Global warming meat plan anger

A proposal to reduce the numbers of cattle and sheep on British farms in order to reduce global warming received a frosty reception yesterday from the leaders of the Scottish red meat industry.

In comparison, another proposal by the UK government’s advisory committee on climate change (CCC) to plant more trees and raise the area of land under woodland from its current 14 per cent up to 19 per cent was welcomed by the forestry industry.

Kate Rowell, chair of Quality Meat Scotland, pointed out that the geography of Scotland meant that over 80 per cent of Scottish farmland comprised of grass and rough grazing which was not suitable for anything other than producing top quality beef and lamb.

“This grass also plays an important carbon capture role and sets us apart from other parts of the world where animals are intensively fed on cereals yearround,” she said.

The CCC proposal on livestock would see anywhere between a fifth and one half of the present UK populations of sheep and cattle being taken out of the equation in order to reduce farm produced greenhouse gases.

Cattle and sheep were singled out as they produce more methane than other livestock such as pigs and poultry.

The proposal was also attacked by Nigel Scollan, director of the Institute for Global Food Security and member of the Meat Advisory Panel.

“Suggesting that people should stop or cut down on the amount of red meat they consume is not the answer to solving the UK’S high level of carbon emissions,” he said.

“When looking at the environmental impact of products in the UK, livestock is not top of the emissions list. We are in danger of being distracted from other factors such as the carbon monoxide produced by cars or the importing of goods from abroad.”

Reacting positively to another CCC proposal to plant more trees, Stuart Goodall, chief executive of Confor, which represents 1,500 forestry and wood-using bodies in the UK, said the report reaffirmed that there was a need to “get serious about planting more trees if we are to meet commitments to mitigate climate change.”