UN Climate Strategy Overlooks Meat and Dairy Emissions, Experts Report

During the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) unveiled a roadmap aimed at addressing the global food system’s challenges, with objectives to eradicate hunger and limit Global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, a recent critique in Nature Food Journal has spotlighted a significant gap in this plan: the omission of meat and dairy products, the largest sources of food-related greenhouse gas emissions.

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Researchers argue that transitioning to a plant-based diet represents a pivotal step in diminishing agricultural emissions, highlighting that the meat and dairy sectors account for 60% of these emissions, according to United Nations data. Despite evidence supporting the environmental benefits of a plant-based diet, the FAO’s report lacks this focus, emphasizing instead minor adjustments in animal farming practices over the crucial dietary shifts needed to combat climate change.

Matthew Hayek, a co-author of the commentary and an assistant professor at New York University, criticizes the FAO’s approach as contradicting extensive scientific evidence that underscores the necessity of dietary changes to achieve climate objectives. While some countries, notably Germany and the UK, have made progress in reducing meat consumption, the FAO suggests a shift from beef to chicken to lessen the environmental impact of animal products. This recommendation, however, overlooks the environmental, health, and ethical concerns associated with poultry farming.

The FAO’s document also positions ‘aquatic food’ as a sustainable option, despite potential significant emissions and environmental impacts from aquaculture. Furthermore, while plant-based meat alternatives are mentioned, the report focuses on their potential nutritional deficiencies rather than their benefits for health and the environment—a stark contrast to findings from a UN Environment Programme report praising the emission reduction and public health potential of plant-based meats.

Cleo Verkuijl, the commentary’s lead author and a researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute, emphasizes that by neglecting the reduction of animal-sourced foods, the FAO overlooks a key component of a climate-friendly food system. With two more installments of the roadmap expected at future climate conferences, the scientific community remains hopeful that these editions will advocate more strongly for plant-forward diets as a crucial solution to climate change.

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