Last week we were presented with the key conclusions, prepared by 107 scientists from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), re-enforcing what you may have suspected or coming at you afresh.
The headlines were that more people could be fed using less land if individuals cut down on eating quite so much meat. A quarter of global emissions come from food. More than 50% of food emissions come from animal products and 50% of all farmed animal emissions come from beef and lamb. We’re also wasting too much food. It is estimated that greenhouse emissions associated with food loss and waste, from field to kitchen bin, is c.8%-10% of all global emissions.
The full report can be found here https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/
Earlier this year another UN report, the 6th Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6) had a theme of “Healthy Planet, Healthy People” highlighting the link between the environment, our survival and our progress.
The report was a check-up for the planet. Like any good medical examination there is a clear prognosis of what will happen if we continue with business as usual and a set of recommendations to put things right.
The bottom line is that we need to take actions as individuals to counter the realities of climate crisis, species extinction, wasteful use of resources and unprecedented pressure on terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
Sustainable and ethical consumerism is increasing but government and bureaucratic institutions seem unable/unwilling to meet peoples’ expectations. In turn we are looking to strong organisations to deliver positive outcomes.
WeWork, the real estate company (valued at c. US$20B) that rents out and manages office space, announced, last year, that they will no longer hold any staff events that include meat and that staff will not be able to expense any meals that include poultry, pork or red meat. This policy only applies to events paid for by WeWork. Members and employees are welcome to bring in meat for meals, and members are welcome to serve meat at events they host.
The co-founder Miguel McKelvey said the company was eliminating meat for environmental reasons. “New research indicates that avoiding meat is one of the biggest things an individual can do to reduce their personal environmental impact, even more than switching to a hybrid car.”
The company estimates that the policy will save 445.1m pounds of CO2 emissions and 15,507,103 animals by 2023.
From next month, Goldsmiths, University of London which specialises in creative, cultural and social subjects, has said it will remove all beef product from its campus shops and cafes. Students will also face a 10p levy on bottles of water and single-use plastic cups when the academic year starts to discourage use of the products.
It is part of a new drive by the university to become carbon neutral by 2025, which involves building more solar panels and switching to a clean energy supplier.
Professor Frances Corner, the new Warden of Goldsmiths said that “declaring a climate emergency cannot be empty words” and that “The growing global call for organisations to take seriously their responsibilities for halting climate change is impossible to ignore.”
Cambridge University’s catering services has not served any beef or lamb since 2016 is instead “promoting the consumption of more vegetarian and vegan foods”.
Westminster University has a “part time carnivore loyalty card”, whereby students who have purchased four vegetarian meals in the canteen get a free vegetarian meal.
In Australia Industry data shows that our beef consumption has been gradually declining in recent years, but we’re still some of the biggest per-capita red-meat eaters in the world.
According to Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) figures, Australians swallowed 26kg of beef per person in 2017 plus 9kg of lamb.
The planetary health diet developed by researchers to meet the nutritional needs of people around the world recommends about 100g of red meat a week.
Australia’s dietary guidelines are more conservative and recommend limiting red meat intake to a maximum of 455g a week “to reduce the additional cancer risk that comes from eating large quantities of red meat.”
Forrester, the global market research company, says: “It may not seem like it yet, but climate change is altering the world so drastically that all enterprises will need to undergo a transformation to avoid going extinct.”
A great article by Chris Pash for AdNews references that Volvo won’t deal with an advertising agency which doesn’t have similar views on the environment and climate change.
“It would be illogical of us to be with an agency that didn’t share our values,” says Nick Connor, the Managing Director of Volvo in Australia.
“We expect all of our suppliers to share our values and that is also ethical behaviour. We’ve always been recognised as one of the most ethical companies in the world.”
Additionally Bronwyn van der Merwe, General Manager Asia Pacific for Fjord, part of Accenture Interactive is quoted “As environmental consciousness grows, brands need to position themselves in a way which is authentic to consumers.”
“I expect there will be much discussion on earning the trust and loyalty of customers who are beginning to make decisions based on more than just price and product benefit but on the impact a company and its products have on the planet”.
“The next couple of years we won’t just see green campaigns, but green businesses – agencies that are adopting sustainable practices from the front door to deliverables.”
The City of Moreland in Melbourne declared a climate emergency last September, and supporting councillors are now instating meat-free Mondays with any food being consumed to be vegetarian, saying its a simple way to take action.
Environmental consciousness will continue to be woven through work and culture in a way that will make a real impact in the coming years. So, if you’re either motivated to look after your own health or the planet’s well-being we are at a time when we need a transformation in human lifestyles to thrive rather than merely survive. Looking after our environment should not be a needless distraction, rather a collective resolve.
