The Reboot Food manifesto argues that three-quarters of the world’s arable land should instead be deforested. Livestock emissions account for at least 16.5% of the planet’s greenhouse gases, according to a study. Some experts have called for the reduction of animal protein in our diet. Henry Dimbleby, the UK government’s food czar, suggested that people should eat 30% less animal protein and replace meat and dairy with plant-based proteins. Around 85% of agricultural land in England is used for pasture to graze animals such as cows or to grow fodder, which is then fed to animals. Vegan activists protest at the Cop27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, arguing that livestock farming is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Climate writer Mark Lynas said: “The agricultural policies of the mainstream environmental movement are making things worse, not better. Organic and “regenerative” farming methods encourage the spread of agriculture and have become a smokescreen for livestock farming. It’s time for sensible environmentalists to unite behind food production techniques that use less land, not more.” The campaign, launched at Cop27, calls for 10 policies for world governments to adopt, including investing 2.5% of GDP over 10 years in food innovation, ending all animal feed subsidies and plant food subsidies, banning advertising carbon intensive meat, limiting patents for new food technology and legalizing gene editing. The cornerstone is replacing animal agriculture, where possible, with a technology called precision fermentation, which will involve the production of yeast and bacteria to produce protein. It could create bio-identical animal proteins using genetically modified microorganisms fermented in tanks. These factories will be powered by solar, wind and nuclear power. Campaigners point out that the technology produces 99% of insulin and 80% of rennet worldwide. The most important stories on the planet. Get all the week’s environmental news – the good, the bad and the must-haves Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. They say protein from precision fermentation is up to 40,900 times more land-efficient than beef, making it technically possible to produce the world’s protein on a land area smaller than Greater London. Some forms of precision fermentation are already being practiced in the US, including a process that can make milk proteins responsible for the greasy, tangy ice cream flavor usually achieved from dairy products. Guardian columnist George Monbiot, who wrote about this potential solution in his recent book Regenesis, supports the campaign. He said: “The elephant in the room at Cop27 is the cow. But luckily this time, there really is a recipe for success. By rebooting our food systems with precision fermentation, we can phase out livestock farming while significantly increasing the amount of protein available for human consumption.”
