The UK needs to cut its meat intake to avoid ecological breakdown, the government‘s food tsar has warned.
In an interview with The Guardian, Henry Dimbleby, Co-Founder of Leon restaurants and the government adviser, said a 30% reduction in meat consumption is needed over ten years for land to be used sustainably in England.
He said: “If we fail on this, we will fail to meet our biodiversity or climate goals in this country. We also have a huge opportunity to show thought leadership worldwide and show them this can be done, we can farm sustainably and still feed people.”
In June, the Environment Secretary said the government did not plan to launch an advertising campaign to encourage people to eat less meat to protect the environment.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Mr Dimbleby who is a non-executive Board Member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was considering a levy on burgers, ham, steaks, sausages and other meat products as a potential measure to motivate more people to eat more sustainably.
Last year, a study suggested between 2008 and 2019, the average amount of meat eaten each day per person in the UK fell from 103.7 grams to 86.3 grams.
A British Meat Processors Association spokesperson told ELN: “It’s important to take account of the origin and method of production of our food when changing our diet for environmental rather than nutritional reasons.
“British pasture-fed beef and lamb (which is responsible for 5.7% or less of total greenhouse gas emissions) is not the same as Brazilian meat which is probably responsible for closer to the 14% of global GHG emissions that’s often quoted in the media.
“We agree with the ‘less but better’ message and would apply it to both animal and plant-based foods.
“However, if political or social engineering drives people to make what they think are more environmentally friendly choices by steering them away from natural, nutritious whole foods towards unhealthy, highly processed substitutes, then a decline in public health will be one of the unintended consequences.”
Article source: https://www.energylivenews.com/2022/08/18/uk-meat-consumption-should-be-cut-to-avoid-an-ecological-breakdown/
