Eating less meat ‘essential’ to saving the planet

Eating less meat is "essential" to ensure future demand for food can be met and "dangerous" climate change avoided, experts have warned.

A study by leading university researchers in Cambridge and Aberdeen found food production alone could exceed targets for greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 if current trends continue.

Population growth and the global shift towards “meat-heavy Western diets” has meant increasing agricultural yields will not meet projected food demands for the expected 9.6bn world population, it said.