Decisions based on fact and not fiction
The UN Climate Change Conference COP26 starts later this month. Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge facing humanity today and the two-week Glasgow summit will quite rightly look at how countries around the world can act to reduce the impact of global warming.
As farmers we are all too aware of the extremes of weather experienced in recent years. We know, more than most, that climate change is not something for future generations to worry about – it’s a present-day concern.
The UK agricultural sector is responsible for around 10% of UK greenhouse gas emissions. However, farming is also part of the climate change solution as the only sector that is both a source of greenhouse gas emissions and an important carbon sink, capturing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it into a variety of foods, fibres and fuels required for much of human life.
Our sector has also shown the leadership to strive to improve our carbon credentials and the NFU and NFU Cymru share an ambition to lead agriculture to net zero carbon emissions by 2040. It’s a tall order, but we believe that by improving farming’s efficiency/productivity to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions intensity; maximising farmland carbon storage and the practical opportunities to increase the carbon stored in soils, hedges, trees and small farm woodlands; and boosting renewable energy production to avoid greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, this will be achievable.
While as an industry we recognise there is more we can do, there are many who seem intent on overplaying the role of agriculture in the climate change picture. Detractors of farming claim that reducing the amount of meat and dairy you consume, or even eradicating it from your diet altogether, will cure the world’s climate crisis, but this could not be further from the truth.
The meat-free alternatives being pushed by big businesses, meanwhile, are not as healthy and natural as they purport to be, often loaded with chemicals and ingredients that should in no way be associated with the word ‘natural’.
In most cases these meat-free products are neither healthier nor greener than the products they are attempting to imitate.
Farmers respect that people make dietary choices for a variety of reasons, including religious requirements, ethical beliefs or due to health and/or allergies. All we ask is that those decisions are based on the facts and not fiction. If you want to make climateconscious choices you can have confidence in eating food that is produced locally and sustainably using natural ingredients.