Cut down on meat to save the planet, scientists say

EATING less meat could help mitigate environmental pressures and save the planet, scientists have concluded.

In 2010, global food production emitted the equivalent of 5.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in greenhouse gas emissions, in the form of methane and nitrous oxide.

But with the world’s population set to hit ten billion by 2050, the environmental costs of the food system could rise by as much as 90 per cent over the next two decades.

This would exceed so-called “planetary boundaries” – the level at which humans make the Earth’s ecosystem unstable – according to a report published yesterday in the journal Nature.

“Without concerted action, we found that the environmental impacts of the food system could increase by 50 to 90 per cent by 2050 as a result of population growth and the rise of diets high in fats, sugars and meat,” said Dr Marco Springmann, from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford.

The study analysed several options that could reduce the environmental damage caused by the international food system, and found that “flexitarian” diets – often called “casual vegetarianism” – could cut global greenhouse gas emissions by more than half.

A shift away from meat-centric diets would also reduce use of cropland, fresh water and fertiliser. But other changes are also necessary.

“It’s really only if we combine three different measures – dietary changes, reducing food waste and improving farming technologies – that we can stay within a safe planetary boundary,” Dr Springmann said.