Farmers in Wales are part of the solution to tackling the climate emergency - that’s was the key message from the Farmers’ Union of Wales President ahead of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), which took place from 6th - 18th November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Farmers across the country take the climate and biodiversity emergency seriously and are actively taking steps to contribute in a positive way by protecting, enhancing and adding to existing carbon stores on farms, alongside increasing efficiencies.
For example, Welsh farmers are proud to be taking action to increase soil organic carbon in grasslands, protecting peatland from damage by managing grazing levels and drainage, actively managing existing farm woodlands and considering new planting, creating wildlife habitats along water courses, field margins and hedgerows, and looking at emissions through carbon calculators and improving efficiencies.
FUW members are as committed as others across the UK to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible, whilst producing sustainable, nutritious food. Their role in the climate emergency is not one of damage but one of protection, restoration and nourishment.
Whilst some might be taking the opportunity over the next few weeks to bring the industry into disrepute and make false claims about the consumption of red meat and dairy products, the industry has every reason to hold its head high and be proud of the quality food produced in Wales and across the UK.
Recent papers of a group of scientists including prominent nutrition experts, Professor Alice Stanton, a Cardiovascular Pharmacologist from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and respected Belgian food scientist Professor Frédéric Leroy, has brought into question the data produced for the much-referenced (and not peer reviewed) EAT- Lancet report which suggests eating red meat is bad for human health.
Red meat has nutrients that can be difficult to find otherwise and nutritional experts such as Professor Stanton regularly refer to the vital benefits of nutrition found in red meat on the growth of the brain and the body. She also stresses that particularly in young children the protective effect of animal-sourced proteins are crucial and argues that, although she does not criticise vegetarian and vegan diets, people have to work harder to get the same nutrition from these.
The FUW is urging consumers to carefully consider the facts, whether environmentally or nutritionally, and keep in mind that farming in Wales is part of the solution to tackling the climate emergency - not the problem.