‘Eat Less Meat and Save the Planet’
Glib phrases such as this are coined on a daily basis by politicians and activists, keen to convey a message. They are short, memorable but unfortunately, don’t explain the bigger picture.
It’s very easy to claim that cows, for example, are to blame for global warming, so let’s get rid of all the cows. But we are all to blame in some way for what’s happening to the planet. It doesn’t mean that taking an ill-conceived, broad brush response to one sector will solve the problem.
We are being encouraged to eat more plant based foods. British supermarkets have been actively providing more shelf space for meat free alternatives. The vegan and vegetarian elements in our society have been vocal for years. They now claim to be saving the planet. But are they? That’s a story for another time.
I don’t know if my family is typical, but every week we enjoy some meals that do not include meat. In 1998 the term ‘flexitarian’ was coined, by those needing to pigeon-hole people, to describe consumers who eat a mixed, balanced diet. We, like many others, want to retain meat in our diet, but it has to be from animals with provenance, that have been raised to high welfare standards.
Mixed messages
There are mixed message coming from the UK Government on this subject. They want us to eat less meat, but they don’t appear to want the meat we do consume to come from British farms.
The UK Government are set on agreeing tariff free trade deals with countries working to lower food quality standards than the UK. But our famers cannot maintain UK standards and compete financially. They will either be forced to compromise on food safety standards and animal welfare or go bust. Are we happy to let that happen to the UK farming sector?
It’s very easy to claim that cows, for example, are to blame for global warming, so let’s get rid of all the cows. But we are all to blame in some way for what’s happening to the planet. It doesn’t mean that taking an ill-conceived, broad brush response to one sector will solve the problem.
We are being encouraged to eat more plant based foods. British supermarkets have been actively providing more shelf space for meat free alternatives. The vegan and vegetarian elements in our society have been vocal for years. They now claim to be saving the planet. But are they? That’s a story for another time.
I don’t know if my family is typical, but every week we enjoy some meals that do not include meat. In 1998 the term ‘flexitarian’ was coined, by those needing to pigeon-hole people, to describe consumers who eat a mixed, balanced diet. We, like many others, want to retain meat in our diet, but it has to be from animals with provenance, that have been raised to high welfare standards.
Mixed messages
There are mixed message coming from the UK Government on this subject. They want us to eat less meat, but they don’t appear to want the meat we do consume to come from British farms.
The UK Government are set on agreeing tariff free trade deals with countries working to lower food quality standards than the UK. But our famers cannot maintain UK standards and compete financially. They will either be forced to compromise on food safety standards and animal welfare or go bust. Are we happy to let that happen to the UK farming sector?
Main stream media also seem set on confusing issues. An item recently broadcast on the BBC One Show, discussed the benefits of eating less meat in the UK, but showed a picture of an American, high intensity, cattle station. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also allows a number of steroid hormone drugs to be used in beef cattle and sheep production. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/product-safety-information/steroid-hormone-implants-used-growth-food-producing-animals It is meat from units like this that the Government wants to put on our supermarket shelves!
Animal welfare
Animal welfare
This is the Muyuan Foods pig farm in China, located near Nanyang, in the southwestern province of Henan. A relatively new operation, it is ten times the size of a typical US facility, designed to house 84,000 sows and piglets at a time, producing 2.1 million pigs per year.
Qin Jun, Muyuan’s vice general manager, told Reuters, ‘Disease outbreaks are a serious threat, but one which will be monitored by technology, including air filtering and thermal imaging cameras which are being trialled to check pigs’ body temperatures.’
When you next eat a bacon sandwich or a pork sausage, would you prefer the pig to have been raised in factory farms like this, or under the high animal welfare conditions that currently apply in the UK?
Qin Jun, Muyuan’s vice general manager, told Reuters, ‘Disease outbreaks are a serious threat, but one which will be monitored by technology, including air filtering and thermal imaging cameras which are being trialled to check pigs’ body temperatures.’
When you next eat a bacon sandwich or a pork sausage, would you prefer the pig to have been raised in factory farms like this, or under the high animal welfare conditions that currently apply in the UK?
Northern Ireland
Stormont's agriculture minister Edwin Poots told the BBC, the UK deal with New Zealand is a "very serious threat" to NI farmers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-59132828
"I have been clear in my discussions with UK ministers that tariff-free access to the UK market for New Zealand produce is a very serious threat to our farmers, even if that access is phased in over a number of years."
"New Zealand is a very significant and competitive beef, sheep and dairy exporter and has the potential to quickly increase exports further with a view to targeting the UK market."
How does shipping cut priced meat and dairy products from the other side of the world, to replace produce raised on our doorstep, fit with our plans to save the planet?
Carbon Tax
George Eustace, Minister for the Environment and Defra Secretary, when speaking to The Telegraph on the eve of COP26 in Glasgow, said the UK must "move into the realms of things like carbon taxes" when EU subsidies are phased out. https://www.farminguk.com/news/george-eustice-signals-possible-carbon-tax-on-meat-and-dairy_59242.html
But will these taxes also apply to future free trade deals on the import of meats? Or will the UK Government be prepared to waive climate pledges, as alleged by an unnamed Cabinet official in reference to the recent deal with Australia? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58493481
Beef cattle raised in the UK enjoy fresh air whilst grazing natural pastures. They are cared for under high animal welfare standards that are equal to, if not better, than any in the world.
Stormont's agriculture minister Edwin Poots told the BBC, the UK deal with New Zealand is a "very serious threat" to NI farmers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-59132828
"I have been clear in my discussions with UK ministers that tariff-free access to the UK market for New Zealand produce is a very serious threat to our farmers, even if that access is phased in over a number of years."
"New Zealand is a very significant and competitive beef, sheep and dairy exporter and has the potential to quickly increase exports further with a view to targeting the UK market."
How does shipping cut priced meat and dairy products from the other side of the world, to replace produce raised on our doorstep, fit with our plans to save the planet?
Carbon Tax
George Eustace, Minister for the Environment and Defra Secretary, when speaking to The Telegraph on the eve of COP26 in Glasgow, said the UK must "move into the realms of things like carbon taxes" when EU subsidies are phased out. https://www.farminguk.com/news/george-eustice-signals-possible-carbon-tax-on-meat-and-dairy_59242.html
But will these taxes also apply to future free trade deals on the import of meats? Or will the UK Government be prepared to waive climate pledges, as alleged by an unnamed Cabinet official in reference to the recent deal with Australia? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58493481
Beef cattle raised in the UK enjoy fresh air whilst grazing natural pastures. They are cared for under high animal welfare standards that are equal to, if not better, than any in the world.
NFU president Minette Batters recently told LBC Radio that as post-Brexit trade deals are signed with nations seeking to enter the UK market, the introduction of a meat tax could be the last straw. "If we tax farmers here and we don't expect the same of other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand - that's just going to put our farmers out of business," she said.
https://www.farminguk.com/news/george-eustice-signals-possible-carbon-tax-on-meat-and-dairy_59242.html
A carbon tax on livestock farms in the UK, where the grazing is the most sensible use of land in that location, makes no logical sense.
Carbon Capture
A nationwide survey by ecologists has revealed that over 2 billion US tons of carbon is stored deep under the UK’s grasslands, helping to curb climate change.
The team found that the largest soil carbon stocks to depth, were beneath grasslands that have been farmed at intermediate levels of intensity, receiving less fertilizer and with fewer grazing animals. https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/huge-carbon-stores-under-grasslands-discovered/
Well managed grassland, grazed at an intermediate level, enhances wildlife habitat and is effective at capturing carbon.
British farmers are already taking action. The NFU has just published a report showing how farmers and growers across the country are demonstrating their progress and commitment towards a net zero future for British food production. https://www.nfuonline.com/news/latest-news/british-farmers-demonstrate-climate-progress-ahead-of-cop26/
RHG/3.11.21
https://www.farminguk.com/news/george-eustice-signals-possible-carbon-tax-on-meat-and-dairy_59242.html
A carbon tax on livestock farms in the UK, where the grazing is the most sensible use of land in that location, makes no logical sense.
Carbon Capture
A nationwide survey by ecologists has revealed that over 2 billion US tons of carbon is stored deep under the UK’s grasslands, helping to curb climate change.
The team found that the largest soil carbon stocks to depth, were beneath grasslands that have been farmed at intermediate levels of intensity, receiving less fertilizer and with fewer grazing animals. https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/huge-carbon-stores-under-grasslands-discovered/
Well managed grassland, grazed at an intermediate level, enhances wildlife habitat and is effective at capturing carbon.
British farmers are already taking action. The NFU has just published a report showing how farmers and growers across the country are demonstrating their progress and commitment towards a net zero future for British food production. https://www.nfuonline.com/news/latest-news/british-farmers-demonstrate-climate-progress-ahead-of-cop26/
RHG/3.11.21