Nicholas Stern on meat

Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, has been reported in the Times as saying that we should (in the Times' own headline words) "give up meat to save the planet."

The actual quote is: "Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world's resources. A vegetarian diet is better [...] I think it's important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating [...] I am 61 now and attitudes towards drinking and driving have changed radically since I was a student. People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food."

Following the Times' coverage of this interview and the subsequent furore, he wrote in saying that he didn't tell people to give up meat or make a demand for behaviour change. Instead, he writes that people "should be aware that the more meat that they eat, the higher the emissions of greenhouse gases that are implied by their diets; it is in this sense of lower emissions (and lower water use) that less meat is "better" for the planet."

As the prices of food, like most items that are consumed, do not yet reflect the real costs of future climate change impacts from emitting greenhouse gases during production, it is particularly important that people should be provided with some other indication of "carbon content" just as they are given details about nutritional value or country of origin.

For example, we surely now expect to be informed about the emissions of cars that we are able to buy. It would be extremely counter-productive to try to dictate the choices that consumers can make. A sound democracy requires information on key issues, the availability of choice and strong public discussion.

Thus people should have low-carbon alternatives among the products and services on offer to them, whether it is electricity, heating, transport or food, and they should be provided with the information that allows them to make informed decisions about all aspects of their consumption, not just what they eat.

You can read the letter here.