Why not reduce meat from diet?

LIVESTOCK’S Long Shadow was published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation as long ago as December 2006. The major finding of this study was that farm animals account for 18 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions: by comparison, all forms of transport account for only 13 per cent of these gases. In the intervening 10 years, many of us have chosen to buy cars with better fuel consumption, or electric cars, and more of us are using trains, with a smaller carbon footprint, instead of flying. In the last year there has been a fall of seven per cent in sales of meat in this country, but perhaps more of us could consider reducing or eliminating meat from our diets?

There are additional benefits of moving to a plant-based diet, including more efficient farming, increased antibiotic security, reduced infection from E. coli and other pathogens and reduced risk of many forms of cancer. James Boyle, Riverside Park, Netherlee.