A balanced diet to save earth

Reports: Eat less beef, more chicken and veggies to help planet

MEDELLIN: Chicken or beef? Think carefully: your choice can help determine the future of the planet.

After raising the alarm on Friday about the fight for survival of many animal and plant species, which they lay at the door of mankind, scientists stressed we can still redeem ourselves. And it doesn’t have to be that hard.

“We don’t all have to become vegetarians,” said Robert Watson, an atmospheric scientist and head of the Intergovernmental SciencePolicy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which brought out the first major global species assessment in 13 years.

“But a more balanced diet – less beef, more chicken, more vegetables ... can really help relieve the pressure.”

The IPBES reports, released at a major environmental conference in Medellin, are meant to guide governments in policymaking.

But their authors stressed we all have a role to play. When it comes to diet, for example, Mark Rounsevell, a professor of sustainability who co-authored one of the four IPBES reports, points out it takes about 25kg of plant matter to produce 1kg of beef.

Cows are also major emitters of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to planet warming which the IPBES warned is now one of the major threats to biodiversity. “Stop food waste,” is Watson’s next tip. “Make sure you don’t buy too much from the supermarket ... Get restaurants to have appropriate amounts of food on the plate.”

The clearing of land for farming is a major enemy of biodiversity, driving animals and plants from their habitats.

The four IPBES reports, covering the entire planet except for Antarctica and the open oceans, say irresponsible consumption by humans has driven species into decline in every region of the world. But the stakes are higher than just preserving nature.

“We’re undermining our own future well-being,” said Watson.

It’s not too late to halt the rate of destruction, and maybe even reverse some of it, the experts concluded.

Governments must lead the way – expand protected areas, restore degraded land, lead the switch from polluting coal, oil, and natural gas to wind and solar power. Biodiversity must find its way into all public policy, the reports said.

“At the moment we tend to have very siloed policy. We have agricultural policy, we have fisheries policy, we have manufacturing policy, transport policy. They’re all very sectoral,” said Rounsevell.

“We need to integrate concern for nature right across those different policies because we know that those different sectors have substantial influence on nature.”