To think we should all eat less meat & dairy

[grumiosmum]

... because of the climate crisis (as well as our health)

Important new report out today: www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49238749

We do however have a dog and two cats and so meat features heavily in their diets.

FYI, there's a grub-based dog food on the market that my dog likes as much as she does any other food.

I agree with you, and all those people worried about us switching to arable farming or importing lentils clearly haven’t read the UN report or any stats on plant vs animal based food.

We are a plant based household and am really heartened to see people saying they’re making an effort to eat less meat, or at least avoiding the most carbon intensive ones. Every little really does help and baby steps often lead to bigger changes. Recently gave up bananas which I do miss terribly, but trying to slow the fucking up of our beautiful planet is more important than being able to eat exactly what I want.

Eating meat and dairy locally is better for the environment than eating an avocado flown over from Peru. It’s swings and rounder-bouts really. We should all try to eat as locally as possible, with a little less meat and dairy. I’m pregnant at the moment and need to eat meat because I’m anaemic. It’s not an option healthwise for everyone to go full vegan. P.s I’m normally veggie when not pregnant.

grumiosmum Well I eat my lentils! I am grudgingly impressed then.

Eating meat and dairy locally is better for the environment than eating an avocado flown over from Peru.

They are not comparable though. No protein in an avocado. And most avocados travel by boat, not air, so I don't think the carbon comparison stacks up either.

Think people need to wake up to climate change being blamed on animals is ridiculous, where's your common sense guys? You really think some cows farting is worse then pollution from vehicles, factories etc? And guess what of all those farmers who produce meat go out of business, they won't all turn to arable it'll probably mean there land gets used for more housing, factories etc say goodbye to the countryside it's about to be concrete .......
"Control Oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people"

I think rather than cutting down on meat/dairy, stop buying foods that are imported from half way across the world, when we can buy locally sourced or British produce! I eat meat most days, but I also try and buy as much local produce as possible, meat/fruit/veg etc.
Yes there is a climate crisis, but at we also need to support our farmers and our own industries. Buying local means less transportation involved which is better for the environment. Maybe check where your meat alternative is coming from before saying people should cut down on meat or dairy!

Recently gave up bananas which I do miss terribly, but trying to slow the fucking up of our beautiful planet is more important than being able to eat exactly what I want.

The carbon footprint of a banana is actually very low since they are picked when green and can travel from the other side of the world slowly on a ship. The carbon footprint of a punnet of strawberries from Belgium is much much higher.

I'm just trying to reduce my red meat intake.
I grow a lot of veg and some fruit. I would say 60% of our meals are vegetarian.
I'm finding it difficult with dairy as I love cheese and to be fair our household income relies on the dairy industry at the moment.
I promise I will do my best

I agree. As a family I know we need to to more.

But I think we also need to be encouraging people to cook more from scratch with fresh ingredients. A lot of friends have recently switched to vegan diets, eating a lot of pre packaged processed foods. Stuffing yourself with palm oil laden vegan food isn't helping the planet much either.

I agree.

I had to give up dairy because DD had an allergy and honestly it’s not that hard anymore. And I say that as a pizza obsessive.

There are so many substitutes around that I would never go back to eating it. I feel much healthier in a lot of ways now too.

Boat being a more environmentally friendly form of travel is bogus from wiki:

The environmental impact of shipping includes air pollution, water pollution, acoustic, and oil pollution.[1] Ships are responsible for more than 18 percent of some air pollutants.

It also includes greenhouse gas emissions. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimates that carbon dioxide emissions from shipping were equal to 2.2% of the global human-made emissions in 2012[3] and expects them to rise 50 to 250 percent by 2050 if no action is taken.[4]

Also shipping disturbs ocean life. The accoustics confuse whales and dolphins and can result in them becoming beached or losing communication with their pods Large ships can also cause ocean pollution.

jasjas1973 sheep also have a high carbon footprint.

I personally have never eaten meat/fish, as a child we sometimes cooked with ghee, but that’s the only dairy I have ever consumed. I do eat eggs, but only from small local places that have chickens in their back garden etc.

I eat British and in season where possible, but if you aren’t careful you can still eat a plant based diet and have a large carbon footprint.

Radio 4 interviewed some one regarding this this morning ( Greenpeace??) Who said it would be a mistake for the UK to change their animal farming systems because we are one of the most sustainable farming models in the world.... Or similar... I was half asleep! I do think we need to be buying local, well reared, non intensive meat. Sadly, most of the meat in our processed foods is cheap and of dubious welfare origin. ( Chicken from Thailand for example in most high Street sandwiches).

Some people are a bit touchy about food aren’t they!! They’re only suggesting we eat less meat and dairy.

after 30 years of being vegan/vegetarian I now eat some meat for health reasons.
I do not want to eat less than I do and I do not eat meat every day.
I think people are just jumping on a bandwagon and other issues are more vital like eating organic or at least chemical free veg and fruit .
And only buy meat that is local and organic or at least kind to animals.
The worst must be those animal factories the USA is so fond of. Also battery farms should be stopped. Too cruel.

It's a very good point about not all terrains being suitable for crops. I really don't want to see the UK countryside covered in plastic sheeting similar to large parts of Spain.

The elephant in the room is population levels, really. But no-one will touch that.

I saw on Channel4 news recently that N Ireland and some of England now are producing intensively farmed pork and beef for China. We are feeding China......Does anyone tell them to eat less meat?
No I didn't think so.

Unless population control is mandated on an earth wide scale its pointless.

The worst thing you can do for the planet is have children.

I don't eat much meat and rarely ever drink milk but I do love cheese. I think everyone could probably do more for the planet than they do already, tbh.

I agree with you OP. We're probably about 80% meat free now (and what we do eat I try to buy local) and I've cut down my dairy consumption, even cheese which I would have never thought possible. The one thing I'm really struggling to give up is bananas - not helped by the fact I have a disability which causes mild-to-moderate hypokalemia.

Why can't the government just impose limits on the amount of livestock/meat products imported? Seems like we're making it a moral issue and policing each other. Food is a very emotive subject. And some people (including me) react badly to too many grains/pulses.

Also the government could help support UK farming so we don't need to import so much. I know this costs money but there must be an environment budget it could come from

grumiosmum there’s protein in everything actually - We don’t need that much protein really. It’s iron, B12 that’s important, especially for pregnant women.

How about we all stop having loads of kids and shopping addictions, do you know how much water it used/polluted to make clothes 😱