Offal could save planet

IT may sound tongue-incheek, but shoppers worried about the environmental impact of their diets should look at putting offal on the dinner table, academics have said.

Millions of people are cutting their red meat consumption over links between livestock farming and greenhouse gases.

But researchers, who studied German meat production, have suggested a “nose to tail” approach is also better for the planet as it would make full use of the animals, which emit two-thirds of the sector’s global greenhouse gas emissions.

This could mean trotters, pigs’ cheeks and tongue become a part of our weekday diet, as well as a revival for traditional dishes such as steak and kidney pie or liver and onions.

Professor Gang Liu of the University of Southern Denmark said: “A 25 per cent reduction of meat waste (at the retailing and consumption stages) would almost have the same emissions reduction potential as reducing the total meat consumption by 10 per cent.” Households can play their part by cooking meals from leftovers, he added.