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February 12, 2010 - Study on the carbon footprint of UK food features on BBC television and in newspapers world-wide
The WWF UK and the Food Climate Research Network have published a report from Cranfield University, Murphy-Bokern Konzepte and Ecometica examing the carbon footprint of the UK food system and scope for reductions.
The study shows that food accounts directly for one fifth of UK consumers' carbon footprint. It includes the first detailed audit of the whole of the UK food carbon footprint, including emissions overseas embedded in imports. The study also used new techniques to allocate a proportion of the world's deforestation emissions to UK food. This increases the food carbon footprint to 30%.
The carbon footprint of UK food is dominated by emissions from the livestock sector. Livestock products directly account for 58% of emissions while providing less than a third of UK food in terms of food energy. Reducing livestock consumption offers the single most effective way of reducing the carbon footprint of our food consumption.
This report is a scientific report for public policy. It shows that radical change will be required if food production is to make a contribution to wider climate policy. This will involve combining different approaches from farm to bin. Decarbonisation of the wider economy will help reduce food chain emissions, but changes to consumption and to farming are also required. The report identifies reductions in livestock product consumption, including vegetarianism, as central to delivering a low carbon food system. For consumers, the desired direction of travel for reducing emissions is clear - eat less meat and dairy products. This must be combined with other measures, including using science and technology to improve farming.
As a balanced scientific report for policy development it also discusses potential unintended and undesirable consequences of a move in this direction so as to ensure we get the best out of a low livestock product diet. Consumers reducing meat and dairy can improve the benefits further. A low impact diet is a balanced diet - lower in livestock products than the average UK diet today, with more of a wide range of plant foods - cereals, fruit and vegetables. There is widespread consensus that this change in consumption is in line with health guidelines.
As we tackle climate change over the next 40 years, reducing the consumption of livestock products in the developed economies will play an increasingly important role in helping the planet cope with the feeding 9 billion people adequately and fairly.
The report ('How low can we go?') is available under 'Publications'.
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