From an email by Stockman Steaks:
‘Hey
Stockman Family,
You might be perplexed to hear that an inner-city council in Melbourne has advised its residents that a shift to plant-based diets is critical to address the "climate crisis."
The Yarra City Council has created a council document called the "climate emergency plan 2024-2030" This was based off an article in The Guardian about emissions and river pollution to come to the conclusion that a Meatless Melbourne was the best option for the planet.
The CEO of Cattle Australia, Dr Chris Parker responded by saying their decision was ill-informed and that dietary reccomendations do not form part of their scope.
Dr Parker stated "Cattle Australia is appalled by Yarra City Council reccomending its residents move towards vegeterianism and rejects the flawed and uniformed basis of its decision to promote a plant-based diet."
"Australian beef producers prioritize their responsibility to care for natural resources and we absolutely stand behind our sustainability credentials and commitment to continual improvement, as evidenced by the gains we consistenly make across a range of environmental measures."
How did the Council justify their position?
The Yarra City Council claimed that global warming caused by livestock methane emissions were the main reason for their decision. They cited a paper in Nature Climate Change
which compared a forecasted increase in meat demand to greenshouse gas emissions metrics and came to the conclusion that something needed to be done to limit methane emissions.
Dr Parker countered this by saying the council was only referrring to one
side of this story.
"The beef industry is unique, in that methane is the largest attributable greenhouse gas to our sector, not carbon dioxide."
"It is important to recognize that notwithstanding their warming effect, methane emissions are part of a 12-year, short lived biogenic cycle and therefore have a different impact on global warming than emissions from fossil fuels which are additional to the atmosphere and persist for thousands of years, if not millennia."
The Council also claimed that Australia is a "global deforestation hotspot." Dr Parker refuted this stating "Well-managed and thriving natural resources and livestock production are not adversaries, but rather run hand-in-hand. The United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization ranks Australia as second in the world for reforestation with an average net gain in forrest area between 2010-2020 of 446,000 hectares per year."
We were interested to see that the Australian "Beef Central" platform has asked
the Yarra Council why it did not consider research from the CSIRO and Oxford University which both have concluded that the warming of stable livestock emissions was being overstated by current metrics. They are yet to receive any reply.
Dr Parker
affirmed that it was problematic to bring diet and environment together.
"Beside the Yarra City Council's misguided environmental concerns, there is no place for ideology in dietary recommendations."
"A typical 150 gram serving of Australian beef contains 12 essential nutrients recommended for good health and is a powerful source of iron, zinc and vitamin B12. Beef that is predominantly grass-fed is also a source of Omega 3 fatty acids."
Do you think there is a place for ideology in dietary recommendations?
We thank you for your support.
In good health always,
Steven & Sue, Stockman Steaks.
