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The secret plans to turn us all vegetarian
Last updated at 18:06pm on 29.05.07
The government hopes to encourage the public to give up beef to help slow climate change
Secret plans to encourage the nation to give up eating meat are being examined by the Government.
A leaked e-mail expresses sympathy for the environmental benefits of a mass switch to a vegan diet - a strict form of vegetarianism which bans milk, dairy products and fish.
The change would need to be done "gently" because of a "risk of alienating the public", according to the document.
The extreme policy is being examined on the basis it could make a major contribution to slowing climate change.
Farm animals are blamed for producing huge amounts of the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide.
However, the National Farmers' Union has ridiculed the idea as "simplistic".
The e-mail, sent to a vegetarian campaign group, comes from an official at the Environment Agency, a Government advisory body.
It states: "The potential benefit of a vegan diet in terms of climate impact could be very significant."
However, it does recognise that it would be very difficult to win public support for such a move.
Consequently, it says the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is looking to encourage a gradual change that would be more palatable to the general public.
The e-mail states: "It will be a case of introducing this gently as there is a risk of alienating the public majority."
The official goes on to say it is "unlikely" that the Environment Agency would ever suggest adopting a fully vegan lifestyle.
But the e-mail added: "Certainly encouraging people to examine their consumption of animal protein could be a key message."
The proposals are the latest in a raft of measures being promoted as helping to slow climate change.
Others include putting windmills on rooftops, driving electric cars and banning plastic bags.
The e-mail was sent to the campaigning vegetarian organisation Viva, which argues that it is more efficient to use land to grow crops for humans, rather than feeding them to farm animals and dairy cows.
Viva director Juliet Gellatley said: "I think it is extraordinary that a Government agency thinks becoming a vegetarian or vegan could have such a positive impact for the environment yet it is not prepared to stand up and argue the case.
"There is a growing awareness that our diet directly affects the world around us - and that vegetarians and vegans contribute far less to the destruction of the environment. For our planet's sake there is an urgent need to move away from a meat and dairy-obsessed Western diet."
NFU communications chief Anthony Gibson rejected these claims as "simplistic and flawed".
"This is not a black and white issue," he said.
"You have to look at how these crops are produced in terms of the energy used for growing and transport."
Reader views (20)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
I've been vegan for over 30 years. It wasn't difficult to give up cruelty foods. I am guilt-free, and my tastebuds were affected to a very small degree. If only people would realise the impact upon the environment, their health, and the cruelty involved in eating flesh and dairy products, then they too would just change their tastebuds slightly to change from their cruel way of life. The human animal is basically a fruitarian - you only have to study the alimentary canal, and the shape of their own fingers to know apples are good for you! Even our fingernails aren't designed to kill and tear apart animals. Pollution from rearing animals is fast killing this world.
- Jo, Essex, England
I'm a 22 year old vegan. It took me 19 years to notice how disrespectful my diet was to other animals (non-human), to human animals and to the only world I will ever be able to call home.
I imagine the damage is already done and that if we all turned Vegan tomorrow it would not be enough to save the animals (all of us) that live on this planet. We will soon learn that our neglectful and vile murderous acts for nothing more than our greed will actually be the death of us all.
So sad we take most living creatures with us.
- James Turner, England
Humans carnivores - you must be joking, how many people chase down and catch animals with their bare hands and eat them raw? None at all to be exact. Bears and lions don't cook food, carnivores eat meat raw, we don't.
- Neil, Yorks, England
You people must be crazy! The human animal is a carnivore (actually an omnivore, like a bear), thus the two eyes in the center of the face. You want to push your un-natural lfestyles on everyone only because you need something to belong to. No one cares if you want to be a vegetarian but leave the rest of the world out of it. Are you going to go out into the wilds of Africa and try to talk lions into not killing harmless little Gazelles? Get a real life!
- Marsh, USA
its very sad that 1 child & 1 adult die of starvation every 3 seconds
as 80% of the grain grown in 3rd world countries is used for cattle in Europe in USA
we can all get everything we want from plant based foods and meat used to be a rarerity until 100 years or so ago - & we were much healthier then
time to stop being so selfish and look after this planet
- Gibby, tyne & wear -uk
I suppose anyone seen eating a pork pie will be given an asbo or an on-the-spot fine.
- Warren Alexander, London, UK
To all those that have made favourable comments about this, you are of course entitled to you opinion. However, neither you or this government are going to tell me what I can and cannot eat. I've never heard such a load of rubbish in my life. Generations before us were for the most part meat eaters and the word vegetarian was hardly, if indeed at all, used. There was nothing wrong with them and most of them lived a very long life. What was good for my predecessors is good for me.
- Geraldine, London
This is just insane, I believe in moderation meat some days, fish others, and veg on others... but making us vegan what are they on? If we were supposed to be vegan we'd have been created without canines! The Government needs to get on with what we voted them in to do and leave us to decide whether we want rabbit food or rabbit on the dinner table!
- W Zubi, British Expat
It's steak and chips and a good camembert for me. Perhaps the accompanying red wine could be classed as vegan?
- Tony, Montpellier, France
Government should focus on good governance and subjects like health, education, employment, treasury and defence.
Food habits i.e veg or non-veg should best be left to individual tastes.
- Murali Mohan Vogety, Maida Vale, London
Sorry but humans are geared to eat meat and quite personally you can't beat a leg of lamb or a bacon sarnie with brown sauce.
As Steve R intimates, most of the vegans I know look unhealthy or old before their time.
- Mark, South-East London
In my experience, vegetarians and vegans also produce a large amount of 'gas' - back to square one!
- Kfc, London, UK
Veganism by Government decree?!!
If I had any inclination to look pasty-faced and feel lethargic and washed-out, I would make that decision myself thank you very much!
- Steve R, London, UK
I have had to look at my calendar to make sure it's not April 1st. Having said that, it's pretty much in keeping with the level of stupidity I've come to expect from this government. Every day seems to be April Fool's Day.
- Henry, London
There is nothing better for the animals, for the environment and for our peoples' health than to adopt a vegan lifestyle.
It's no secret that if more people boycotted animal products we'd all be in a better situation- not just the animals.
You can't eat animals and call yourself an 'environmentalist' just as you can't participate in animal exploitation and call yourself an 'animal lover'.
This isn't a bad idea, even if it seems very 1984-totalitarian with 'secret plans' and all, people shouldn't be afraid of the prospect of living a plant-based lifestyle.
For the animals, for your health and for the environment. Go Vegan.
- Jordan, Manchester, UK
I've been telling people this for years. I'm a life-long vegan, and I feel that the swift uptake of a non-animal diet by the western world is a vital step on the path to protecting us from the dangers of man-made global climate change. Animal farming is in the area of 90% less efficient than non-animal farming due to the laws of energy transference in food chains. Every extra level you add to your food chain creates 90% additional energy loss. We humans are in the unique position of being able to control our position in the food chain and therefore we should make every effort to place ourselves in the most efficient position possible. You can use energy saving light bulbs, you can use bio fuel in the car you hardly use and you can recycle every bit of waste you produce, but removing the animals from your food chain is still a vital and effective step. Livestock farming consistently ranks in the top 3 most polluting sectors in various studies on global warming. ....
- Ruben Lightfoot, Cardigan UK
Is there anything this megalomanic government don't want to control? I'm sickened by this constant intrusion into our daily lives when they can't even get the very basics right.
Absolute Lunacy.
- Neil Evans, Notting Hill
Fantastic! This is a step towards a brighter future.
- Eschar Blacke, Reykjavik, Iceland
It's not April 1st again is it?
- Marc, Harrow, UK
It's very interesting and exciting that people are starting realize the many environmental benefits of vegetarianism in addition to the many health benefits.
- Dan Brook, San Francisco, USA
