying on a prop plate beside a banner reading “Comer animais alimenta o fogo; por favor, seja vegano.”
• She criticized the conference catering as meat‑heavy, saying only about 40% of options are vegetarian or vegan, a figure attributed to her in the reports.
• Mell framed cattle ranching and feed‑crop expansion as key drivers of Amazon deforestation and greenhouse‑gas emissions, and she urged a shift to vegan diets.
• The action was organized in partnership with PETA to highlight what she called a contradiction between sustainability rhetoric and on‑site practices.
• Reports noted no public response from COP30 organizers, and the protest took place ahead of the conference’s official start on November 10.