Farm groups have backed a new Hybu Cig Cymru (Meat Promotion Wales) campaign that is challenging suggestions that people should stop eating meat to save the planet.
The #ACutAbove campaign includes a video, an informational website and social media content, highlighting how producing and eating British red meat sustainably can be part of the solution to mitigating climate change.
See also: Why red meat-free school menus fail children and environment
The levy board will explain to consumers the difference between red meat produced in parts of the UK and the high-carbon, high-intensity and processed options seen elsewhere in the world.
A report by HCC and researchers from Bangor University and the University of Limerick found that Welsh beef’s carbon footprint is 11-16kg of CO2 equivalent emissions per kilogram of meat, compared with a global average of about 37kg.
Gwyn Howells, chief executive of HCC, said: “The truth is, it doesn’t have to be a choice between eating meat or protecting the planet.
“We know that the climate crisis we face now is real. And while intensive farming systems are part of the problem with the climate crisis, the answer is not to stop eating red meat, but to produce and eat it more sustainably and ethically.
“Buying locally made, high-quality meat is healthy for us and the environment.”
Carbon offsets
HCC says more than one third of Wales’s farm emissions are offset through existing on-farm carbon sinks such as grassland, hedgerows and trees, while the grasslands which make up most of the country’s agricultural land sequester twice as much carbon as croplands.
The Countryside Alliance, the Farmers’ Union of Wales, the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, the Tenant Farmers’ Association and the National Sheep Association Wales are supporting the campaign.
Paul Williams, owner of the Cae Haidd Ucha family-run upland farm in Snowdonia, said: “We know that buying local is often the most environmentally friendly option, and as the carbon footprint of British beef is 50% lower than the global average, meat is no exception.
“Unlike overseas food production, which can come with higher carbon footprints and high use of chemicals and medicines, the grass which British cattle eat absorbs and stores thousands of tonnes of carbon, maintaining our iconic British countryside, home to a huge wealth of biodiversity.”
