This thread seems to contain a lot of hysteria about forced reduction in meat consumption but it seems to be based on a conspiracy theory. A report recommends cutting back on meat, but that is a long way from it being forced on people. It is already happening in Canada apparently, but I can only find references to a reduction in meat consumption due to voluntary adoption of vegetarian diet, not government legislation, perhaps
@NoCrbs4Me can shed some light. China aims to reduce meat production by 50% but they already produce half the world's pork and they are investing heavily in beef production in the US. Even in that totalitarian state there are no laws about eating meat. Just imagine the resistance to: Americans or Australians prevented from eating steaks and burgers, Germans, Austrians and Czechs prevented from eating pork, the French prevented from eating lamb and duck etc etc. There are no doubt invested interests in the agricultural industry but there is also a very large and powerful livestock and poultry industry.
I used to have your optimism and thought the same way too, but events have moved on since then. Conspiracy implies secret or hidden agenda. This report that you dismiss so lightly is available on the Lancet website, the EAT Lancet website and has been reported on by most of the worlds media.
The consotium behind the report, who paid for it to be produced and promoted worldwide, and also funded the science studies quoted in the same report (most of the referenced science studies listed in this report were written by the same people writing the main report), and who also carried out the 'independant' reviews of said report, These are all mentioned in the report or stated on their website. They are proud of their achievement.
I expected there to be outrage too at the 80% reduction by 2050 but the world is strangely silent. When it is discussed on TV or Radio, the only people in the discussion are known vegan activists and authors of this report, and there is very little counter argument being raised. No equivalent environmental scientists discussing the science claims, no other nutritionists discussing the health claims being made. No agricultural voices being included to review the claims being made for alternate food growing methods.
This report that you belittle has been presented this year to the United Nation, Unesco, the EU Climate Change Symposium, the Davros Leaders meeting, UK Commons Select Committee on Climate Change, The Lords Committee on Climate Change, The Governments of Mexico, Canada, China, Phillipines, and many Africsn nations, and yes to Australia too. It has been accepted by most of these nations and legislation and taxation is going to follow this year in the UK if May gets her way. The Commons Select Comittee have drafted a report that recommends targets that will probably be used to underpin the new Act of Parliament that we can expect in the coming months. I believe it sets a 50% cut by 2030 and an 80% cut by 2050 in consumption of meat. We do not know if it will be limited to just beef and pork, or include poultry and dairy, or fish
Can we achieve those limits by voluntary means alone? Will we all reduce down to 1 very small beef burger a week and 1 egg per week by 2050? And if we do what then? The overproduction of meat must be curtailed to align with the drop in demand, sending most livestock farmers out of business. They will cull their herds as is happening in China to their pork industry, bulldozed into the ground. These animals will not be kept in retirement no one can afford that, so bye bye to all that. Will that happen naturally or will big sticks need to be used?
