I mentioned that MP Robert Flello had done well in the Private Members' Ballot and would be trying to introduce a Bill into Parliament on the subject of sustainable livestock management. This is a really tricky subject, and because of its difficulty it does not get as much government attention as it should. What would a sustainable livestock industry look like?
It probably wouldn't involve the import of soya-based animal feed from areas of destroyed rainforest. It probably wouldn't involve using so much of our productive farmland to grow grain to feed to cattle - we could grow food we could eat directly on that land instead. Might it involve keeping animals indoors for longer and scrubbing their greenhouse gas emissions out of the air in their sheds before it escapes into the atmosphere to worsen cliamte change? Might it involve eating less meat? Or more poultry and less red meat?
Tricky stuff indeed. But Mr Flello also has an Early Day Motion which is attracting many MPs' signatures. It is one of the most successful EDMs of this parliamentary session and gives a flavour of the thinking behind the Bill..
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
This report contains an interesting analysis of how Britain could change its land use to have a largely sustainable and zero carbon agricultural system. www.zerocarbonbritain.com
Somewhat idealistic in suggesting that we could reduce C emissions and increase output from agriculture, but it is only a scenario and is only for Britain. There are also some broad assumptions in there about such things as the increasing price of carbon. It will not produce a landscape that many of us would desire and its conclusions about biodiversity may be a little ambitious, but it is a holistic view which I think adds a lot to the debate rather than the usual discussions about specific issues. One key feature is that, to work, diets must also change to reduce the proportion of meat and dairy. There must be a place for livestock, for agricultural necessity, biodiversity and cultural reasons, but it seems to difficult to perceive a sustainable agricultural system which will feed the world in 10 years time on the proportions of animal derived products that we consume at the moment.