Families should stop eating meat on a daily basis, MPs warn today.
Pork, lamb and beef should be ‘occasional’ indulgences rather than dinner-table staples.
They said the global surge in meat and cheese consumption was unsustainable, with the UK ‘never more than a few days from a significant food shortage’.
The Commons international development committee said farmers should rear more animals on grass because livestock is land and energy intensive and grain should be saved for humans.
Phil Stocker of the National Sheep Association said it is the public’s right to serve what they like on their dinner table
The report was branded ‘naive, dangerous and bitterly disappointing’ by farming unions. ‘Livestock farming is an essential part of the fabric of the British countryside,’ said Charles Sercombe of the NFU.
‘We turn otherwise unused parts of land into food and protein that the public can eat as part of a balanced diet. We are using the land as efficiently as possible.
‘With many farmers having been dealing with some of the most difficult conditions in years, to encourage the public not to eat meat is unhelpful to say the least.’
Phil Stocker of the National Sheep Association said: ‘The vast majority of land used for sheep farming is not suitable for any other form of agriculture.
The committee said the global surge in meat and cheese consumption was unsustainable, with the UK ‘never more than a few days from a significant food shortage’
Farming unions branded the report ‘naive, dangerous and bitterly disappointing’
Less of these: Families are being told to cut down on their consumption of roast beef joints
‘Would it be more efficient just to leave the land and import our food? Of course not. Millions have grown up eating meat regularly and it is the public’s right to serve what they like on their dinner table.’
But Sir Malcolm Bruce, the Lib Dem chairman of the Commons committee, said: ‘With the UK never more than a few days away from a significant food shortage, UK consumers should also be encouraged over time to reduce how often they eat meat.
‘There is no room for complacency about food security over the coming decades if UK consumers are to enjoy stable supplies and reasonable food prices.
‘UK aid to help smallholders increase food production in the developing world is of direct benefit to UK consumers as rising world food prices will reduce living standards of hard-pressed UK consumers.’
The MPs are demanding ministers tackle food wastage – a study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers found up to half the food bought from UK supermarkets goes in the bin, often when edible.
‘There is no room for complacency about food security over the coming decades if UK consumers are to enjoy stable supplies and reasonable food prices.’
Sir Malcolm Bruce
The committee’s report on global food security said: ‘We recommend the Government set targets for food waste reduction for producers and retailers and introduce sanctions for failure to meet the targets.’
On the topic of GM food, dubbed ‘Frankenstein foods’, the MPs recognised the technique was ‘controversial’ but added: ‘GMOs have the potential to make a valuable contribution to food security.’
The committee raised concerns about the impact of biofuels – derived from plants such as sugar cane and maize – on the environment and on food prices.
Vast swathes of agricultural land are set aside to grow fuel crops, pushing up the price of staple goods. By law, at least 5 per cent of petrol and diesel sold on British forecourts must be biofuel.
The MPs called on ministers to consider using domestic stockpiles of food to protect against price hikes.
As well as claiming grain should be fed to humans instead of animals, vegetarians and green activists tell steak lovers livestock farming is a major source of harmful greenhouse gases.
But a study in 2010 found that going vegetarian may not be as green as it seems. The Cranfield University research found that switching from British-bred beef and lamb to meat substitutes imported from abroad such as tofu and Quorn would increase the amount of land cultivated.
Source: Dailymail
I am the healthiest I have been in 17 years using the paleo diet. Lots of meat and no grains. Lots of veggies and no carbs.