ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS FROM INCREASED MEAT EATING

A new research report from Cambridge and Aberdeen universities estimates greenhouse gases from food production will rise by 80% if meat and dairy consumption continues to rise at its current rate:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29007758

Lead researcher Bojana Bajzelj from the University of Cambridge said: 'The average efficiency of livestock converting plant feed to meat is less than 3%, and as we eat more meat, more arable cultivation is turned over to producing feedstock for animals that provide meat for humans. The losses at each stage are large, and as humans globally eat more and more meat, conversion from plants to food becomes less and less efficient, driving agricultural expansion and releasing more greenhouse gases. Agricultural practices are not necessarily at fault here - but our choice of food is.'

The study urges eating two portions of red meat and seven of poultry per week. But the world's cities are seeing a boom in burger restaurants, and there is concern about the obesity pandemic.

Comment:  The science is now well-established, but what action should be taken is highly controversial. What may be counter-productive is aggressive insistence that people should immediately adopt a vegetarian or even a vegan lifestyle, and evidence of  contradictory messages about healthy eating. Perhaps it's best approached by education and gentle persuasion to bring about gradual change - yet the environmental risks are urgent.