New Zealand’s Minister for the Environment is Green Party co-leader James Shaw, a fellow who can be expected to exercise a strong influence on the direction of the Government’s agricultural policies. He is unabashedly intent on reducing livestock farming for animal welfare reasons and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water contamination.
His British counterpart is Michael Gove, a Conservative Party bigwig and – it transpires – a champion of carnivores and meat farmers.
Meat is a crucial part of a balanced diet, he said while telling farmers about his “health and harmony” vision for food.
The Guardian reports (HERE):
Michael Gove’s new vision for British agriculture post-Brexit envisages farmers playing a critical role in improving public health.
“There is a growing public interest in the impact of our current diet on our health,” he said. Non-communicable diseases such as heart and lung disease, cancer and diabetes accounted for 89% of deaths in the UK in 2014, according to the World Health Organization, he pointed out, and a major driver of that has been our diet: “the wrong fats, sugar, salt and other additives form too large a part of our national diet”.
Improving our national diet is an important job for our farmers, he told the audience.
“A balanced diet, rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, beans, pulses and cereals, fresh dairy produce and protein sources such as fresh fish, offal and properly sourced meat is critical to human health and flourishing.”
The Guardian asked Mr Gove if, given the known environmental impacts of livestock farming, the British Government might consider suggesting that people reduce their meat consumption.
He replied:
“For health reasons there’s an appropriate level of meat in anyone’s diet which doctors and nutritionists would advise us to consume.”
“It’s not my job to micro-manage what goes into a shopping basket,” he added, “but while I respect the rights of people who might be vegan or vegetarian to make that choice, nevertheless I don’t think anyone should be shy or abashed in drawing attention to the fact that livestock farming contributes to the mixed farming methods that provide a specific set of farming benefits and that mixed farming and meat is part of a balanced diet.”
The Guardian proceeds to note that the discussion over whether humans need meat as a protein source is profoundly polarised. There is also much discussion over the health impacts of our current levels of meat consumption compared to predominantly plant-based diets.
In this country 30 vegan advocates and animal rights activists gathered in Wellington in March last year for ‘A Vegan Future’ Hui. Their aim was to discuss strategy and tactics for establishing a vegan New Zealand.
Group leader Carl Scotta said eating animal-based foods had been scientifically linked to serious human health issues, whereas a well balanced plant-based diet had been proven to have significant health benefits,
Richard Young, from Britain’s Sustainable Food Trust, told The Guardian his organisation would argue that people should reduce their consumption of grain-fed meats.
This thinking resonates with Greens.
South Auckland barrister and solicitor Raj Pardeep Singh joined the New Zealand Green Party three years ago for several reasons, among them because “there are lots of vegans and vegetarian candidates in the Party…”
Germany’s Green Party a few years ago added a mandatory “Veggie Day” one day a week in all cafeterias across the nation to her party’s election platform.
AgScience 