Rethink the sustainable truth about British meat and livestock

The British Meat Processors Association along with other partner organisations is holding Rethink Forum, a one day event that will explore the science behind livestock related climate change.

Speaking about the event, Nick Allen, CEO of BMPA said: ‘If we want to make meaningful changes to how we live in order to help the planet, then we need to base our decisions on information that is accurate and specific to our situation here in the UK.

‘We need to rethink what we know about meat and its contribution to climate change, because not everything we hear in the media and from the influential people we listen to is correct.’

Rethink Forum is to be held in London at 30 Euston Square on 17 March 2020 and will bring journalists, influencers and Government policy makers together with scientists and experts on both sides of the climate change debate. BBC journalist and Countryfile presenter Tom Heap will be chairing the event and ensuring a fair exchange of scientific opinions.

Speaking of the motivation behind the event, Mr Allen went on to say: ‘We want to get a balanced view of the impacts of different farming systems and explore solutions to the climate crisis that won’t have unintended consequences worse than the original problem.

‘We also want to make it easier to navigate the mass of opinions, pseudo-science and genuine science that is currently shaping ordinary people’s choices about what they should and shouldn’t be eating.’

Rethink is an invite only event, details of which can be found on the event website at www.rethinkforums.org

The Speakers

Speakers include Dr Michelle Cain of Oxford Martin School whose ground-breaking work on the new GWP* metric for measuring the global warming impact of various human activities is reshaping how we calculate our environmental footprint.

Also speaking will be Dr Taro Takahashi of Rothamsted Research, the oldest agricultural research institute in the world and home to one of the longest running permanent pasture experiments. They are providing solutions to agriculture’s challenges both locally and globally.

Professor Sarah Bridle of Manchester University and author of the forthcoming book ‘Food and Climate Change Without the Hot Air’ will be adding her take on how data from food choices and greenhouse gas emissions can be combined to help inform the public and policy makers.

Dr Frank Mitloehner is an air quality specialist at the University of California Davis whose work to understand and find solutions for mitigating air emissions from livestock operations is proving to be of great importance to the agricultural industry.

Frédéric Leroy is Professor of Food Science and Biotechnology at the Free University of Brussels. His work spans human and animal health, animal production, social and consumer sciences and food history. He is perhaps best know for getting under the surface of popular food fads and myths and uncovering the hidden economic and political motivations behind many of the current food trends.

Prysor Williams is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management at Bangor University. His research sits at the interface between agriculture and the environment, and he has collaborated on national and international projects from both natural science and socio-economic aspects.

Minette Batters is President of the National Farmers Union and will be updating delegates on the latest innovations from the British farmers who are close to making carbon neutral livestock farming a reality.