‘Eat less meat to stop climate change’ – British Government continues to link diet to environment
photo by Paul Stevenson (Flickr Creative Commons)
Britain seems to be one of the more forward-thinking nations when it comes to issues like animal welfare, ecology and climate change. Of course they were also the first industrialized nation and so arguably responsible for many of the root causes of today’s environmental problems. Still, you have to give them their credit: they are starting to stick it to the factory farming industry. November 25th’s Evening Standard featured a prominent story about the link between livestock farming and climate change. Echoing earlier statements by former government advisor Lord Stern, a new government report calls for a ‘30 per cent reduction in the number of farm animals bred for meat.’ The story elicited an editorial comment and the paper edition was accompanied by the expert opinion of Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, which led with the title ‘This lifestyle change can have a global impact’.
Lord Stern stated earlier this year that ‘Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.’ Farming minister Jim Fitzpatrick and Environment Secretary Hilary Ben are also vegetarians. I for one am glad that some politicians are walking the walk.
By Graham Land
Additional resources:
Telegraph – Climate change ‘poses real and present danger’
The Argument for Eating Less Meat
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Tags: climate change, environment, Lord Stern, meat, vegetarian
Thanks for both of your comments.
At the risk of sounding reductionist: Basically everything to do with factory farming is bad.
Climate change is a worry but not the biggest environmental threat we face. See my blog http://www.greenbranz.org/?cat=24
The sources cited by Graham Land are greatly bolstered by these two recent items by World Bankers Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6294 and http://www.wellfedworld.org/PDF/FAOConsult12-09.pdf