World must slash meat consumption to save climate: study

By Michelle Nurse Last updated Oct 18, 2018

Pork ham is displayed on the second day of the ‘Sommet de l’Élevage 2018’ Trade Fair in Cournon-d’Auvergne, near Clermont Ferrand in central France on October 4, 2018. T (Photo via AFP)

(AFP) — The world must drastically reduce its meat consumption in order to avoid devastating climate change, scientists said Wednesday in the most thorough study so far on how what we eat affects the environment.

As humanity grapples with tough choices to offset a rapidly heating planet, the research suggests that the Western world would need to slash its meat intake by 90 per cent to avoid crippling Earth’s ability to sustain an anticipated 10 billion people by 2050.

Food production — which produces damaging greenhouse gases from livestock, ruins enormous swathes of forests and uses unsustainable amounts of water — is a major contributor to climate change.