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Leaked climate change report says we must change eating habits to save the world

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Food production needs to change to save the environment (Getty Images)

Solving the crisis of climate change will require a shift in food production around the world according to a leaked scientific report.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is currently meeting in Geneva to debate issues relating to the environment. Information from a report produced for the occasion has been made public by the Guardian and states that humans need to reassess food production and land management to save the planet.

It says that we currently use 72% of the planet’s ice-free surface to feed and clothe Earth’s population. Meanwhile, agriculture, forestry and other land uses produce a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, half of all methane emissions come from cattle and rice fields.

The report says these emissions need to be curbed to stop devastating consequences.

‘Climate change exacerbates land degradation through increases in rainfall intensity, flooding, drought frequency and severity, heat stress, wind, sea-level rise and wave action,’ it states.

The report emphasises that land will need to be managed sustainably and humans should cut meat consumption to limit methane emissions.

Cows of the Wagyu breed are pictured at the Japanese Wagyu cattle breeding center in Petit-Mars, western France (Photo by Loic Venance/AFP)

‘The consumption of healthy and sustainable diets, such as those based on coarse grains, pulses and vegetables, and nuts and seeds … presents major opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,’ it states.

Information and analysis from the IPCC is used to influence policymakers when setting goals to manage emissions. The next big international gathering to focus on reducing carbon dioxide and methane emissions is scheduled to take place in 2020.



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