This week the Committee on Climate Change, advisors to the government, released a new report titled ‘Building a Low-Carbon Economy - The UK’s Contribution to Tackling Climate Change’.

The section on agriculture is an interesting read. They have printed a chart which clearly shows the most carbon intensive foods - of course meat, eggs and milk are the main culprits. They point out the potential, and challenges, in changing consumer behaviour to foods that are less carbon intensive. However, they also suggest:-

Selecting animals with particular traits for breeding, in order to improve the efficiency of milk and beef production or fertility. The impact of selection both reduces the number of animals required to produce a fixed level of output, and decreases the finishing period of animals, therefore reducing emissions per unit of output.

Increased use of additives named ionophores that increase productivity and decrease methane production. These are currently banned in the EU but are routinely used as growth promoters in some non-EU countries.

I don’t fancy their chances of introducing a substance banned in the EU, and find it hard to imagine that there is any more scope for continued selective breeding in the fast growing, mutant farm animals who we have already over bred and who are suffering horribly as a consequence. These are animals, not machines, there is a limit.

So this leaves the reduction in consumption. There is some hope, they do state that they ‘recognise that this [reducing consumption] is an important area to consider going forward, and intend that it will form our future work programme.’  They also point out during the chapter that ‘agricultural non-CO2 emissions have decreased by 18% over the period 1990-2006… reduction in agriculture is largely attributable to decreasing livestock numbers…’

It seems environmental organisations are slowly and reluctantly turning their attention to consumption. Only be changing the choices we make, on a mass scale, can we really make a difference. People are suffering because of climate change today and every day there are more, if we change our consumption, we have a chance of stopping this.