The one thing each and every one of us can do to help fight the climate crisis, improve biodiversity and our own health is reduce meat and dairy consumption.
I know many folks out there will be like - ‘you’re not going to tell me what to eat’. And I don’t plan to.
While I don’t partake myself, that’s a decision each and every one of us has to make for ourselves. What I am advocating for is a shift in mindset about the amount of meat and dairy people eat.
Read more: 20% reduction in meat and dairy consumption advised in NI
And the experts think so too.
The UK Climate Change Committee has urged politicians at Stormont to start encouraging the public here to cut their meat and dairy consumption by a fifth by 2030. They say a “20% shift away from all meat by 2030, rising to 35% by 2050 and a 20% shift away from dairy by 2030” will demonstrate “leadership in the public sector while improving health” - so it’s for your own good too.
I’ve previously written about how our Agriculture department’s ‘Going for Growth’ strategy vastly increased the number of animals reared and slaughtered in Northern Ireland. Farmers here are producing enough meat for around 10 million people - over five times the now 1.92 million population of NI.
It’s almost as if we are one big factory farm, churning out body after broken body to satisfy the UK’s lust for meat, regardless of the impact on the animals involved, our climate, land and ultimately our own health and wellbeing.
The land is buckling under the pressure of unsustainable levels of ammonia and phosphate pollution that’s spilling into our rivers, seas, lakes and bogs and throwing environmentally sensitive ecosystems into disarray.
Yellow fish graffiti alerting people to waterways and grants for not-for profits to help prevent waterway pollution are not going to fix the problem when farming practices remain largely unchanged.
And that’s where the decisions you and I make CAN make a difference. What you put in your shopping trolley could change everything.
When I first stopped eating meat as a teenager, you were lucky to get some veggie fingers in the supermarket freezer. Now there’s a veggie substitute for just about everything making it easy for people to make the switch a few days a week.
With people eating less meat, less will need to be produced using less water, less crops to feed that livestock and creating less pollution. This system, where the processors and supermarkets call the shots is harmful on so many levels in my view.
And the fix is returning us to a more sustainable way of farming, that pays farmers properly for what they produce so they aren’t driven towards factory farming on a monstrous scale.
But in order to get there, we need decision makers across Northern Ireland to lead from the front. I would suggest designated meat and dairy-free days in schools, hospitals, prisons and just about any canteen run with public funding as a good place to start.
It would be the perfect way to drive home the message we need to cut the amount of meat we eat.
According to the EAT-Lancet Commission [report] on Healthy Diets From Sustainable Food Systems: “Global food production... constitutes the single largest driver of environmental degradation and transgression of planetary boundaries. Taken together the outcome is dire.
“A radical transformation of the global food system is urgently needed. Without action, the world risks failing to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
“Global consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes will have to double, and consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar will have to be reduced by more than 50%,” they added.
“A diet rich in plant-based foods and with fewer animal source foods confers both improved health and environmental benefits.”
Why wouldn’t we all want to be more healthy and have a more liveable planet, that we’re not overburdening with our meat lust?
Consider the benefits:
- Healthier people with a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease and a range of other illnesses
- Healthier air with less ammonia pollution
- Healthier waters with less phosphate pollution and less risk to fish
- Healthier and happier animals not being pumped full of antibiotics to keep them healthy on factory farms
- Healthier land, lakes, rivers and seas where we and wildlife can thrive
If you really think about it, there’s a lot to gain.
Soil health scheme samples won't be used for enforcement, says Poots
Minister Poots has extended the soil nutrient health scheme deadline, telling farmers the data gathered “will not be used for any enforcement purposes”.
The voluntary £45m SNHS 2022-26 scheme aims to gather soil samples from the fields of all farms across NI.
It will then be used to produce the “best productive and environmental outcomes” on farmland and “reducing and finding alternative uses for phosphorus and nitrates”.
The original July 8 deadline for participants in zone one to sign up has been extended to August 31.
Minister Poots said: “I understand there is some concern out there among farmers that the data collected in the SNHS could be used for enforcement purposes. So I want to reassure them that this is not the case and that their individualised data will not be used for any enforcement purposes by officials.”
DAERA say the Northern Ireland wide soil testing scheme was recommended by an independent industry-led Expert Working Group.
Zone one includes all of Co Down and parts of Co Armagh and Co Antrim. The department says 6,832 farms in Zone 1 have been invited to register for the SNHS and that 2,393 farm businesses in Zone 1 had registered as of July 8.
“Uptake to date is approximately 35%. However DAERA would encourage all remaining eligible farmers in Zone 1 to register for the SNHS before the extended closing data of 31 August 2022," said a DAERA spokesperson. "The scheme will provide farmers with valuable baseline information on their soil nutrients and farm carbon. Importantly, farmers should be aware that participation in the SNHS is a condition of entry for future farm support schemes like the Farm Sustainability Payment, Farming with Nature and the Beef Sustainability Package. These schemes are likely to be important income streams for farm businesses."
Linen Quarter leading way with climate action training
Great work from the Linen Quarter Business Improvement District and Business in the Community who have joined forces to deliver climate action training for Linen Quarter firms.
The four-month programme supports them to kick-start their climate action transition and reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions. River Ridge; NI Chest, Heart and Stroke and Cleaver Fulton Rankin have completed the course and vowed to reduce their carbon footprint.
Charlotte Irvine, LQ BID, said: “As businesses strive to build back better, the case for taking action on climate change has never been stronger.”
BITC MD, Kieran Harding, added: “BITC is the responsible business network for over 220 firms in Northern Ireland it is our goal encourage members to identify practical ways to make positive changes and reduce their impact on the environment.”
Quick swap
My swap this week is a simple one. Ditch the meat and dairy two days a week to help your health and the climate. That’s what the UK CCC say we should all be doing by 2030. Beans and pulses have all the protein you need and are great in pastas, salads, stews and curries.
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