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Today's news is full of lazy & misleading characterizations of this important Special Report on Climate and Land from @IPCC_CH. Despite the the tsunami of headlines/stories about "going vegan" to reverse climate change, that is NOT what this report is about, or says. See thread.
First, here's the story journalists are burying in favor of meat related clickbait. "The stability of our food supply is projected to decrease as the magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events that disrupt food chains increases (high confidence)."
And, "Increased atmospheric CO2 levels lower the nutritional quality of crops, raise food prices and increase risk of food insecurity and hunger. The most vulnerable people will be more severely affected (high confidence)."
The report itself is about changes in land use & agricultural practices that can make a measurable difference in reducing their negative climate impacts while also making our food supply more resilient to the climate changes that are now inevitable.
The policy recommendations are varied and far reaching, covering farming practices, food waste, land use, financial incentives, and yes, diet. Section B6.2 recommends diversification of diet, INCLUDING sustainably sourced animal products.
Concerns about beef focus on: 1) halting deforestation driven by cattle ranching in some countries; 2) reducing ruminant methane emissions through advances in their diets. Despite the headlines & distorted reporting, this report does not tell the world to switch to a vegan diet.
Now my rant, as someone whose work and policy interests lie at the intersection of nutrition/health & climate. Journalists would do FAR more to move the needle on both topics if they focused on two wholly neglected issues:
1. The potential to reduce the crushing impacts of fake food and beverages on our health, the environment, and our economy -- rather than advocating the elimination one of the most nutrient dense real food products (meat) on the planet from our diets.
2. The enormous impact of food waste on the environment and our economy. Unlike the elimination of whole food meat & dairy products, which involves significant nutritional losses, eliminating fake foods & food waste offer a genuine "win/win/win" for health, environment, economy.
