The oversized influence of meat and dairy industry undermining climate action

The scientific consensus is clear: to achieve our climate and nature goals, we must swiftly transition away from animal agriculture and embrace a plant-based food system supported by sustainable crop production management. The global food system is responsible for more than a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, with red meat and dairy production contributing to over half of these emissions. Additionally, animal agriculture is a major driver of land degradation, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and  pollution of water and oceans, all while using vast amounts of land and water. This has left the UK as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

To counter this destructive trend, widespread adoption of whole food plant-based diets supported by sustainable crop production, whilst minimising the consumption of animal products is crucial. This approach is inclusive of all cultural and traditional dietary practices, offers delicious options, and confers human and planetary health benefits.

For years, the UK has inaccurately perpetuated the notion that British farming is among the most sustainable globally. A staggering 85% of UK farmland is dedicated to raising animals for food, yet it only provides 32% of the nation’s calories. Much of this land is used to graze cows and sheep, with 40% of cropped farmland allocated to growing animal feed rather than crops for human consumption. This has led to animal products being amongst the UK’s main export commodities.

Moreover, 70% of the UK’s total food-related emissions come from red meat and dairy production and methane emissions from cows alone threaten our ability to limit global warming to safe levels. Studies clearly show that carbon sequestration in grasslands cannot offset the climate impact caused by grazing animals.

The UK also imports large quantities of soya as animal feed, contributing to global deforestation. Only 15% of UK farmland is used to grow crops directly for human consumption while the majority of the nation’s fruits and vegetables as well as grain legumes and nuts are imported.

From a public health perspective, excessive consumption of red meat and dairy is also linked to 42,000 deaths annually in the UK. Conversely, 70,000 deaths in the UK in 2020 were associated with insufficient intake of nutritious plant-based foods. We therefore have an opportunity to improve public health and reclaim much of our farmland for nature, environmental societal services, and carbon sequestration by drastically reducing animal farming, particularly the production and consumption of red meat and dairy. Adopting sustainable and regenerative crop production systems, in particular no-till Conservation Agriculture, is a valuable approach for this transition.

So why do animal agriculture industry groups continue to promote meat and dairy consumption, often with government backing? In the UK, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), a levy board established by the David Cameron government and sponsored by DEFRA, continues to mislead the public with campaigns like “Let’s Eat Balanced,” which promote red meat and dairy consumption at a cost of millions. An investigation by Open Democracy revealed that the £4.6 million campaign in January 2024 was approved by a serving minister, despite recommendations from the Climate Change Committee to reduce meat consumption. The investigation uncovered the AHDB privately acknowledged the health risks of red meat but publicly claimed their campaign is “proudly built on the foundation of the NHS Eatwell Guide.” This is misleading, as the campaign’s website includes ‘healthy recipes’ like Moroccan-style kebabs with 110g of lamb per person—well above the 70g daily limit recommended by the Eatwell Guide, with no disclaimer that such meals should not be consumed daily.

Medical organisations representing over a million healthcare professionals have urged the AHDB to drop this campaign, but their concerns have gone unanswered. The AHDB also continues to promote and support the inefficient tillage-based crop production which uses excessive amounts of agrochemicals and  degrades the land causing soil erosion, runoff, flooding and environmental pollution. Red meat consumption is still promoted in schools through initiatives like the Meat Voucher Scheme from Quality Meat Scotland, which claims to ‘support the Scottish red meat sector’s efficiency, sustainability, and profitability’. The UK government also supports the provision of milk from cows, goats, and sheep in schools, yet there is a glaring lack of support for plant-based milk alternatives, despite their health benefits, environmental advantages, and suitability for those with lactose intolerance.

The food industry is using tactics that have been successfully employed by the tobacco and fossil fuel industries for decades. This is well-documented in the report “The New Merchants of Doubt: Big Meat and Dairy’s Corporate Playbook to Distract, Delay, and Derail Climate Action” by Changing Markets.

Health professionals remain complicit. Nutrition organisations receive sponsorship money from industry groups such as the AHDB. Doctors and nutrition professionals act as spokespeople for meat and dairy industry groups including the AHDB, School and Nursery Milk Alliance and Devenish. Scientists, with financial ties to the meat and dairy industry, have teamed up to propagate misinformation in The Dublin Declaration which has been exposed as industry propaganda. The UK Government’s own nutrition advisors receive funding from food companies.

Our banks are complicit too, providing billions of pounds in financing to large meat and dairy corporations in the UK and globally. A report by Feedback, titled “Bankrolling the Butchers,” found that the “Big Six” banks—Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Lloyds, NatWest, and Standard Chartered—not only provided $77 billion in funding but also held nearly $1.2 billion in shareholdings in 55 meat and dairy companies as of March 2023.

The BMJ has called for an end to tobacco industry sponsorship of continuing medical education and is vocal against healthcare sponsorship by formula milk companies. Health experts call for an end to Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the Olympic games. Yet, there is little outcry over the sponsorship and promotion of meat and dairy, despite the evidence-based environmental and public health concerns.

Despite claims that British farming upholds the highest animal welfare and environmental standards, the number of “mega farms” and industrial animal production units in the UK continues to rise, including the confinement of cows, as revealed by a BBC freedom of information request. Intensifying animal farming may reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to animals that graze freely, but it creates numerous other health and environmental problems. Confining animals in crowded spaces fosters the spread of diseases, increasing the risk of zoonoses and future pandemics.The widespread use of antibiotics in factory farming contributes significantly to antibiotic resistance in animals and humans. Waste from these farms pollutes our land, ground and surface water, air, and waterways, with around a third of particulate matter air pollution in UK cities originating from farming, mainly animal agriculture. The expansion of intensive chicken farming has also led to catastrophic pollution of the River Wye in Wales and manure from UK dairy farms continues to pollute our rivers.

Why does climate activism among healthcare professionals largely focus on fossil fuel emissions? Addressing the destructive impact of food and farming on the environment could have far-reaching health benefits and align with the One Health approach to healthcare. Like fossil fuel emissions, the science is clear: we don’t need more academic research, we need more action to promote the adoption of solutions that we know work. We must stop falling into the traps set by the meat and dairy industry, and farm machinery and agrochemical industry, to derail progress.

Plant-based diets, when composed of healthy whole foods, produced through low input, high output regenerative no-till Conservation Agriculture, offer numerous health benefits as well as a range of productivity, economic and environmental benefits to farmers. Plant-based meat and dairy alternatives are healthier and more environmentally sustainable than their animal-based counterparts. Meat is not necessary for protein, and dairy is not required for calcium. No-till Conservation Agriculture, unlike the conventional tillage agriculture, is more sustainable and profitable with lower carbon emission and greater carbon sequestration in the soil.

Farmers are on the front line of the climate crisis, and are already suffering catastrophic crop failures in the UK because of climatic changes. They are essential to climate mitigation and nature restoration, but need to be supported by their representative organisations and Government to transition to more sustainable practices. Healthcare professionals must be leading allies to farmers and push institutions to support this necessary dietary shift, so we can ensure a safe and liveable future for us all. 

How can health professionals take action and show leadership?

• Promote whole food plant-based diets and animal-free no-till Conservation Agriculture in food systems as central elements of climate action.
• Move your individual and institutional money away from banks that finance meat and dairy production.
• Use your voice and trusted status with local and national governments to advocate for action for support to:

(a) align national policies and institutions on land use, environment and food system to meet human nutrition and health needs from plant-based diets and no-till Conservation Agriculture.

(b) help farmers transition away from animal agriculture and tillage agriculture to increase sustainable supplies of domestically produced fruits and vegetables, legumes and nuts, and environmental services to society.

• Medical, nutrition, and healthcare organisations should reject sponsorship from animal farming industry groups.
• Health professionals should avoid working directly for industry groups that are tied to destructive industries.
• Oppose the promotion of meat and dairy, and of tillage agriculture in schools and Universities, and strengthen education and research for plant-based sustainable food and land use management systems.
• Sign the Plant Based Treaty
• Support Plants First Healthcare, an initiative aimed at normalising plant-based meals as the default option in healthcare.

Authors

Dr Shireen Kassam is a Consultant Haematologist at King’s College Hospital, Visiting-Professor at University of Winchester, Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician and Founder/Director of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK. She is on X @shireenkassam1

Dr Christelle Blunden is a GP in Southampton and a member of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK.

Dr Matthew Lee is a resident doctor and volunteers as Sustainability Lead for Doctors Association UK. He is on X @Mattylee96

Professor Amir Kassam is Visiting Professor in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, and the Moderator of the Global Conservation Agriculture Community of Practice (CA-CoP) Platform. He is on X @AmirKassam1