This week, Labour's vegan shadow environment secretary Kerry McCarthy provoked outraged headlines by telling the magazine Viva!life that: “I really believe that meat should be treated in exactly the same way as tobacco, with public campaigns to stop people eating it." Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was forced to distance himself from the comments amid criticism from countryside groups.
But—overly emotive smoking analogy aside—did McCarthy have a point? Many believe that producing meat at current levels has a harmful effect on the earth, so would it be so bad to try and get those levels down? Or is this the nanny state as its worst, stigmatising people for doing something perfectly ordinary and reasonable?
Educate the public
Antony Froggatt—Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House
Meat has a high degree of greenhouse gas emissions associated with its production. So in order to help meet internationally agreed climate change targets it would help if people ate less meat, particularly in western countries with high per capita consumption levels, like the UK.
In terms of what degree of intervention governments should undertake, first and foremost should come education and awareness raising. There are very low levels of consumer awareness around the climate change implications of what we eat, so when you discuss it with people they are surprised, and are then more receptive to further interventions from government. But in order to get people to change you will need to use other, more direct measures, which could include price adjustment through the reallocation of subsidies, restricting advertising in certain areas or increased public procurement of less meat or meat free meals.
Vegetarianism is awful
James Delingpole—Journalist, Author and Broadcaster
I’ve seen what vegetarianism can do to people—and it’s awful. Meat is something we were designed to eat: without all that protein, we’d still be swinging from the trees. As to whether we should eat less of it—well that’s our business, not the government’s.
In the case of my own children for example, I like to insist they eat eggs bacon and sausage every day, followed by a healthy lunchtime snack of rib of beef, finished off perhaps with some pan fried foie gras or similar in the evening. They don’t actually like foie gras yet: it makes them sick. So I have to stand by them with a big stick making them force it down. Just like they do with geese, actually.
