Oxford University’s report Meat Consumption, Health and the Environment, repeats the short-comings of a recent Otago University study by lumping our grass-fed red meat production system with the feedlot finishing of beef and, perhaps even more galling, the intensive production of chicken and pork.
The studies argue the production of meat and diets high in meat result in environmental degradation as forests are cleared for pasture and crops to feed stock, soil erodes and water is polluted. But the rigour of the two reports and relevance to NZ can justifiably be questioned as neither gives the sheep and beef sector credit for reducing carbon emissions to below 1990 levels, that 24% of NZ’s total native vegetation is on sheep and beef farms and we do not use feedlots to finish stock.
Backers of artificial protein also disparagingly refer to feedlots to support their products, by association lumping in NZ’s pasture-based system. That is not to say our system has no impact on the environment but the academics’ arguments and conclusions create a misleading and potentially damaging impression of NZ red meat production.
Obviously, a diet too heavy in meat can cause health issues but promotion from meat industry bodies and nutrition guidelines depict balanced dishes of plant-based animal protein. This constant undermining of our sector’s credibility must be arrested and Beef + Lamb NZ’s Taste Pure Nature red meat story and origin brand could be the vehicle to correct this misinformation.
Academia appears to have taken a disappointingly narrow approach to the topic, one that glosses over the survival and wellbeing of tens of thousands of families and their communities who rely on the NZ meat industry for their livelihoods. These reports show we are falling behind in telling our story to more of the world. We need to act now.
Neal Wallace
