Farm local, buy local and eat less, say experts
Halving our meat intake and using a more localised system of farming would save up to £110 billion year – and cut the risk of problems such as the horse meat scandal.
The burgeoning use of nitrogen and other mineral fertilisers to feed the world’s population is causing pollution which harms human health, oceans and wildlife, and contributes to climate change, a report for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) claims, putting the cost at £110 billion.
Use of the minerals is expected to increase by half in the next 40 years.
Around four-fifths of the nitrogen and phosphorus applied in farming is consumed by livestock rather than directly by humans, and about 70 per cent of the world’s agricultural land is used for producing meat and dairy.
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Report lead author Professor Mark Sutton, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK, said: “People say we need nitrogen to feed people, actually we need nitrogen to feed our high livestock population.”
The experts did not call for people to become vegetarian, but for people in countries such as the UK where meat consumption is excessive – up to 70 per cent more protein than is required – to reduce their intake
Prof Sutton also recommended more localised systems of farming, where crops and livestock are grown and reared closer together so that, for example, the fertiliser created by manure can be used more efficiently, rather than being wasted and causing pollution.
He also suggested eating meat less often, but have a higher quality product from localised sources.
“If you have a rather large complicated system, it is giving you risks for what’s in the meat and pollution risks. We should think much more closely about how we manage the system,” he urged.
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