FAO

As governments fret over how a finite amount of land can feed an ever-increasing population, new research released today suggests that a “more equitable distribution of meat and dairy” between the diets of rich and poor countries can help avoid the ecological impacts associated with factory farming and reduce global warming emissions.

“Agribusiness and biotechnology companies are aggressively promoting their model of high-input, intensive farming as necessary to address the food and climate crises,” said Friends of the Earth food campaigner Kirtana Chandrasekaran. "This research blows their claims out of the water.”

For the report, titled “Eating the Planet: Feeding and Fueling the World Sustainably, Fairly and Humanely”, Compassion in World Farming and Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland modeled different diets, farming methods and land use.

They determined that it is possible to produce enough food for a booming population using methods that are both humane and do not require clearing forests to make room for agriculture, a major contributor to climate change.

Succeeding requires a diet balanced more evenly between meat and other food sources and between the wealthy Western countries and the developing world. FOE and CIWF recommend eating meat only three times a week, as opposed to the typical European diet of five times a week.