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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment

Ignoring the science: we do it at our peril – over Covid and the environment

Harvesting wheat on a huge farm in Minnesota.
Harvesting wheat on a huge farm in Minnesota. Photograph: Andy Sacks/Getty Images

Why wasn’t the science followed during Covid-19 (Editorial)? For the same reason we aren’t following the science to tackle the existential crises we are facing – short-term economic and political considerations. We are literally destroying our home, yet industrial farming – a leading driver of both climate and biodiversity crises – is being ignored.

We’ve had flailing attempts to address these challenges, with a timid attempt at reforming farming subsidies, a disowned national food strategy, and trade agreements that are willing to sell out our own farmers for low-welfare, climate-wrecking imports. At international summits, the role of industrial farming in the climate crisis has been given woefully limited attention.

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