We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.Major report focuses on food chain emissions
A MAJOR new report on UK food chain emissions will be published on Monday (January 18).
The report, commissioned by WWF-UK and the Food Climate Research Network, is designed to stimulate debate about the full greenhouse gas (GHG) impact of the UK food chain and the scope for reducing emissions by 70 per cent by 2050.
Entitled, How Low Can We Go: an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from the UK food system and the scope for reduction by 2050 – it will provide the most accurate inventory of GHGs attributable to UK food consumption.
It will also add further pressure on the Government to engage in the debate about the connection between diet, sustainability, health and global food security.
Mark Driscoll, One Planet Food lead at WWF-UK, urged the Government to stop side-stepping some of the issues, as had been the case in the Defra Food 2030 vision paper.
“In terms of cutting emissions, the Government has, once again, focused much of its efforts on production systems and resource efficiency with little recognition of the need to address consumption – the issue of livestock consumption is mentioned but neatly side-stepped under the guise of ‘lack of information’.
“The efforts of producers to cut emissions thus far is welcome, and the new Roadmap produced by EBLEX is another step in the right direction. However, long-term the consumption issue will have to be tackled; consumption changes take many years which is why we need to be addressing the issue now,” he said.
The extensive WWF report looks at the whole food chain – from producers to consumers – and provides an indication of the emissions from UK food consumption, including those attributed to land use change in other parts of the world.
“The evidence is building that we will not deliver a secure and sustainable food system if we rely on improved production methods alone.
“There is ample evidence out there that shows that in order to feed a growing global population the Western diet will have to reduce meat and dairy consumption. Our report out on Monday will provide further proof of this,” said Mr Driscoll.
The study assesses a range of scenarios to reduce emissions by 70 per cent, focussing on areas such as decarbonisation of the energy used in transport, reductions in emissions from livestock and fertilisers through improved genetics and technological advancements and changes in consumption.
