Fresh concerns have been raised over the future of the UK's livestock sector after the UK Government accepted advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) recommending significant reductions in meat and dairy consumption as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband, this week, backed a new legally-binding target to reduce UK emissions by 87% by 2040, based on recommendations from the Climate Change Committee.
The CCC’s advice suggests the target can be achieved through a range of measures, including greater uptake of electric vehicles, replacing gas boilers with heat pumps and changes in consumer diets, including lower consumption of meat and dairy products.
The committee said achieving the emissions target would also require a significant shift in consumer behaviour. According to its analysis, meat consumption would need to fall by around 25% by 2040 compared with 2019 levels, while dairy consumption would need to decline by 20% by 2035. The CCC acknowledged that meeting these reductions would go beyond existing consumption trends, meaning government policies and incentives would be needed to encourage households to change their eating habits.
However, the proposals have sparked criticism from farming and rural representatives, who warn the recommendations could have unintended consequences for domestic food production.
Scottish Conservative rural affairs and environment spokesman Finlay Carson said the recommendations demonstrated how disconnected policymakers were from rural communities.
“Everyone wants to tackle climate change, but the idea that you do that by telling people what they can and cannot eat, while undermining one of Scotland’s most important industries, is wrong,” he said.
Carson argued farmers are already making progress on emissions reduction through improved breeding, feed efficiency and management systems.
“The reality is that farmers are already taking practical steps to reduce emissions through better breeding, improved feeds and more efficient systems, without destroying production or livelihoods.
“Instead of working with the sector, they are effectively signalling a 25% cut in meat consumption and a reduction in dairy – changes that would hit demand for Scottish produce and put pressure on the very family farms that underpin our rural economy.”
He warned the proposals could result in fewer livestock, lower domestic food production and increased reliance on imported products.
“What follows from that is fewer livestock, less domestic production and greater reliance on imports. That is not climate leadership – it is carbon leakage, exporting emissions overseas while weakening our own food security.”
Carson added that farming must be viewed as part of the solution to climate change rather than a problem to be solved.
“A strong agriculture sector helps secure a sustainable food supply, while also tackling climate change and supporting biodiversity. Those goals are not mutually exclusive, but Labour’s approach risks undermining all three.
“Farmers and rural communities must be part of the solution, not treated as the problem.”
The UK Government has said detailed policies to achieve the new emissions target will be set out in due course.
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