Save the planet - stop eating meat
Updated on 27 October 2009
Lord Stern, one of the leading authorities on climate change, claims people should give up eating meat to help combat the problem.
The author of the 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming has predicted that eating meat could soon become as socially unacceptable as drink driving in the future.
Nicholas Stern says methane emissions from cows and pigs are putting "enormous pressure" on the world and people needed to think about what they ate.
He told The Times:
"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."
In December, thousands of delegates are due to attend a climate change conference taking place in Copenhagen.
Lord Stern says he hopes it leads to higher costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases.
Interview: Professor Robert Watson
Alex Thomson asked the chief scientific adviser from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he agrees with Lord Stern?
RW: There's no question that agriculture, both deforestation and agricultural production, does cause 30 per cent of global emissions. And there is no question that the livestock industry is part of it. But the challenge we have is how to reduce emissions right across the board on energy production and on energy use. How do we reduce deforestation and how do we have a healthy diet at the same time trying to at least reduce our emissions from the agricultural sector.
AT: Should we give up meat?
RW: I think we need a healthy diet. I think there are ways we can work with this sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector. We can think about what our personal diets are, so we can reduce our footprint on the environment but also have a healthy diet.
AT: Should we cut down on meat?
RW: I think we can all look to see to what degree can we cut down on our meat consumption but in a way that we still have the food that we want. What we've got to realise is we waste 30 - 40 per cent of all the food we buy from supermarkets. So one of the critical things to do is reduce waste.
