Dimbleby food strategy calls for 30% cut in meat consumption

The second instalment of Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy (NFS) calls for a 30% reduction in meat consumption over the next decade to meet government targets on health, climate and the environment.

The controversial recommendation to government will infuriate British livestock farmers and it is included in Mr Dimbleby’s 288-page NFS report, which was published on Thursday (15 July).

Writing in the executive summary, restaurateur Mr Dimbleby states: “Careful livestock farming can be a boon to the environment, but our current appetite for meat is unsustainable: 85% of farmland is used to feed livestock. We need some of that land back.”

See also: Opinion: Red meat hits back in battle for consumer attention

But he concedes that such a move would be “significant” and it “won’t be easy to achieve”.

In December, the government’s Committee on Climate Change recommended a 20% cut in meat and dairy by 2030, rising to 35% by 2050 for meat only.

‘Protein transition’

Mr Dimbleby argues that half the meat eaten in the UK is processed mince and this should be replaced by a “protein transition” over the next decade, in which the public should be actively encouraged to eat fermented plant protein and other meat-free alternatives.

However, the report concludes that a “meat tax” would be “politically impossible” as it would penalise poorer households, who may rely on cheap cuts or mince to feed their families and it could cause riots.

Cutting back meat and dairy intake by one-third would allow farmers to return 20% of the most unproductive land to natural habitats, such as species-rich wood pasture grazed by rare-breed cows, biodiverse forests and rewetted peat bogs.

“Reducing food production on some of this land poses very little risk to our food security. Losing the least productive 20% of farmland would reduce the calories we produce by only 3%,” the report argues.

By 2032, the study also recommends that government increases fruit and vegetable consumption by 30% and fibre consumption by 50%, while consumption of food high in saturated fat, salt and sugar will have to go down by 25%.

To this end, the report recommends the introduction of the world’s first Sugar and Salt Reformulation Tax, which could raise up to £3.4bn/year for the Treasury.

Some of the money could be used to expand free school meals and support the diets of people living in the most deprived areas.

Responding to the report, the NFU said it should act as a “wake-up call” for everyone to value the food we eat.

NFU president Minette Batters said there must be “renewed emphasis on eating natural, whole foods” and she agreed that everyone should be supported to eat more fruit and vegetables, “something our farmers can support by growing more”.

But she insisted that British meat should be recognised in its own category for its “sustainability and dense nutritional value” and there must be a “clear distinction between grass-fed British meat and cheap imports”.

Farm support

The NFS report urges Defra to maintain the budget for agricultural funding in England, currently £2.4bn (in real terms), until 2029.

Between £500m and £700m of this money should be ring-fenced for schemes to encourage carbon removal and habitat restoration, it suggests.

Mr Dimbleby argues that land in England should be divided into three areas: food production, nature and carbon sequestration and low-intensity, nature-friendly farming.

The report says Defra must give farmers more clarity about the implementation of its new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which will replace the subsidies offered under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and pay “public money for public goods” such as tree planting, flood prevention, improving soils, animal welfare and carbon sequestration.

But the report warns that 40% of farms currently rely on Basic Payments to make a profit, and farmers will need time and money to adjust their businesses.

Sustainable farming

Mr Dimbleby’s report urges the government to invest £1bn of the upcoming £22bn Innovation Strategy in research and development to help improve the national diet, develop sustainable farming practices and protect the environment.

The money should be invested in a range of initiatives, including methane-reducing additives for sheep and cattle, new agroecological techniques, and local initiatives to improve health outcomes in deprived communities.

Food education must be central to the national curriculum and the UK’s food and farming standards must be protected in any new trade deals, it adds.

“There is no point making UK farmers do all the hard work necessary to reduce carbon emissions and restore biodiversity, only to open up the market to cheap food produced to lower standards abroad,” says the report.