According to the new government food strategy for England, meat consumption should fall by 30% over the next 10 years.
This was necessary to deal with the interconnected climate, natural and health crises, the Independent reports.
The report is “the first major review of the food system in England in more than 70 years”, according to the publication, and recommends “the government to invest £ 1 billion in research on how to improve the national diet and the sustainability of agricultural practices”.
The report continues: “This money must be spent on everything from methane reducing additives for sheep and cattle to new agri-environmental techniques and research on alternative proteins “.
He added that the role of the Food Standards Agency should be expanded to cover sustainable and healthy nutrition as well as food safety.
As part of this expansion, the agency must work with the government to develop new sustainable national nutrition guidelines and a food labeling system to help consumers understand the environmental impact of what they eat, the report said.
The strategy excludes a tax on meatas “politically impossible,” the Guardian reported, adding:
“Instead, she offers” ejection “meat consumers, for example by placing vegetarian sausages next to meat, which is known to reduce sales of meat products.
Vegetable meats are also supported as substitutes for processed foods. While the strategy formally aims to legislate in England alone, Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain and head of the study, “believes many of his recommendations should be implemented in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”
The report notes that food and health are largely personal matters, but “our food systems are so closely intertwined that they are inseparable in places.”
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