Eating less meat only way to save planet, warns climate think tank
CONSUMERS were told yesterday to eat less meat to save the planet from extreme climate change.
Switching to a more vegetarian diet would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from flatulent farm animals such as cattle, sheep and goats.
A report by the international affairs think tank Chatham House said this change in diet would also make the world healthier by reducing consumption of red and processed meat linked to cancer.
The report was released ahead of the next week's international climate talks in Paris which hope to find a way of limiting global warming to a rise of 2C since the industrial revolution began.
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The overall message is clear: globally we should eat less meat
The report said national commitments so far would only keep the global temperature rise to 3C.
But reducing meat consumption would generate a quarter of the emissions saving needed to keep it to 2C.
The report said: "The overall message is clear: globally we should eat less meat. Global per capita meat consumption is already above healthy levels, critically so in developed countries.
"We cannot avoid dangerous climate change unless consumption trends change."
The report said the livestock sector is already responsible for 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions or the equivalent of all the exhaust emissions of the world's vehicles.
The livestock industry generates emissions through the cutting down of forests for farmland, the transport of feed and meat products and the gas released from the stomachs of farm animals, particularly cattle, sheep and goats.
But the report said demand for meat is growing worldwide as incomes rise, with consumption expected to grow by 76 per cent by 2050.
It added: "Unless strong demand growth for meat is curtailed, livestock sector emissions will increase to the point where dangerous climate change is unavoidable."
The report cited health warnings from bodies including the World Health Organisation that overconsumption of animal products, particularly processed meat, is associated with obesity and increased risk of heart disease, type-2 diabetes and some cancers.
But it said that in industrialised countries the average person eats around twice as much meat as experts deem healthy.
Co-author Laura Wellesley said governments worldwide need to intervene to encourage a change in diets.
But they are "trapped in a circle of inertia" and fear a public backlash.
Ms Wellesley said: "Reducing meat consumption is a real win-win for health and for the climate.
"As governments look for strategies to close the Paris emissions gap quickly and cheaply, dietary change should be high on the list.
"Raising awareness about the health and environmental impacts of meat is an important first step, but on its own it will not lead to significant behaviour change. Governments must do more to influence diets."
