Meat, dairy and nurturing the soil | Letters
Written by Letters
Dr Phillip Williamson, Yvonne Ingham and J Peter Greaves respond to Guardian coverage of the IPCC special report on climate change and land
George Monbiot is grossly unfair to describe as “pathetic” the new IPCC special report on climate change and land (Here’s the true cost of eating meat. It’s worse than you think, 9 August). There was no fear of the farming industry, nor any other pressure to suppress the science. Furthermore, the “not mentioned” Nature paper on carbon opportunity costs is cited twice in chapter 5 of the report, and the considerable climatic advantages of reducing meat and dairy are explicitly assessed. Nevertheless, the priority must be to halt emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation, to avoid immediate carbon release. The recovery of carbon stocks through environmental restoration and dietary change are also highly desirable, yet are slower processes, with the former jeopardised by continued temperature increase.
Dr Phillip Williamson
University of East Anglia
• I’m fed up with George Monbiot and many others continually spouting about the evils of meat and dairy and the virtues of a plant-based diet. We can’t all do it, George!
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