DIET AND AGRICULTURE

aggregate emissions from the agriculture sector fell from 55 to 46 Mt CO2e between 1990 and 2008, and have remained stagnant since then, accounting for 10% of UK emissions today. the majority of agriculture emissions are in the form of methane and nitrous oxide, with 90% of nitrous oxide emissions directly from nitrogen fertiliser application and 90% of methane emissions from livestock.

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actions to decarbonise diet and agriculture include improved farming practices, reduced meat and dairy consumption and reduced food waste. especially large reductions can be made by reducing the number of ruminant animals, like cows and sheep, which release large volumes of methane through digestion. meat and dairy production also require a large area of land to graze the animals and produce crops for the animals to eat. reducing meat and dairy consumption can free up land for increased afforestation, peatland restoration and the growing of energy crops. this would also make us healthier — compared to the average diet today, the government's nutritional guidelines for healthy eating imply an 89% reduction in beef consumption, a 63% reduction in lamb consumption and a 20% reduction in dairy consumption in the UK. it has been suggested that transitioning from a high meat diet to a low meat diet can lead to a reduction of 35% in a single person's dietary emissions.