Last month the British government said it would cut carbon emissions by 78 percent by 2035 and would hit the net-zero target before 2050. The government says there will also be a need to reduce meat and dairy consumption.
The British government’s independent advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change, says there needs to be a reduction in meat and dairy consumption in order to meet carbon emission targets.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will be hosting the UN’s annual climate gathering COP26 in November, said last month: “We want to continue to raise the bar on tackling climate change, and that’s why we’re setting the most ambitious target to cut emissions in the world.”
But what is the problem with meat and dairy consumption?
Friends of the Earth says: “The production of meat and dairy, particularly in intensive systems, causes 14.5 percent of global climate changing emissions. Cattle ranching and the production of animal feed in South America is driving massive biodiversity loss as forests and cerrado are cleared for soy plantations. Vast amounts of soy feed are imported into the UK and EU to prop up industrial livestock production, particularly chicken and pork.”
