Good news for animals, not so much for climate

MY first letter about the connection between climate change and animal agriculture was published in July 2008.

I have continued to write about it intermittently since then. In the early days I received considerable opposition from other correspondents.

For example, “Let her eat her nut cutlets while I’ll stick to my juicy steak” and, “Let us meat-eaters unite”.

Recently, plant-based foods have become increasingly popular and it was encouraging to read Ben Lowe’s letter about diet and climate change (“Disaster no longer seems so distant”,

August 27). Recently the government published its National Food Strategy Report in which it said we “must reduce meat consumption by between 20 per cent and 50 per cent” and “reducing meat consumption is the single most effective lever we can pull to improve the productivity of our land”.

Ben mentioned that the consequences of producing meat and dairy products is disastrous for the Amazon rainforest, which is not only destroyed for cattle ranching but also for soybean production.

It is estimated that between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of the soybean crop is fed to livestock, especially beef and chicken, and in the production

of dairy and eggs. Alarmingly, the rainforest now emits more CO2 than it absorbs and can no longer be called “the lungs of the world”.

However, the good news is that reports indicate the number of vegans in Britain increased by 40 per cent in 2020 and sales of plant-based foods have grown by 45 per cent in the past two years.

COP26 takes place this year in Glasgow, where delegates from different countries will discuss climate

change and how to avert climate disasters.

There is a petition encouraging our government to set an example by serving only vegan meals. Scots actor Alan Cumming has said that meat on the COP menu is like “serving beer at an AA meeting”! However, with a new coal mine proposal in Cumbria and an announcement that more oil and gas wells are to be drilled in the North Sea, the government’s commitment to reduce CO2 emissions is questionable.

It is therefore unlikely that only vegan food will be served at COP26.

Elizabeth Allison, Aylestone