Eating Better, an alliance of nearly 50 groups, is calling on the government to ‘step up to the plate’ to help reduce the amount of meat we consume - for the sake of our health and the planet. A third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the food system, says Sue Dibb, coordinator of Eating Better.
“This year – 2016 – is the year policymakers need to wake up to how food and farming can help us deliver better health for people and the planet,” she says. Meat is typically the most environmentally intensive part of our diet, accounting for at least 14.5% of global GHG emissions – as significant as emissions from transport. New research says reducing meat and dairy consumption by half would reduce heart disease and cancers, and cut GHG from agriculture by up to 42%.”
She said that 2015 ended with a historic climate deal in Paris to keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C.
“But we haven’t a hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change if governments continue to ignore the impact of high levels of meat consumption. A missing trick stares us in the face three times a day – it’s what we’re eating. One vital, simple step is for people in high consuming countries, including the UK, to eat less and better meat and a greater variety of plant-based foods. This will have benefits for our health and the health of our planet.”
To achieve these benefits, Eating Better is calling on policymakers in the UK, devolved administrations and the EU to implement policies that help people move towards eating less and better meat and more plant-based foods, including:
- putting food and agriculture centre stage in strategies to meet climate change agreements and sustainable development goals
- updating the UK’s official dietary guidance – the eatwell plate – and associated advice to integrate sustainability messages including eating less meat
- introducing mandatory procurement standards for caterers to ensure that meals paid for by taxpayers in schools, hospitals, prisons, care homes and all government departments are healthy and sustainable
- supporting and encouraging farming that produces meat in ways that benefit the environment, human health and animal welfare and provides a fair return for farmers
- aligning UK business growth policy for food and farming with health and sustainability, including supporting innovation and the growth of a more diverse range of plant-based protein options
- ending the unnecessary and dangerous routine use of antibiotics in farming
- working with EU institutions and member states to support Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform to deliver a European Healthy Sustainable Food and Farming Policy.
Eating Better’s policy recommendations have been produced in consultation with the alliance’s 47 supporting organisations and partner networks.