Meat has 'vital' role to play in the future – Shropshire farmers

Meat consumption is regarded as a significant source of global warming emissions – and eating less of it is a way people can reduce their carbon footprint.

But the region's farmers said meat is vital for people's diets, and measures are being taken to ensure it is produced in more environmentally-friendly ways.

Richard Yates, a Bridgnorth farmer who is chairman of the NFU West Midlands livestock board, said: "A s a farmer I am doing my bit to help reduce emissions. Forty per cent have already diversified into renewable energy. It will be irresponsible for us not to play our part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"I firmly believe meat plays a vital role in feeding our nation because of its considerable nutritive value as part of a balanced diet."

It comes as a report warned this week that countries must take "unprecedented" action to slash carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and limit dangerous global warming.

Impacts of climate change, from droughts to rising seas, will be less extreme if temperature rises are curbed at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels than if they climb to 2C, the UN-backed study said.

Limiting warming to 1.5C is possible but will require fast and far-reaching changes to power generation, industry, transport, buildings and potential shifts in lifestyle such as eating less meat.

It will also require action to take excess carbon emissions out of the atmosphere, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report said.

If less meat is eaten in the future and there is a move towards less 'resource-intensive diets', there are fears people will be forced to rely on more food grown abroad such as fruit.

Malcolm Roberts, a north Shropshire farmer and the NFU chairman for the West Midlands, said: "Importing increases carbon emissions through transport, which outweighs production at home.

"If we import more we will have no assurance of quality and the way food is produced. It is highly likely that food imported from abroad will be the subject of less stringent rules than we have for food produced in the UK.

"Farmers and organisations are currently looking at reducing emissions – not allowing ammonia to escape and by looking at different diets for their livestock.

"The agricultural industry is doing its best. Investment has been made in buildings which reduces heat waste, solar panels, heat source systems and wind turbines. What we need is more research and investment in technology to lower emissions further.

"Global warming maybe around the corner but we must remember agriculture provides a lot of good in the environment.

"Any industry needs to improve and needs more research to move forward."

The report said carbon dioxide emissions need to fall about 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030 and to "net zero" – so no more is being put into the atmosphere than is being removed by measures such as planting trees – by 2050, while other greenhouse gases will also need to decline steeply.

It will require a huge ramp-up in renewables so they generate 70-85 per cent of electricity supplies by 2050, while coal power's share of the mix tumbles to almost nothing.

There will also need to be emissions cuts in industry, transport and buildings as well as the restoring of forests and potential changes to lifestyle.

NFU deputy president Guy Smith said: “We are already starting to see the effects of global warming and this year’s extreme weather events have served to remind us how vulnerable farming is to a changing climate.

“The report by the IPCC emphasises the need for a joined-up approach to minimising the global temperature rise to 1.5C, and British farmers are committed to playing their part to reach this target.

“Around two fifths of farmers and growers have already diversified to produce clean, low-carbon renewable energy and many are taking measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Farmers are focussed on improving agricultural productivity through better management of nutrients, livestock, energy and soil, and the NFU is working with its members to implement more efficient ways of producing food for the country.”

Claire Holland, manager of the Q Guild of Butchers, said: "As an industry we are aware, as everyone is I’m sure, of the importance of protecting and helping the environment, and encourage and support our butchers in taking steps to reduce their carbon footprints.

"The impact of not eating meat at all is a large one, but although the trend is for people to follow a plant based diet, I suspect it will be a difficult job for many to eat no meat at all. A lot of consumers may choose to reduce their meat consumption overall, but eat better quality meat when they do, which is exactly what an independent butcher offers.

"Added to this it is well documented that animals do benefit the land that they’re kept on before the meat even reaches the butchers counter, and our countryside would be at risk should those farm animals be removed. Not to mention the human cost, not many farms or farmers would be able to earn their keep without farming animals which would mean the loss of an important part of our heritage as well."