There's an article in The Telegraph this morning saying that the BBC program was dishonest and misleading...
... Livestock farmers have a hard enough time of it without having to justify their existence against the power and reach of a BBC documentary effectively urging people not to buy their products any more. On Monday, the programme Meat: A Threat to our Planet, purported to show the damage inflicted on the global environment by livestock practices. The film showed how the Amazonian rainforest had been felled in places for grazing and said British consumers were contributing to this state of affairs by eating Brazilian beef. But imports from Brazil amount to just one per cent of the total, with more than 90 per cent from the EU, mainly Ireland. The fact is that British farmers have a very good, sustainable story to tell that risks being completely undermined by the BBC. In our increasingly urbanised society, many viewers will imagine that the intensive farming methods depicted in the documentary are used here when they aren’t. Many British farmers are producing local food in an environmentally friendly way and should be encouraged – not vilified. The presenter Liz Bonnin and the BBC said the aim was to help consumers make “an informed choice” but this sort of alarmism will help no one
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
So do I Dove, there’s a lot of difference in the thinking from town folk to country folk.
Not even worth talking about America, Trump’s pulled out of the Paris agreement and says he’ll do all he can to ‘make America great’ at whatever cost to the environment, So that’s everyone else stuffed.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
The programme specifically referenced the huge meat consumption in the USA and the degradation of the Amazonian rain forest. It did not compare that production with the UK. I think the Telegraph article and the farming community concerns probably stem from the fact that so many people are far removed from any form of animal husbandry. Meat comes plastic wrapped in the supermarket. One form of meat production is as good or as bad as another - a complete disconnect. I am lucky to live in Devon. I am attuned to good farming practices and to the high welfare standards generally. I suspect that those in urban environments are not, and in that respect, the programme may have done a disservice to our farmers by not highlighting the differences that I take for granted.
I’ve been reading this thread with interest. I find this matter had been a concern for many decades now. The book, diet for a small planet published in 1970’s (outside this charged time’s) which I’ve had since 90’s is a great read and the updated one is even better. Here the environmental economics / calorie cost of obtaining nutrients from plants vs animal source is explained. This book certainly convinced me in no uncertain terms that mass meat consumption (carbon aside) is still bad in many ways.
I am a bit late to this but I did watch the programme. I used to like Liz Bonnin and yes she is a qualified scientist but on more than one occasion recently I think her presenting has had an over emotional style. Someone if not her has decided that it has more impact if she apparently shows how upset she is by what she sees. I do agree with others we need to tackle this, meat used to be a treat, portion control is one of the big issues even dedicated carnivores should not eat more than 6-8oz of meat at a time as our digestive systems cant cope with more & it is simply eliminated. Food waste is at least as big an issue as overproduction but the factory systems shown should be stopped.
I've been avoiding commenting on this, but for what it's worth, I'm rapidly geting tired of being berated for every s*dding thing we do or don't do.
If we get rid of all the sheep for example, what would the anti meat lobby suggest using that land for? There's a very good reason why large swathes of land are used for sheep. Perhaps they could all be sent to those areas to give it a go....
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Get the vegans to do the grazing @Fairygirl 😂 they'll feel even more self righteous as they tuck in some dandelions. That said, nicely steamed with a vinaigrette they are delicious.
Posts
... Livestock farmers have a hard enough time of it without having to justify their existence against the power and reach of a BBC documentary effectively urging people not to buy their products any more. On Monday, the programme Meat: A Threat to our Planet, purported to show the damage inflicted on the global environment by livestock practices. The film showed how the Amazonian rainforest had been felled in places for grazing and said British consumers were contributing to this state of affairs by eating Brazilian beef. But imports from Brazil amount to just one per cent of the total, with more than 90 per cent from the EU, mainly Ireland. The fact is that British farmers have a very good, sustainable story to tell that risks being completely undermined by the BBC. In our increasingly urbanised society, many viewers will imagine that the intensive farming methods depicted in the documentary are used here when they aren’t. Many British farmers are producing local food in an environmentally friendly way and should be encouraged – not vilified. The presenter Liz Bonnin and the BBC said the aim was to help consumers make “an informed choice” but this sort of alarmism will help no one
... it confirms what I said earlier https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1034225/environmental-impact-of-the-meat-industry/p1
Most of the figures used by the anti-meat lobby relate to the Americas.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Not even worth talking about America, Trump’s pulled out of the Paris agreement and says he’ll do all he can to ‘make America great’ at whatever cost to the environment, So that’s everyone else stuffed.
I am lucky to live in Devon. I am attuned to good farming practices and to the high welfare standards generally. I suspect that those in urban environments are not, and in that respect, the programme may have done a disservice to our farmers by not highlighting the differences that I take for granted.
I do agree with others we need to tackle this, meat used to be a treat, portion control is one of the big issues even dedicated carnivores should not eat more than 6-8oz of meat at a time as our digestive systems cant cope with more & it is simply eliminated. Food waste is at least as big an issue as overproduction but the factory systems shown should be stopped.
If we get rid of all the sheep for example, what would the anti meat lobby suggest using that land for?
There's a very good reason why large swathes of land are used for sheep. Perhaps they could all be sent to those areas to give it a go....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...