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Adopting a vegan diet dramatically(显著地)reduces one person's impact on the environment.
It would help deal with the problem of climate change if people ate less meat, according to a
government agency.
A leaked email to a vegetarian campaign group from an Environment Agency official expresses
sympathy with the environmental benefit of a vegan diet, which bans dairy products and fish.
The agency also says the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs(DEFRA)is
considering recommending eating less meat as one of the key environmental behavior changes needed
to save the planet.
It says that this change would have to be introduced"gently"because of"the risk of alienating(使疏远)
the public".
David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, has raised the issue that farm animals are blamed for
producing large amounts of powerful greenhouse gas, methane, and told farmers they need to do
something about it but the agency's response appears to go further than official advice.
It has provoked(引起)an immediate response from the National Farmers Union, which said the
suggestion was"simplistic"and"a cause of concern".
The agency's official was responding to an email from the vegan group Viva, which argues that it
is more efficient to use land to grow crops for direct consumption by humans rather than feeding them
to dairy cows or livestock(家畜)raised for meat.
The campaign group entered a comment on the Environment Ageney's website saying:"Adopting
a vegan diet reduces one person's impact on the environment even more effective than giving up their
car or forgoing several plane trips a year!Why aren't you promoting this message as part of your
World Environment Day campaign?"
An agency official replied:"While potential benefit of a vegan diet in terms of climate impact could
be very significant, encouraging the public to take a lifestyle decision as substantial as becoming a vegan
would be a request that few are likely to take up."
You will be interested to hear that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is
working on a set of key environmental behavior changes to mitigate climate change.Consumption of
animal protein has been highlighted within that work.As a result the issue may start to figure in climate
change communications in the future.It will be a case of introducing gently as there is a risk of alienating
the public.
"Future Environment Agency communications are unlikely to ever suggest adopting a fully vegan
lifestyle, but certainly encouraging people to examine their consumption of animal protein could be a
key message."
Juliet Gellatley, director of Viva, said, "I think it is extraordinary that a government agency thinks
becoming a vegetarian or a vegan could have such a positive impact on the environment yet it is not
prepared to stand up and argue the case."
A DEFRA spokesman said:"The government is not telling people to give up meat.It isn't the role
of government to enforce a dietary or lifestyle change on any individual."
