England must cut meat consumption to avoid climate breakdown, says food czar

The only way to have sustainable land use in this country and avoid ecological degradation is to drastically reduce the consumption of meat and dairy products, according to the Tsar of UK government food.

< p class="dcr-xry7m2">Henry Dimbleby told the Guardian that although asking the public to eat less meat – backed by a mix of incentives and penalties – would be politically toxic, it was the only way to respect the country's climate and biodiversity. targets.

"It is an incredibly inefficient use of land to grow crops, feed them for a ruminant, a pig or a chicken which during its cycle of life, converts them into a very small amount of protein to eat,” he said.

Currently 85% of farmland in England is used as pasture for grazing animals such as cows or for growing food that is then fed to livestock Dimbleby, the co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain and a respected voice in conservative circles, estimates that a 30% reduction in Meat over 10 years is required for land to be used sustainably in England. Others go much further: Greenpeace, for example, says we need to reduce our meat consumption by 70% to meet our meat targets. of biodiversity or climate in this country. We have equal ment a huge opportunity to show thought leadership around the world and show them that it can be done, that we can farm sustainably while feeding people.

Dimbleby authored two of the government-commissioned reports on Britain's food system, but the subsequent white paper, published by Boris Johnson's government in June, was widely criticized for watering down its key recommendations and contained few new measures to tackle soaring food costs, child hunger, obesity or the climate emergency.

"I wasn't surprised at all," Dimbleby said when asked about the omission of meat reduction policies from the government's white paper.

"It's such a politicized area that everyone in the world avoids it. You have huge lobbies campaigning for consumption, and the public n don't like the idea of ​​reducing meat and dairy.="inline" data-spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement" class="dcr-10khgmf">

Dimbleby itself has not recommended levies on animal products.< /p>

"The government would fall within a fortnight if they put in place a tax on meat," he said. "There is no point in recommending impossible things."

There is a huge ch necessary cultural change for people in England to stop feeling like they have to eat meat so regularly, Dimbleby said. idea of ​​what I do on my land is my business...