Lamb stew ‘is as polluting as driving 31 miles’

A BOWL of lamb stew is as bad for the environment as driving 31 miles, according to a report.

Producing and cooking one portion of traditional Welsh lamb cawl creates 5.9kg of greenhouse gases – largely because of the methane released by sheep, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said.

The study provoked outrage from farmers who said it ignored the environmental benefits of rearing sheep.

The report found the stew produced more greenhouse gases – using the carbon dioxide equivalent measure (CO2e) – than fish and chips, chicken tikka masala and a cheese ploughman’s.

Of the 5.9kg CO2e total, 4.51kg came from rearing the lamb. The dish – made with potatoes, swede, carrots and leeks – produced emissions equivalent to boiling a kettle 258 times, the report found.

But Hedd Pugh, of the National Farmers’ Union Cymru, said grazing sheep helped maintain pastures.