0:00:09 > 0:00:13Meat, we love the stuff.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19Globally, we consume nearly twice as much as we did 50 years ago.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26But our increasing carnivorous cravings come at a price.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35This mini meat mountain weighs 80 kilos and it represents
0:00:35 > 0:00:38the amount of meat the average Briton gets through in a year.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42I want to find out how it gets onto our plates
0:00:42 > 0:00:44and what the environmental impact is.
0:00:44 > 0:00:50We already devour 65 billion animals every year.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54And that number is predicted to double, again.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59The scale and the growth in livestock production is
0:00:59 > 0:01:02inherently unsustainable.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04We can't do it.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07If we want to eat meat, is there a way to do so
0:01:07 > 0:01:09without destroying the planet?
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Does it matter what kind of meat we eat or how it has been raised?
0:01:13 > 0:01:18This is the reality, and the reality says this is green.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23So what should I be eating if I want to become
0:01:23 > 0:01:26a more eco-friendly carnivore - chicken or beef?
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Free-range or intensively farmed?
0:01:30 > 0:01:33The answers are far from obvious.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Getting to grips with the scale of the livestock industry is
0:01:56 > 0:01:59a truly sobering task.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Every year across the planet we slaughter
0:02:06 > 0:02:10and consume an extraordinary number of animals.
0:02:13 > 0:02:19300 million cattle. 1.4 billion pigs.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22A billion sheep and goats.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29Five million horses, two million camels.
0:02:29 > 0:02:343½ billion ducks and turkeys,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37and 60 billion chickens.
0:02:40 > 0:02:47That's an average of nine animals for every person on the planet.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52Beyond the moral considerations, there are serious environmental issues.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55The amount of the earth's resources devoted to raising
0:02:55 > 0:02:59these vast numbers of animals is both controversial
0:02:59 > 0:03:01and difficult to measure.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09Fortunately, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has put together
0:03:09 > 0:03:14some very comprehensive reports on the scale of the livestock industry.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Let's start with an overview.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21This, of course, is a map of the Earth.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Now, the area in green, it is grazing land
0:03:24 > 0:03:27and it accounts for more than a quarter
0:03:27 > 0:03:30of the entire ice-free landmass of the Earth.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Now, the area in orange is arable land,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36that is land given over to growing crops.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Now, crops are mainly eaten by humans,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42but about a third goes to feeding animals.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45If you add it all up, then you get an extraordinary figure.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49A third of the entire landmass of the earth is given over
0:03:49 > 0:03:52to animals that we either eat or milk.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59That's 70% more land than a century ago, and with meat production set
0:03:59 > 0:04:05to double in the next few decades, we could rapidly run out of space.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14But the trouble with livestock
0:04:14 > 0:04:17is not just a matter of the land they occupy.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Keeping animals in such huge numbers has other,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24less obvious effects on the environment.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32To find out what they are, I have come to America,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36where they eat more meat than any other country on Earth.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Come on, ladies, down the hill.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54These are the Flint Hills in Kansas.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57They were once part of the Wild West.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00What do you reckon, Bill?
0:05:00 > 0:05:06And they are still home to cowboys, cowgirls and, of course, their cows.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Whoa, Bill.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13When I'm eating meat,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17this is how I like to imagine that meat has been raised -
0:05:17 > 0:05:22in the open air, lots of space, but is this really the best way?
0:05:22 > 0:05:25If you want to be an ethical carnivore, what sort of meat
0:05:25 > 0:05:30should you be eating and how should it be raised?
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Even a farm like this, where the cattle are free to roam
0:05:36 > 0:05:38and seem in such harmony with the land,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41has a hidden environmental impact.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The problem comes from within the cattle themselves
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and it starts with what they eat.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Now, grass is curious stuff.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It's made out of tough fibrous cellulose
0:05:54 > 0:05:57and most mammals find it completely indigestible.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01If I was to chew away and swallow it,
0:06:01 > 0:06:05then it would pass through my digestive system virtually unchanged
0:06:05 > 0:06:10and come out the other end, but cows absolutely thrive on this stuff.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18A cow can eat around 50 kilos of grass every day
0:06:18 > 0:06:25and convert it into a kilo or so of muscle, the muscle that we then eat.
0:06:25 > 0:06:31It's a neat metabolic trick, but it also has an unfortunate side effect.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Nothing at the moment, but as I get closer I expect to get something.
0:06:38 > 0:06:46There we go. 2,876, that was a very high reading.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54This is a laser methane detector. It's not normally used on cows,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57but used to detect gas escaping from gas pipes.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Anything over 100 parts per million, it makes a bleep.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06I am going to see if I can detect methane coming from these cows.
0:07:07 > 0:07:141,700, there is a lot of methane coming out of these cows,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18and interestingly, it's not really coming out of their back ends,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22which is what you might expect, but it's from the belching of the cows.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27All the time, every moment I'm here, they're producing methane.
0:07:27 > 0:07:344,976 parts per million, that is a lot of methane!
0:07:34 > 0:07:38One of these cattle has obviously just done a giant belch.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43If I got a reading of 1,000 parts per million
0:07:43 > 0:07:46from a leaking gas pipe, that would be alarming,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50but cattle churn methane out at an incredible rate.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56An adult cow can produce up to 500 litres every single day.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01'The cattle aren't at risk of exploding,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05'but all that methane has other serious consequences.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:10The problem is that methane is an incredibly potent greenhouse gas,
0:08:10 > 0:08:1325 times more so than carbon dioxide.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16In fact, it's been calculated that the average cow produces
0:08:16 > 0:08:23the same effect on global warming as a family car.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41'Now, cattle and other ruminants have been producing methane
0:08:41 > 0:08:44'for millions of years, but it only became a problem
0:08:44 > 0:08:47'in the 20th century, and one surprising reason for that
0:08:47 > 0:08:51'was an invention that has come to symbolise modern America.'
0:08:53 > 0:08:54What can I get for you?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Hello, could I get a burger and fries, please?
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- OK. Anything else for you? - No, that's great, thank you.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02OK, one with!
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Now, the hamburger was a technological marvel -
0:09:05 > 0:09:07cheap, tasty, it was easy to mass-produce.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13'The hamburger was an instant success,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17'the perfect meal for an increasingly automated convenience culture.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22'Originally the burger patties could have been made from any meat,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26'but after intense lobbying from the cattle industry,
0:09:26 > 0:09:32'an Act of Congress in 1946 stipulated that all burgers should be 100% beef,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35'and a diet already rich in meat
0:09:35 > 0:09:39saw a huge increase in beef consumption.'
0:09:40 > 0:09:41There you are, sir.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- Great, thank you very much. - Not a problem.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49The popularity of the hamburger meant that demand for beef
0:09:49 > 0:09:51absolutely soared.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55By the 1970s, the average American was consuming an incredible
0:09:55 > 0:10:0090lbs of beef a year, that is a quarter-pounder every single day.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04All that beef meant lots of methane,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08it also meant that they had to find a way to produce more beef.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15'The success of the hamburger played a large part
0:10:15 > 0:10:18'in an explosion in the global population of cattle.
0:10:18 > 0:10:26'Up from 400 million a century ago to an estimated 1.5 billion today.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29'As a result, methane produced from cattle is now seen
0:10:29 > 0:10:32'as a major contributor to climate change.'
0:10:32 > 0:10:36About 10% of all human activity in terms of greenhouse gas emissions
0:10:36 > 0:10:40comes from feeding cows, so are there too many on the planet?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Well, if we're trying, really trying to think about moving
0:10:43 > 0:10:46into a lower emissions world, then the answer has got to be yes.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02So if we want to reduce the environmental impact of our diet
0:11:02 > 0:11:04perhaps we should stop eating beef altogether.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07But is there another way?
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Is it possible to make cattle more environmentally friendly
0:11:12 > 0:11:16by reducing the amount of methane they emit?
0:11:20 > 0:11:25'To find out, scientists have been studying how that methane is produced.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29'I've come to the Animal Sciences Department of the University of Nebraska
0:11:29 > 0:11:31'to see a remarkable animal experiment
0:11:31 > 0:11:34'run by Dr Samoda Fernando.'
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Well, that is extraordinary.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42I've sort of read about it
0:11:42 > 0:11:44but I've never seen anything like this before.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47He seems quite comfortable... he, she?
0:11:47 > 0:11:49It's a he, it's actually a steer.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54OK, so this has sort of been surgically implanted, that's right?
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Yeah, this is called a fistula or a cannula.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00And presumably it's pretty well the only way of studying?
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Yeah, because this allows actually direct access
0:12:03 > 0:12:08to what's happening inside the animal and I can actually take this one out.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09And..
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Presumably that's to stop getting infections and things.
0:12:13 > 0:12:14- Oh, wow.- Yeah.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16So I'm looking into one of the stomachs?
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Yes, you are actually looking to the largest compartment, the rumen.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24It can hold 50 to 60 gallons of rumen fluid and it accounts for
0:12:24 > 0:12:27about 65% of the gastrointestinal tract of the animal.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31The rumen is the largest of the four chambers of a cow's stomach
0:12:31 > 0:12:34and it is through having direct access into that chamber
0:12:34 > 0:12:39that scientists are better able to study how cattle digest grass
0:12:39 > 0:12:42and why they produce so much methane.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45'I'm assured the animal won't feel a thing.'
0:12:45 > 0:12:48- Can I stick my hand in? - Yeah, absolutely.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50OK, ooh, gosh.
0:12:50 > 0:12:56Ah, ooh that is odd, that is so strange.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59It is incredibly hot.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Really very smelly now.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04I'm holding my breath.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07That is...really odd,
0:13:07 > 0:13:12having my hand inside a living, breathing cow like that in its gut.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- He doesn't seem to mind in the slightest, does he?- No, no.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Hello, are you all right here?
0:13:18 > 0:13:22- So this is partially digested, is that right?- Yes.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- It still looks like straw, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27So where's all the methane production going on?
0:13:27 > 0:13:30So the majority of it is actually going on in the rumen,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34so if you feel some of the methane might be just coming out from here...
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Is that the major gas by-product?
0:13:36 > 0:13:40- What am I smelling at the moment? - It should be methane.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44This rumen is full of bacteria, viruses and fungi
0:13:44 > 0:13:48and those microbes are the ones that are actually digesting
0:13:48 > 0:13:52the hay, or the cellulose that's in the hay.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58'When cattle eat grass, they are not just feeding themselves,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01'but also the trillions of microbes that live in their rumen.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05'It is those microbes that produce all the methane
0:14:05 > 0:14:08'but they are also performing a vital service -
0:14:08 > 0:14:12'breaking down cellulose into more nutritious molecules
0:14:12 > 0:14:14'that the cow can absorb.'
0:14:14 > 0:14:17So this great big sort of mixture of microbes
0:14:17 > 0:14:21is converting the hay into something which the...
0:14:21 > 0:14:26Energy-dense molecules that is absorbed by the animal
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- and used for energy for the animals. - Right.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Some of these microbes that's already in the rumen
0:14:32 > 0:14:36actually bypass to the small intestines and provide them
0:14:36 > 0:14:38as microbial cell protein,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42so they don't have a protein requirement like we would have
0:14:42 > 0:14:44because the microbes actually become protein,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48microbial protein for them in the small intestines.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53So the cow is actually digesting the microbes as part of its meal?
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Yeah, in the small intestines, microbial cell protein.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59So in a funny way a cow is...well, not exactly a carnivore,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01but not entirely a herbivore,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05- it's actually living, itself, on living microbes?- Yeah.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11The cow's ability to harness these microbes' digestive skills
0:15:11 > 0:15:14to feed itself is a brilliant adaptation
0:15:14 > 0:15:18and, crucially, it has been shown that you can change
0:15:18 > 0:15:22the balance of microbes within the rumen and dramatically reduce
0:15:22 > 0:15:27the amount of methane they produce by simply changing the cow's diet.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30This means raising cattle on grass
0:15:30 > 0:15:33might not be the greenest way of farming them.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40So I'm going to see an alternative farming system
0:15:40 > 0:15:43that some people claim is more eco-friendly.
0:15:43 > 0:15:48It was first devised in the 1950s, helping to produce
0:15:48 > 0:15:51the huge amounts of beef demanded by the hamburger industry,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55and it is still used to produce the majority of American beef.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I'm going towards a different sort of farm,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06the sort of farm where a lot of the hamburger meat comes from.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08It's charmingly called a CAFO -
0:16:08 > 0:16:12a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation -
0:16:12 > 0:16:13and it's just over here on the left.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35This is the Wrangler Feed Yard, just outside Amarillo in Texas.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Its 500-acre site is a temporary home to 50,000 cattle.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46They are brought to feed lots like these at about a year-old
0:16:46 > 0:16:50and are fattened on a carbohydrate and protein-rich diet based on corn.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57They stay six months, put on about 300 kilos in weight,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01then they are shipped off to be slaughtered.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05'If you go to America, the chances are that any beef you eat
0:17:05 > 0:17:08'will have come from a feed lot like this,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11'and similar operations are beginning to appear in the UK.'
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Here's the most extraordinary thing I think I've seen for a long time.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Just the scale is awesome. I mean, really quite awesome.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28It is bleak and there's something about them all,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31eating and staring at you,
0:17:31 > 0:17:36I'm trying to separate my sort of feelings of, frankly,
0:17:36 > 0:17:42a little bit of guilt as a meat eater with just the way it's done.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49'Seeing this could put you off eating beef altogether.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52'Raising cattle in these vast numbers seems to be
0:17:52 > 0:17:55'the very antithesis of eco-friendly farming.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00'Some feed lots have been criticised for poor welfare standards
0:18:00 > 0:18:03'and for polluting the local environment.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07'Not surprisingly, Dr Mike Engler, the CEO here thinks
0:18:07 > 0:18:10'they deserve a better reputation.'
0:18:10 > 0:18:14- Hello.- Michael, welcome to Wrangler Feed Yard.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19The first thing that strikes you is it is a little bit bleak,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23it's not a romantic vision, a sort of green vision.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25- You wouldn't think so, would you?- No.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Well, you know, we can get the animal to market weight
0:18:29 > 0:18:34in less days of their existence than they can on grass,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38and so we've reduced the total amount of methane emitted.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41So if the goal is to produce the most amount of beef
0:18:41 > 0:18:43with the least amount of resources,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47this is where you can accomplish part of that solution.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50We are part of the solution not the problem.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Are they happier? Looking at them, it's difficult to tell,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57I have no idea what a happy... I mean, to be honest they look neither
0:18:57 > 0:19:00more nor less happy than most of the ones I see in a field, but..
0:19:00 > 0:19:04They're herding animals and they don't want to be alone,
0:19:04 > 0:19:09so what we've given him here in this pen is a herd of animals.
0:19:09 > 0:19:15Their behaviour is very similar to an animal's out on range or on pasture.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20It doesn't look green, it really doesn't look green.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23But you would argue that this method is,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26oddly enough and paradoxically enough,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30- more green than sticking them out in a field, would you?- Absolutely.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34One of the things I have a pet peeve about here in the United States,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37we hear it in politics all the time, perception is reality.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41It's not. It doesn't change reality.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44In advertising and in politics, perception is reality,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48I understand, but in the world where we're trying to produce
0:19:48 > 0:19:55food for people, this is the reality and the reality says this is green.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Of course, it all depends on what you mean by "green".
0:20:06 > 0:20:10The secret to the feed lot's ability to produce more beef in less time,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and therefore to reduce their methane emissions,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17lies in the vast amount of grain they feed the cattle.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25Nearly 40% of the corn grown in America is fed to livestock.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29To critics, this is a tremendous waste of land and grain,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32but to Dr Engler and others,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36it is this diet that is the key to the farm's success.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39The main ingredient in the cow's feed is corn,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42turned into cornflakes, much like we eat.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46'But those flakes are also mixed with a number of other ingredients
0:20:46 > 0:20:48'into a carefully formulated diet.'
0:20:48 > 0:20:51- That's a relief, it's very noisy out there, isn't it?- Absolutely.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54This is what I saw the cows eating earlier, is it?
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Yes, this is what's in most of the feed box.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00When the cows first arrive, we actually start 'em on this ration.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Don't be deceived, though. It's green because of blue food dye.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08What it's actually made from is the by-product,
0:21:08 > 0:21:13the wet by-product from a high-fructose corn syrup plant.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17We also feed a by-product from the ethanol industry
0:21:17 > 0:21:19which, of course, starts with corn.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23This one is the corn gluten feed in a pelleted version.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25We feed this for protein.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28I nearly forgot, though, we also have liquid fat that we add.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32About 2% of the ration would be in this.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Do they also influence the amount of methane that the cow's producing?
0:21:36 > 0:21:37Absolutely.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42It's not quite a reduction to 50% but it is a significant reduction.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44OK, so close to 50%.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49In addition, he'll gain weight faster on this high-caloric diet,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53so on the same number of days on this diet, we'll have
0:21:53 > 0:21:58twice as much weight gain with about half as much methane production.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02- Right, so that's a kind of win/win situation?- Absolutely.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05'But there is something that worries me.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08'They also feed their cattle growth hormones and antibiotics
0:22:08 > 0:22:13'such as Rumensin, which in Europe are banned from the diet of livestock.'
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Doesn't that give you pause for thought?
0:22:17 > 0:22:20No, because there's been no medical reason
0:22:20 > 0:22:23to ban that use in animal agriculture.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Aren't you worried about feeding resistance or doing something...?
0:22:26 > 0:22:29No, because no-one uses it in human medicine.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33You see, nonetheless, it is the one thing that has disturbed me,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35in a way. I am just brought up in the tradition
0:22:35 > 0:22:39you absolutely do not use antibiotics unless you have to.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Well, they're very complementary technologies.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Because, you know, if you're going to go to all this trouble
0:22:45 > 0:22:50to formulate a scientific diet and you don't avail yourself
0:22:50 > 0:22:54of the things that have been developed to make the most
0:22:54 > 0:22:59out of what you've done, then in some cases you've just wasted your money.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04- OK, that's fairly hardcore.- Yeah.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10'The feed lot is not a system that was designed to be eco-friendly.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12'But it is a surprising
0:23:12 > 0:23:16'and uncomfortable truth that the economic efficiency demanded
0:23:16 > 0:23:22'by farms like these can also equate to environmental efficiency.'
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Studies show that cows raised this way produce up to 40% less
0:23:28 > 0:23:34emissions per kilo of meat than grass-fed cattle.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37By those measures, this intensive form of farming is
0:23:37 > 0:23:41more environmentally friendly than raising cattle on the plains.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Now this place is a real paradox.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48In many ways it's about as far from a conventional green vision
0:23:48 > 0:23:51of the future as you can possibly imagine.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56Animals in pens, fed corn, antibiotics and hormones.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01On the other hand, if you do it this way, then you can get more meat
0:24:01 > 0:24:05in less time with much lower levels of methane gas production.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09So which method is genuinely greener?
0:24:18 > 0:24:21And this is one of the great problems of trying to be
0:24:21 > 0:24:25an eco-friendly meat eater. Different farming systems
0:24:25 > 0:24:29can be better for different aspects of the environment.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35If you want a system which uses a relatively small amount of land
0:24:35 > 0:24:39or produces a relatively small amount of emissions,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42or uses a relatively small amount of water,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45they're all facing in different directions, so there isn't
0:24:45 > 0:24:48a kind of right answer to what environmental sustainability means.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Does it mean an extensive grazing system where
0:24:52 > 0:24:55animals are largely living on pasture?
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Or does it mean an intensive system where you're putting
0:24:58 > 0:24:59a lot of food into the animals
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and ending up with a relatively low emissions-per-unit weight?
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Those two things are both ways of looking at environmental sustainability
0:25:06 > 0:25:08but they're both quite different.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14And this point is reflected around the world. Wherever we look,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17we find different farming systems
0:25:17 > 0:25:20and conditions that raise very different environmental issues.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25In Britain and Ireland, we have lots of lush green grass,
0:25:25 > 0:25:30and well-managed grazing is relatively low impact.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34But in other areas, like Sub-Saharan Africa,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36where grasslands are less fertile,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40overgrazing risks permanently degrading the land,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43even turning some areas into desert.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47In South America, demand for new pasture has meant
0:25:47 > 0:25:52the cutting down of millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56That in turn has led to a massive loss of wildlife
0:25:56 > 0:26:00and the release of huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Elsewhere in Brazil and Argentina, vast areas of natural land
0:26:10 > 0:26:13are still being ploughed up to create soya plantations,
0:26:13 > 0:26:19soya that is then exported around the world to feed livestock.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22If you had chicken or pork for your Sunday roast,
0:26:22 > 0:26:26it was probably fed on South American soya.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30'Assessing the combined effect of all these factors
0:26:30 > 0:26:32'is extraordinarily difficult.'
0:26:32 > 0:26:35But the United Nations have had a go,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39by focusing down on the carbon footprint,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41the effect of all that activity
0:26:41 > 0:26:45on man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51'They have assessed every element in the global livestock system.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54'The methane that comes from ruminant digestion alone
0:26:54 > 0:26:58'is equivalent to adding 2.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide
0:26:58 > 0:27:00'to the atmosphere every year.'
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Managing the manure produced by farm animals creates
0:27:06 > 0:27:09another 700 million tonnes.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14The carbon stores lost by chopping down forests
0:27:14 > 0:27:18and degrading habitats also adds 700 million tonnes.
0:27:20 > 0:27:26Growing crops to feed animals is responsible for 2.6 giga tonnes.
0:27:26 > 0:27:32Compared with that, the 100 million tonnes released by transporting
0:27:32 > 0:27:36crops and meat around the world seems almost trivial.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42'By adding these and many other factors together, we can estimate
0:27:42 > 0:27:48'the total impact of livestock production on man-made greenhouse gas emissions.'
0:27:48 > 0:27:50It's clearly been a mammoth task,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52and the figures have been revised several times,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55but the latest best estimate
0:27:55 > 0:28:01is 14.5% of all the man-made greenhouse gas emissions
0:28:01 > 0:28:05can be blamed on the animals that we either eat or milk.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09'And it's because of this massive environmental impact that
0:28:09 > 0:28:13'modern livestock farming has become such a contentious issue.'
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Some see industrial agriculture as a miracle.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19I see it as a mirage.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24The problem with industrial agriculture is it's not just about cows,
0:28:24 > 0:28:28industrial agriculture is incredibly hungry for oil
0:28:28 > 0:28:33to produce artificial pesticides and fertilisers to power machines.
0:28:33 > 0:28:39It's incredibly thirsty for water to irrigate crops to feed farm animals.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44It's madness, it's madness to be feeding those cattle people food.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49It's madness to be destroying the Argentinian countryside
0:28:49 > 0:28:53to feed the factory-farmed animals in Britain and Europe.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Such is the size of the global livestock industry
0:29:00 > 0:29:03that its carbon footprint is about the same as
0:29:03 > 0:29:05the contribution made by transport -
0:29:05 > 0:29:11all the world's cars, trains, boats and planes combined.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16So you can see the scale of the problem if you want to be
0:29:16 > 0:29:20an eco-friendly carnivore, but can you reduce your own personal
0:29:20 > 0:29:23contribution by choosing the right sort of animal to eat?
0:29:31 > 0:29:36This is a rodizio, a Brazilian barbecue restaurant.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41'It is a temple to meat.'
0:29:41 > 0:29:44- Rump side of beef? - Yes, delicious.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47'Great chunks of meat.'
0:29:47 > 0:29:49- Lamb?- Fantastic, yes, please.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52'Cooked on skewers and carved at your table.'
0:29:52 > 0:29:54- Pork loin?- Yes, please.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56'But which meat should you choose
0:29:56 > 0:29:59'if you want to reduce the carbon footprint of your diet?'
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Yes, please.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04So I've got four different plates of meat.
0:30:04 > 0:30:09Got some beef, some lamb, some pork and chicken.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13Each of them about 100 grams, similar in nutritional value,
0:30:13 > 0:30:17but the amount of food and energy required to get them here
0:30:17 > 0:30:19has been very different.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26'The first thing you need to know is that animals vary wildly
0:30:26 > 0:30:30in the efficiency with which they convert food into flesh.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35'One way to compare them is by looking at the amount
0:30:35 > 0:30:38'of protein they need to eat to produce their meat.'
0:30:40 > 0:30:43Let's start with our old friend, the cow. The cow is a ruminant
0:30:43 > 0:30:46and its digestion is not very efficient.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48'Exact figures vary, depending on
0:30:48 > 0:30:51'whether they are fed on grass or grain,
0:30:51 > 0:30:56'but on average, cattle need to consume 450 grams of protein
0:30:56 > 0:31:00'to produce 100 grams of cooked beef.'
0:31:00 > 0:31:02Now, the sheep is also a ruminant, but it takes
0:31:02 > 0:31:06almost twice as much protein to produce this amount of meat.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Now, the pig is an omnivore, eats pretty well anything
0:31:12 > 0:31:15and it is much more efficient.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18'A pig only needs 110 grams of protein
0:31:18 > 0:31:21'to produce 100 grams of pork.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26'But top of the list is the chicken,
0:31:26 > 0:31:31'which only needs 75 grams of protein in its diet
0:31:31 > 0:31:33'to produce 100 grams of meat.'
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Now, feed efficiency ratios aren't everything,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41you also have to take into account the amount of energy that goes in,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43the amount of gas that these animals produce.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47'By adding together all these factors, it is possible to produce
0:31:47 > 0:31:53'a single figure for the carbon footprint of each meat.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56'Again, the exact results vary between farms and systems,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58'but these figures are broadly true
0:31:58 > 0:32:01'of the meat we can buy in supermarkets.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03'The worst offenders are cattle,
0:32:03 > 0:32:08'releasing the equivalent of 16kg of carbon dioxide
0:32:08 > 0:32:11'for every kilo of meat produced.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15'In at number two is the sheep, with a figure of 13.'
0:32:15 > 0:32:20Number three, we have the pig, considerably less, with five kilos,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23and best of all is chicken.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28'On average, the production of a kilo of chicken meat only releases
0:32:28 > 0:32:32'the equivalent of 4.4 kilos of CO2.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36'Per kilo, its carbon footprint is about a quarter that of beef.'
0:32:38 > 0:32:40So if you're worried about your carbon footprint,
0:32:40 > 0:32:43then you are obviously better off eating chicken
0:32:43 > 0:32:47than you are one of the ruminants, like the sheep or the cow.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54'Chicken has also become a very cheap source of meat.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00'We eat five times more than we did 50 years ago.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04'Fried chicken is becoming our takeaway of choice,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08'a single shop can sell 600 pieces of chicken a night.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12'Which begs a fundamental question.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16'Where do all those chickens come from?'
0:33:19 > 0:33:23Now, the thing is, as you drive through the British countryside,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27you see cows, you see sheep, but you never, or very rarely, see chickens.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33'I'm on my way to find where they are hiding.'
0:33:35 > 0:33:41So this is Uphouse Farm and I'm here to meet chicken farmer, Nigel Joyce.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46'The reason we don't see most of the chickens we eat
0:33:46 > 0:33:48'while they are still alive
0:33:48 > 0:33:51'is that they are reared indoors, in sheds like these.'
0:33:51 > 0:33:56So this kind of reminds me of going into an operating theatre,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59- putting some over-boots on. - Yes, indeed.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02Right...
0:34:03 > 0:34:05Wow! This is enormous, isn't it?
0:34:05 > 0:34:09I've never seen anything like this before.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11There's 54,000 birds in here.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15'Intensive chicken farming has had a bad reputation.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19'In the UK today, some egg-laying birds are still kept
0:34:19 > 0:34:22'in so-called enriched cages.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27'But most of the birds raised for meat are kept in barns like this.'
0:34:27 > 0:34:28HE SNIFFS
0:34:28 > 0:34:32And the thing which surprises me is it actually smells very nice.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36- Yeah.- I mean, I was expecting a terrible sort of ammonia smell
0:34:36 > 0:34:38or something like that.
0:34:38 > 0:34:43Everybody who walks into these sheds always expresses surprise.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46The other thing they're surprised about
0:34:46 > 0:34:50is how settled the birds are, and contented.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53No, I was expecting again to see a much more sort of violence
0:34:53 > 0:34:54going on, lots of pecking.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58You know, people expect them to be going up the walls, almost,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01because they're sort of frightened or something,
0:35:01 > 0:35:02but it's part and parcel of our job
0:35:02 > 0:35:05to keep them in a calm and relaxed state.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09How many chickens are you growing here on the farm per year?
0:35:09 > 0:35:13We're doing between sort of 5½ and six million a year.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Wow. That's big numbers!
0:35:16 > 0:35:18That sounds huge numbers,
0:35:18 > 0:35:23but the UK consumer is consuming nearly 19 million a week.
0:35:23 > 0:35:24Right, yeah.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26You're just one of many. Yeah, OK.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31'To produce chickens in the numbers we consume,
0:35:31 > 0:35:33'the whole process has been mechanised.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38'In hatcheries similar to this, all around the world,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42'billions of eggs are incubated and hatched every week
0:35:42 > 0:35:44'and the chicks are processed
0:35:44 > 0:35:48'to be delivered to the farms when they are just one day old.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54'The industrialisation of meat production
0:35:54 > 0:35:56'puts some people off eating meat
0:35:56 > 0:36:01'and has driven many others to seek free-range alternatives.'
0:36:05 > 0:36:07You can see why.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10The day-old chicks that arrive here will spend the remaining
0:36:10 > 0:36:13five weeks of their short lives in these sheds.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20And it is not just the system that has been optimised,
0:36:20 > 0:36:26the chickens have been bred to grow as quickly and efficiently as possible.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31If we compare a modern, so-called broiler chicken
0:36:31 > 0:36:33with one of its ancestors from the 1950s,
0:36:33 > 0:36:37you can see how it can grow to almost twice the size
0:36:37 > 0:36:39in half the time,
0:36:39 > 0:36:42piling on muscle especially on the breast.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47'A dilemma for the ethical carnivore is that, just like the cows
0:36:47 > 0:36:51'in America, when it comes to carbon emissions, raising chickens
0:36:51 > 0:36:56'this way is more environmentally efficient than free-range farming.'
0:36:58 > 0:37:00So, from what I've read, this is pretty much
0:37:00 > 0:37:03the most efficient way that you can raise meat.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05If you're looking at saving the planet, and you want to eat
0:37:05 > 0:37:08a meat protein, this is probably the only way to do it.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Right. I think I might put him back down now.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Yeah, he'd be very happy if you did that.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16I think he'd be happier.
0:37:16 > 0:37:17Off you go, then.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20In the last ten years
0:37:20 > 0:37:23there has been a growth in an academic discipline
0:37:23 > 0:37:26called life cycle analysis which has been
0:37:26 > 0:37:31a very effective way of looking at the environmental impact
0:37:31 > 0:37:35along the whole life cycle of a particular product.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37So if you take a chicken, it takes into account
0:37:37 > 0:37:41the environmental impacts associated with producing the feed,
0:37:41 > 0:37:45rearing the animals - that's height, lighting, heating, slaughtering them,
0:37:45 > 0:37:49transporting it until it reaches your dinner table.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52And one of the surprising findings of life cycle analysis
0:37:52 > 0:37:56is that very intensively reared livestock - for example,
0:37:56 > 0:38:01intensive broiler chickens, have a lower carbon footprint,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05they're more greenhouse gas-efficient to produce than free-range chickens.
0:38:05 > 0:38:10In fact, according to a recent study from Nottingham University,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14raising chickens indoors like this is the most energy-efficient form
0:38:14 > 0:38:16of livestock farming.
0:38:16 > 0:38:22By that measure, this is the greenest form of meat you can buy.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Well, that wasn't exactly what I was expecting.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34I mean, there are lots of legitimate welfare concerns
0:38:34 > 0:38:37when it comes to intensive farming, but I thought those chickens
0:38:37 > 0:38:40were remarkably well cared for, and if we really do want to
0:38:40 > 0:38:44go on eating a billion chickens a year, which is what we're
0:38:44 > 0:38:49doing at the moment in the UK, then I really can't see much alternative.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04Now, at the moment we can just about satisfy the world's
0:39:04 > 0:39:07lust for meat by more efficient and intensive farming.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11But what's going to happen in the future as the population grows
0:39:11 > 0:39:13and tastes change?
0:39:15 > 0:39:17'A look at the pattern of global meat consumption reveals
0:39:17 > 0:39:19'the scale of the problem.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23America is the most carnivorous country.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28On average, every American gets through 120 kilos of meat a year.
0:39:30 > 0:39:36'In Britain, like most of Europe, we consume quite a bit less - about 80 kilos a year.'
0:39:36 > 0:39:40In Europe and North America, we have hit peak meat.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Consumption of meat has either levelled off or it's declining.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48In the developing world, however, consumption of meat is still soaring.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53Take the example of China. Now, in the 1960s, the era of Mao Tse Tung,
0:39:53 > 0:39:59the Chinese were, on average, eating just 11 grams of meat a day.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03That's about four kilos a year. Now the Chinese are much richer
0:40:03 > 0:40:08and they're eating 55 kilos a year, mainly pork and chicken.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12Now, that is still less than us per head, but there are an awful
0:40:12 > 0:40:16lot of Chinese, which means that in the last 50 years in China alone,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19meat demand has increased
0:40:19 > 0:40:24by an incredible 70 billion kilos a year.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28'And this pattern of greater prosperity leading to greater
0:40:28 > 0:40:31'meat consumption looks set to be repeated all over
0:40:31 > 0:40:36'the developing world. Coupled with population growth,
0:40:36 > 0:40:40'the demand for meat is expected to increase dramatically.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43'It's predicted that by 2050 we will have to produce twice as much
0:40:43 > 0:40:48'meat as we do now, and that will mean not only many more animals
0:40:48 > 0:40:50'but also the crops to feed them.'
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Clearly, there is not enough land
0:40:54 > 0:40:58and resources to be able to do that sustainably.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02'We already devote a third of the planet's surface,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06'and over 30% of the crops we grow, to raising livestock.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10'Even with the most efficient forms of intensive farming,
0:41:10 > 0:41:15it will be difficult to dramatically increase meat production without
0:41:15 > 0:41:19'putting severe strains on the Earth's resources. Using more land,
0:41:19 > 0:41:24'threatening the world's remaining wild habitats and, crucially,
0:41:24 > 0:41:30'growing more crops to feed animals that could just as well be fed to humans.'
0:41:32 > 0:41:36I think there is increasing recognition that the scale
0:41:36 > 0:41:40and the growth in livestock production is inherently
0:41:40 > 0:41:44unsustainable, we can't, we can't do it.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49I think that as the scale of the environmental problems
0:41:49 > 0:41:52we face become more and more apparent
0:41:52 > 0:41:56that questions of consumption need to be explored.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58In a world of nine to ten billion people,
0:41:58 > 0:42:03we have to think very carefully about how we best use our land.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06We have to ask ourselves the question, "Should this land be
0:42:06 > 0:42:10"used better to produce grains that feed humans directly, or to
0:42:10 > 0:42:16"produce grains to feed livestock that then less directly feed humans?"
0:42:23 > 0:42:26One of the inevitable conclusions is
0:42:26 > 0:42:29that if you want to be a carnivore who cares about the planet,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33you are going to have to change your meat consumption.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37We are also going to have to exploit other forms of farming that
0:42:37 > 0:42:41put less strain on the planet's resources.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44I've come to the Shetland Islands, nearly 150 miles off the coast
0:42:44 > 0:42:48of Scotland, where they produce one of the most efficient
0:42:48 > 0:42:53and tasty forms of farmed animal protein in the world.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57In the middle of January, it's pretty bleak and barren,
0:42:57 > 0:43:01but people have been drawn to these islands for over 6,000 years,
0:43:01 > 0:43:04because of the rich waters that surround them.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09'The sea is obviously a source of fish
0:43:09 > 0:43:13'but large-scale fishing is just as controversial as livestock
0:43:13 > 0:43:19'farming and also has a damaging impact on the environment.'
0:43:19 > 0:43:22There is however a farm out there that year after year
0:43:22 > 0:43:27goes on producing huge amounts of sustainable meaty protein,
0:43:27 > 0:43:30and it does so with very little energy input.
0:43:30 > 0:43:36In fact, all you really need is quite a lot of rope like this.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39I've come here to meet Michael Tate who's agreed to brave
0:43:39 > 0:43:43the conditions to take me to his farm out on the sea loch.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Nice to see you, turned out nice(!)
0:43:46 > 0:43:48- Yeah, welcome and welcome aboard. - OK, thanks.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50Just take a hold of the rail.
0:43:57 > 0:44:02'This small patch of sheltered water is a mussel farm.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08'Hanging below the water are 19km of rope
0:44:08 > 0:44:11'covered in hundreds of tonnes of mussels.
0:44:13 > 0:44:18We're in among the structure of the mussel farm here where you've got these headline ropes up top
0:44:18 > 0:44:21and down from there, hanging into the sea, is the dropper ropes.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Is it really as simple as just lowering the ropes in the water
0:44:24 > 0:44:26and waiting for the mussels to latch on?
0:44:26 > 0:44:28In effect, yes, you're right.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30We hang the mussel ropes, spat collection ropes,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34into the sea in the spring, the spat hopefully settles
0:44:34 > 0:44:37onto those ropes. We'll just have a look at these mussels here now.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40These mussels are coming up to be about three years old now.
0:44:40 > 0:44:41And ready for harvest.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45How many tonnes of mussels can you harvest a year?
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Our company harvests about 1,000 tonnes of mussels a year.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50Wow.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53'The great thing about this form of farming is it has a very low
0:44:53 > 0:44:55'carbon footprint.
0:44:55 > 0:45:00'The mussels spontaneously grow on the ropes with practically no inputs.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04'The largest source of energy that goes into farming them
0:45:04 > 0:45:09'is the fuel needed to power the harvesting boat, and that small carbon footprint
0:45:09 > 0:45:13'is further reduced by the fact the mussels actively soak up carbon
0:45:13 > 0:45:19'and use it to build their shells, locking it away from the atmosphere.'
0:45:20 > 0:45:22They've had a pretty good clean up,
0:45:22 > 0:45:24so from being on the ropes to now being ready to
0:45:24 > 0:45:28sort of process them, we take out the little beards here, so this is
0:45:28 > 0:45:31what they use to hole on to the ropes, and these are
0:45:31 > 0:45:35just removed, and that's it - they're ready to eat after that point.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38- It is wonderfully simple, isn't it? - Very, very simple.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44So there's about a tonne of mussels in here - incredibly efficiently
0:45:44 > 0:45:48harvested and very low carbon footprint.
0:45:48 > 0:45:53It's about 250 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent
0:45:53 > 0:45:56per kilo of mussels.
0:45:58 > 0:46:03'That makes mussels one of the most efficient forms of farmed animal protein.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06'Their carbon footprint per kilo of meat is about ten times less
0:46:06 > 0:46:12'than that of chicken and 30 times less than beef or lamb.'
0:46:14 > 0:46:17Not only are they eco-friendly,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20but they are also a healthy source of protein, low in fat,
0:46:20 > 0:46:26and with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B-12.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31'Despite this, most of the mussels
0:46:31 > 0:46:36'we produce in Britain are exported to the rest of Europe.'
0:46:40 > 0:46:46Right...nice hot mussels, wind blowing loudly outside,
0:46:46 > 0:46:49let's see what they taste like.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Mm, well, certainly the freshest I've ever had,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57and even though I say so myself, they are rather well cooked.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01Now, the demand for mussels is on the rise. That may partly be
0:47:01 > 0:47:06due to the fact they justifiably have this eco-friendly reputation,
0:47:06 > 0:47:12and that takes a little bit of the pressure off meat production.
0:47:14 > 0:47:19Certainly gives me a warm glow knowing how little damage
0:47:19 > 0:47:21they're doing to the environment.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25'So you could improve your own health
0:47:25 > 0:47:28'and that of the planet by replacing the occasional meat meal with
0:47:28 > 0:47:31'a bowl of mussels. And though they are never realistically going
0:47:31 > 0:47:35'to replace chicken or beef, they are one of a number of alternative
0:47:35 > 0:47:40'sources of animal protein that we could use to bolster our diets.'
0:47:41 > 0:47:46Fish farming, though controversial, is also energy efficient.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49It certainly takes the pressure off wild fish stocks.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54In many parts of the world, insects are a staple part of the diet
0:47:54 > 0:47:57and there's no reason why they shouldn't find their way
0:47:57 > 0:48:02onto our plates, if only we could overcome the yuck factor.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06Further in the future, there is
0:48:06 > 0:48:09the prospect of growing artificial meat. Laboratory-grown
0:48:09 > 0:48:13burgers seem like science fiction, a bit Brave New World,
0:48:13 > 0:48:18but some people believe they may one day be a serious alternative to farming.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23Meat gown in laboratory has, to my mind, a great deal of potential.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26It's ten, 15 years away from being marketable,
0:48:26 > 0:48:32but if we can produce meat protein near market in towns and cities
0:48:32 > 0:48:35with a fraction of the environmental damage,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37that's got to be a good thing.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49I find it hard to believe that I'm going to be sitting down to
0:48:49 > 0:48:54a Sunday lunch of lovingly reared laboratory meat any time soon.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59But I'm also feeling rather gloomy about the apocalyptic alternatives.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02Surely it must be possible to rear meat humanely
0:49:02 > 0:49:05and in ways which are less destructive to the plant.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07Come on, come on.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11So I've come to Dorset to see Simon Fairleigh, a farmer,
0:49:11 > 0:49:15author and environmentalist.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18'He has been crunching the numbers and thinks it can be done by
0:49:18 > 0:49:22'returning to traditional farming methods.'
0:49:25 > 0:49:28- Hi, good morning, Simon. - Good morning.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31- How's she doing?- She's all right. She hasn't got much milk now, it's
0:49:31 > 0:49:34right at the end of the lactation, she's due to calve in seven weeks.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Right, do you mind if I have a squeeze? I've never milked a cow.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39OK.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44COW LOWS
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Very calm.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51Ooh, there we go!
0:49:52 > 0:49:55You kind of imagine it's uncomfortable.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57If you grab bits of me and gave it a squeeze like this...
0:49:57 > 0:50:01You should see what the calves are like on her, you know, I mean, don't be afraid.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:50:03 > 0:50:08- I think it's because we kind of extrapolate away from our own anatomy.- Very likely.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10You're thinking, "No."
0:50:10 > 0:50:14- You'll have to get a bit faster than that.- OK, a bit faster.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17'The first thing that Simon points out is that we keep
0:50:17 > 0:50:20'livestock for reasons beyond their ability to produce meat.'
0:50:20 > 0:50:23As ruminants, what they're particularly good at is
0:50:23 > 0:50:25digesting very fibrous difficult stuff,
0:50:25 > 0:50:29stuff that we can't eat, like grass, leaves and so forth,
0:50:29 > 0:50:32and then they're producing dairy, in this case.
0:50:32 > 0:50:37A number of other products - meat, leather or wool if it's sheep,
0:50:37 > 0:50:40draught animals for pulling ploughs and so forth.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Still very important in many parts of the world
0:50:42 > 0:50:46and, perhaps most importantly of all, they bring in fertility.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48Manure?
0:50:48 > 0:50:53Manure, pretty much 85% of what goes into a cow one end comes out
0:50:53 > 0:50:58the other, and goes onto the land, and that's a fantastic service.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06'And this is the cow's greatest talent,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09'they can take land and resources we can't use, like grass,
0:51:09 > 0:51:14'and turn it into valuable products that we CAN use.'
0:51:14 > 0:51:17A lot of poor land you see round here, for example, is not
0:51:17 > 0:51:20arable at all, you couldn't use it for growing grain or crops.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24This side of the United Kingdom, that's what grows best is grass,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27that's why we talk about our green and pleasant land.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31Ireland is the Emerald Isle cos the grass is just a fantastic crop,
0:51:31 > 0:51:37and the best way of using it is ruminants, sheep and cows.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41It's providing free food, environmentally free food
0:51:41 > 0:51:42so to speak.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44So a kid of win/win situation?
0:51:44 > 0:51:46Yeah, well, it's been winning
0:51:46 > 0:51:49and winning for the last 10,000 years, really.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52'The price we pay for cattle is the methane they produce,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55'but Simon believes when raised in smaller numbers
0:51:55 > 0:51:58'they can be an environmentally friendly choice.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03'It puts beef firmly back on our menu.'
0:52:06 > 0:52:08And it's not just cattle that can provide a source of
0:52:08 > 0:52:13so-called "free food". It's thought pigs were first domesticated
0:52:13 > 0:52:18for their ability to eat our wasted food and turn it into pork.
0:52:21 > 0:52:26In the UK today, we throw away 15 million tonnes of food every year,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29which we could use to feed pigs.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36However, it is a contentious issue, because if the swill is not adequately heat-treated,
0:52:36 > 0:52:38it can transmit disease.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41'It is the very last thing this industry needed.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44'Official warnings were put in place this morning,
0:52:44 > 0:52:48'but this area has been sealed off since Monday.'
0:52:50 > 0:52:54In 2001, the foot-and-mouth outbreak was traced to a farm
0:52:54 > 0:52:58where the pigs had been illegally fed untreated food waste.
0:52:58 > 0:53:03It led to the destruction of nearly ten million animals,
0:53:03 > 0:53:07and the practice was made illegal throughout Europe.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10'But environmentalists like Simon think
0:53:10 > 0:53:14'we will have to return to feeding pigs with waste if we are to
0:53:14 > 0:53:18'produce enough eco-friendly food to feed the planet.'
0:53:20 > 0:53:24So how can you eat meat but not wreck the planet?
0:53:24 > 0:53:27The best way to describe it is probably with a graph.
0:53:27 > 0:53:33It's very simple, this axis here is the environmental impact.
0:53:33 > 0:53:38This axis here, the amount of meat eaten.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42And it's a simple hockey stick graph.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47Let's do that quite slowly, and then it steepens quite quickly.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50Right.
0:53:50 > 0:53:51So the more meat and dairy you eat,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54the more environmental impact you make.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57So there's a sort of crucial amount of meat somewhere
0:53:57 > 0:54:00roughly around here where it seems to take off.
0:54:00 > 0:54:01It takes off, yes.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04Up to that point, you can actually eat meat
0:54:04 > 0:54:06but not have a major environmental impact.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10Yes, because this is the point, really, where you start feeding grain
0:54:10 > 0:54:13to animals, where you start allocating land,
0:54:13 > 0:54:16for the dedicated purpose of producing meat.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19And when you do that, you require not only more land
0:54:19 > 0:54:23but you also require more water, more chemical fertilisers,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25pesticides, fossil fuels, et cetera.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29Whereas this part, what I call the default livestock
0:54:29 > 0:54:32part of the graph...for the first part of the curve,
0:54:32 > 0:54:37for quite a long way, there's very little environmental impact.
0:54:37 > 0:54:43Because the meat and dairy that you're consuming is, in a sense, free.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47'It's very difficult to calculate how much meat
0:54:47 > 0:54:51'we could produce without serious environmental impact.'
0:54:51 > 0:54:56But economists have come up with some detailed estimates.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Globally, cattle and sheep grazing purely on grass could
0:55:00 > 0:55:03produce 40 million tonnes of meat a year.
0:55:03 > 0:55:04Pigs and chickens,
0:55:04 > 0:55:09fed only on food waste could produce another 110 million tonnes.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13And feeding animals the residues and by-products of other processes
0:55:13 > 0:55:17could produce another 40 million tonnes.
0:55:17 > 0:55:22In total, it's been suggested we could produce 190 million
0:55:22 > 0:55:27tonnes of meat each year with a small environmental impact.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31'That works out at just less than 40 kilos
0:55:31 > 0:55:33'for each person on the planet.'
0:55:33 > 0:55:36And where are we on this graph?
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Well, we're somewhere up about here, with
0:55:38 > 0:55:41round about 80 kilos of meat consumption a year.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45To get it down there, to having really very minimal
0:55:45 > 0:55:48environmental impact, what sort of numbers are you talking about?
0:55:48 > 0:55:50Very roughly a half, I mean, it's..
0:55:50 > 0:55:54Just by boiling this graph, it would take you, yeah, about half.
0:55:54 > 0:55:55Very, very roughly.
0:55:55 > 0:55:5840 kilos, 40 kilos is still a lot of meat.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01It's a little over 100 grams a day.
0:56:01 > 0:56:02A bit over.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05So it's a burger, it's a respectable amount of meat.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07It's a respectable amount of meat, yes.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09So, certainly on the basis of this argument, you can see
0:56:09 > 0:56:14that you can be an ethical carnivore, you can be a carnivore
0:56:14 > 0:56:18that doesn't impact the planet, but it's only true
0:56:18 > 0:56:23- if we probably quite substantially cut our meat consumption.- Yes. Yup.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31Simon's vision of a sustainable future is idealistic
0:56:31 > 0:56:33but it's not impossible.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36However, for it to come about, two things have to happen,
0:56:36 > 0:56:39we need to cut down the amount of meat we consume and we need
0:56:39 > 0:56:43a revolution in the way that our livestock industry is organised.
0:56:43 > 0:56:49And without huge pressure, I can't see either of those things happening.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51So what should we do?
0:56:51 > 0:56:55I think the most obvious thing to do is to eat less meat,
0:56:55 > 0:56:57and there are many alternatives.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01What we need to be thinking about is moving away from seeing
0:57:01 > 0:57:05animal protein as the centre of a meal
0:57:05 > 0:57:08and exploring a plant-based substitute,
0:57:08 > 0:57:10plant-based foods as well.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Me personally, I would choose to have a small amount of
0:57:12 > 0:57:18low-intensity extensive-grazing beef as a very rare treat
0:57:18 > 0:57:22and the rest of the time either get by with chicken or no meat at all.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29'So what meat should we be buying in our weekly shop
0:57:29 > 0:57:34'if we want to be ethical, eco-friendly carnivores?'
0:57:34 > 0:57:36Well, if we want to go on eating lots of meat
0:57:36 > 0:57:39and the rest of the world wants to join in,
0:57:39 > 0:57:42then the future is far more intensive farming, particularly
0:57:42 > 0:57:46on those super-efficient indoor-reared chickens.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49'It might come as an unpleasant surprise
0:57:49 > 0:57:53'to the environmentally conscious, but intensive farming can be
0:57:53 > 0:57:57'the best option when it comes to minimising greenhouse gas emissions.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00'However if demand for meat rises as predicted,
0:58:00 > 0:58:07'even those intensive methods may become completely unsustainable.
0:58:07 > 0:58:11'The alternative is we're going to have to eat far less meat.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15'It's impossible to give a completely accurate figure of how much we should eat,
0:58:15 > 0:58:18'but if we were to cut our total meat consumption
0:58:18 > 0:58:23'to 100 grams per day, about this much, it would
0:58:23 > 0:58:26'come close to halving the amount of meat we need to produce.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29If you do that, it's good for the planet
0:58:29 > 0:58:31and also probably better for your health.
0:58:31 > 0:58:35So the reality is you can have your steak and eat it,
0:58:35 > 0:58:37just not very much.