Friday, March 29, 2024

BLOG: Meat producers get a raw deal

Neal Wallace
Meat has been getting a bit of a raw deal lately. Everyone from the Guardian newspaper to the vegan activists are telling us how we should probably give it up to save the planet and our own health. But, for a lot of people, a balanced diet incorporating animal and plant protein has been passed through generations as the best way to stay healthy.
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It is a proven, simple and effective way of delivering nutrients. 

A while back a district health board thought it might be a good idea to cut meat from the food it offered to patients. Nutritionists were alarmed. Healing bodies need protein, they said, and animal protein is the only one that contains the complete set of amino acids. Unfortunately, this message is becoming clouded. 

The environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming are being questioned and  environmentalists, animal welfare and vegan advocates have stepped in to promote their causes. There is no denying farming animals has an impact. Farmers are working hard to improve the world-best production systems they already have.

The animal protein industry is being challenged but if consumers are being told plant-based diets are both better for the planet and people’s health, let’s do a better job of telling our story. We need to better promote research showing only animal protein provides easy access to a rich source of nutrients and vitamins, that it turns indigestible carbohydrates into protein and that we are addressing our environmental and greenhouse gas footprint.

Ten years of trying tells us that getting angry and playing the man and not the ball hasn’t worked for the sector. We have a strong message. We just need to tell it better.

Neal Wallace

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