COURTESY TOI MARCH 17

Adopt less meat-intensive diet for a sustainable future, urges UN report
Vishwa.Mohan@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:

What we eat may be a matter of our choice, but a comprehensive UN report on ‘global environmental outlook’ has advised the world to adopt “less-meat intensive” diets and opt for climate-smart agriculture to produce food-grains so that the planet’s degraded resources can be protected for future generations.

Taking note of the fact that more water is used to produce a kilo of beef or pork than rice or wheat and how meat production currently uses 77% of global agricultural land, the fourth UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya on its concluding day on Friday adopted a blueprint for a more sustainable future.

Countries pledged to promote sustainable food systems by “encouraging resilient agricultural practices”. The UN report (sixth Global Environmental Outlook), comprising advisories on food production and consumption, was released on Wednesday.