Convert farmland into woods and eat less meat, says ex-adviser
HALF of the nation’s farmland needs to be transformed into woodlands and natural habitat to fight the climate crisis and restore wildlife, according to a former chief scientific adviser to the UK Government.
Professor Sir Ian Boyd said such a change could mean the amount of cattle and sheep would fall by 90 per cent, with farmers instead being paid for storing carbon dioxide, helping prevent floods and providing beautiful landscapes where people could boost their health and wellbeing.
Sir Ian said the public was subsidising the livestock industry to produce huge environmental damage.
The professor spent seven years at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs before stepping down in August.
Half of farmland, mostly uplands and pasture, produces just 20% of the UK’S food and would be better used for other public goods, he said.
Sir Ian, who became vegetarian during his time in Defra, said farmers were potentially “sitting on a goldmine” in terms of the payments they could receive for growing trees and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
He said: “We need a large, radical transformation and need to do it quickly, in the next decade. You can tick an immense number of boxes simultaneously.”
Farmers argue that uplands and pasture where livestock are reared cannot be used to grow crops. But Sir Ian said: “It would be much better to store carbon and water, grow trees and make the land available for people to improve their health and welfare.”
He said the 20% of food production lost by converting half of farmland could be made up by the development of vertical farms, where food is produced indoors in controlled and more efficient conditions. “I know there are big companies looking at how to really scale this up,” he said.
A series of studies have concluded people in rich nations need to eat much less meat to tackle the climate emergency and improve their health. “Most of the livestock production in the UK is unprofitable without public subsidy,” said Sir Ian. “The public is subsidising the production of livestock to produce huge environmental damages, all the way from greenhouse gas emissions to water pollution. Why should we continue to do that? It’s not sensible.
“If anybody asked me: ‘If there is one thing I can do to help save the planet, what would it be?’ I would say just eat a lot less meat. It’s the easiest thing to do. I’ve done it.”