Wednesday 22 May 2013 @ 09:15
WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
WWF - Clear evidence of environmental impact of livestock production
Commenting on a report released on Monday (20 May) by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Beef and Lamb 1, WWF-UK said that the report was wrong to claim that there was no clear evidence of the environmental impact of livestock production.
Duncan Williamson, corporate stewardship manager at WWF-UK, said: “We appreciate that this is a complex area, and feelings run high. However, the main point in this report – that the evidence isn’t clear on the environmental impact of livestock production - simply isn’t true. There’s lots of evidence of the high environmental impact associated with livestock production; we’ve just got to face up to that.” 2
The charity agreed with the point made by the APPG that an ‘eat less red meat to save the planet’ message is too simplistic, pointing to extensive work that WWF had carried out with farmers, producers, retailers and other stakeholders on this issue 3. WWF said it was ‘very supportive’ of extensive pasture based farming in the UK and had repeatedly said this publicly, as this is a system that is kind to the environment and helps conserve biodiversity.
Nevertheless, said Duncan Williamson: “There is no getting away from the fact that meat is an environmental ‘hot spot’. High-meat diets in the west, and increasingly in the developing world, are not just bad for people’s health – they’re bad for the planet too.”
Notes to editors:
1. The report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Beef and Lamb, The carbon footprint of the beef cattle and sheep sector, is released on 20 May.
2. See for example Livestock’s long shadow, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2006): http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM or the UK Government’s Foresight Report, The Future of Food and Farming (2011) http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/foresight/docs/food-and-farming/11-546-future-of-food-and-farming-report.pdf
3. See for example, Prime cuts: Valuing the meat we eat, by WWF-UK and the Food Ethics Council (February 2013): http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/prime_cuts_food_report_summary_feb2013.pdf
For more information:
George Smeeton, Media Relations Manager WWF-UK
Tel: 01483 412 388, Mob: 07917 052 948, email: GSmeeton@wwf.org.uk
Duncan Williamson, corporate stewardship manager at WWF-UK, said: “We appreciate that this is a complex area, and feelings run high. However, the main point in this report – that the evidence isn’t clear on the environmental impact of livestock production - simply isn’t true. There’s lots of evidence of the high environmental impact associated with livestock production; we’ve just got to face up to that.” 2
The charity agreed with the point made by the APPG that an ‘eat less red meat to save the planet’ message is too simplistic, pointing to extensive work that WWF had carried out with farmers, producers, retailers and other stakeholders on this issue 3. WWF said it was ‘very supportive’ of extensive pasture based farming in the UK and had repeatedly said this publicly, as this is a system that is kind to the environment and helps conserve biodiversity.
Nevertheless, said Duncan Williamson: “There is no getting away from the fact that meat is an environmental ‘hot spot’. High-meat diets in the west, and increasingly in the developing world, are not just bad for people’s health – they’re bad for the planet too.”
Notes to editors:
1. The report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Beef and Lamb, The carbon footprint of the beef cattle and sheep sector, is released on 20 May.
2. See for example Livestock’s long shadow, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2006): http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM or the UK Government’s Foresight Report, The Future of Food and Farming (2011) http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/foresight/docs/food-and-farming/11-546-future-of-food-and-farming-report.pdf
3. See for example, Prime cuts: Valuing the meat we eat, by WWF-UK and the Food Ethics Council (February 2013): http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/prime_cuts_food_report_summary_feb2013.pdf
For more information:
George Smeeton, Media Relations Manager WWF-UK
Tel: 01483 412 388, Mob: 07917 052 948, email: GSmeeton@wwf.org.uk
