Red meat and climate change

A recent report published in The Lancet suggested that a 30% reduction in UK livestock production along with a 30% reduction in meat consumption would significantly reduce both green house gas emissions and deaths due to heart disease. Meatandhealth.com looks at some of the facts behinds these claims to help you make up your own mind.  

MEAT PRODUCTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Meat production in the UK is a major contributor to climate change

The figure often cited for agriculture’s contribution to greenhouse gas emission is 18%. However, this figure has been calculated to be 9% for the whole of the EU and total UK agriculture and forestry contributes just 7% of national greenhouse gas emissions according to The Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013. Total livestock production, including dairy, accounts for around two-thirds of this. The 18% global figure is often assumed to be the same for the UK but this is not the case. 

Cutting livestock production and consumption is the best solution

Not necessarily. Despite this relatively small contribution the meat industry is working hard, like other sectors, to reduce it’s overall carbon footprint. The challenge is to produce meat more sustainably – which is already happening in countries such as The UK, which leads global thinking. 

If consumers did reduce meat consumption and switch to alternative foods, these foods would still have a carbon foot print and the overall reduction in greenhouse gases would be negligible.  

Farmland used for meat production could be used for other crops which produce lower greenhouse
gas emissions

No, not all of it. Around 60% of the UK farmland, such as uplands, is best suited to growing grass. If livestock production was reduced this land could not simply be switched to grow other foods as it would not be suitable. It would lie idle making no contribution to feeding the expanding world population.  

But some land could be switched to crops

Yes, but this could be counter productive. Soil is a major carbon store. Ploughing up the relatively small amount of grass land that could be used productively for other crops would itself release significant amounts of trapped carbon into the atmosphere. Scientists have estimated that a tiny decrease in Europe’s soil carbon content, in the order of one tenth of one percent, would generate carbon emissions equal to those from 100 million extra cars. That would be equivalent to doubling the current European car fleet.

Some land is used for both animal and crop production in rotation. Outdoor reared pigs, are a good example. Keeping pigs on the land as part of the rotation cycle fertilises and improves the quality of the land. If this did not happen then the quality of the land would fall and crop production would be less efficient.  

But feeding animals is an inefficient way of producing food

Not necessarily. Many are reared on land that is unfit for other purposes, such as uplands. Also, a significant proportion of animal feed is made from co-products produced during the manufacture of human foods. This would be wasted and go in to landfill if it were not used as animal feed, making the environmental impact of food produced for humans proportionally higher.   

So what is the livestock industry doing to reduce emissions?

The livestock industry has improved efficiency quite substantially over the past decade and is focused on reducing emissions further to make its contribution to the overall UK effort. For example the British pig industry cut C0₂ by 16% between 1990 and 2005 and both the pig and beef and lamb sectors have launched plans to help increase efficiencies and reduce emissions further. 

MEAT AND SATURATED FAT

Meat contributes a large amount of fat to the diet

No, meat and meat products actually contribute less than a quarter of total fat in the UK diet (24%). 18% comes from cereals and cereal products, such as bread, cakes and biscuits with around 15% each from milk/milk products and fat spreads such as margarine. (Department of Health 2004). 

Latest figures show that meat and meat products contribute 25% of saturated fat for men (a fall from 26% in 1988 and 19% for women (down from 20% in 1988) – National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2003. Further falls are expected to be revealed when the latest NDNS data is published in January 2010.  

Advances in food processing technologies and breeding programmes, as well as modification of animal feeds and modern butchery techniques have led to a reduction in the fat content of carcase meat over the past 20 years and more. For example, the fat content of carcase meat in the UK has been reduced by over 30% for pork, 15% for beef and 10% for lamb over the last 30 years. (Meat and Livestock Commission)

Fully trimmed lean raw beef typically contains only 5% fat, fully trimmed lean raw pork only 4% fat and fully trimmed lean raw lamb only 8% fat. This compares well with a food such as cheddar cheese which contains an average of 34% fat.

All high fat foods, including pork pies, pastries and other meat products can be eaten as part of a balanced diet but should be consider as treats and eaten occasionally.

Meat mainly contains saturated fat

Not true. Animal fats are commonly referred to as ‘saturated’, but less than half of all fatty acids in meats are saturated.  

Overall, lean red meat contains similar proportions of monounsaturated fat and saturated fat. Exact proportions vary depending on the type of meat.

Originally all saturated fats were thought to be associated with increased blood cholesterol, but it has become apparent that individual saturated fats differ in their effect. One of the main saturated fats present in red meat, stearic acid, has no effect on cholesterol levels.

Meat is the main source of monounsaturated fat in the British diet. This is the type found in olive oil, and known to be protective against coronary heart disease

Reducing meat intake by 30% would have a big effect on saturated fat consumption and help
reduce heart disease

Meat is a relatively minor source of saturated fat and it is more important to look at the overall diet than individual foods.National Food Survey data shows a 30% reduction in intake of meat and meat products would reduce saturated fat intake by only 2g per day.  Such a reduction can easily be achieved through changes in animal composition, butchery practice and recipe formulation.

THERE ARE NO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS

Tackling climate change and improving the diet of the nation are both complex problems. Neither have simple solutions such as drastically reducing livestock production or cutting meat consumption by 30%. Action is clearly required in both cases but both require widespread changes in range of behaviours rather than knee jerk responses based on partial information.