Catherine Conlon: Is cutting emissions an opportunity to try other ways of growing meat?

A lab-grown meat burger made from cultured beef.  'While conventional livestock will continue to be an important part of the food supply, supplementation with meat from alternative practices is considered inevitable for future human prosperity.'

An recent EPA report features a number of models of how land use will have to change in Ireland for us to reach our 2050 Paris agreement targets. One of the report’s authors, Dr James Moran, Senior Lecturer at Atlantic Technical University (ATU) said the report was a review of the available scientific information to support evidence- based decision making. The report is a scenario modelling exercise that suggests that Ireland will need to reduce its livestock numbers by 30%, quadruple its forestry targets and re-wet 90% of reclaimed land to meet 2050 climate targets.

Is the mandatory requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Irish agriculture an opportunity to explore new methods of meat production?