Nationals alarmed by reports of Glasgow push to cut beef, change diets

Reports of a push at the Glasgow climate summit to cut global beef production and encourage ‘plant-based diets’ would kill Coalition deal, senior Nationals say.

According to documents leaked by Greenpeace to the BBC, the draft report states “plant-based diets can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50 per cent compared to the average emission intensive Western diet”.

Senior Nationals have become alarmed at reports in the United Kingdom that there is a push at the Glasgow climate change talks to cut global beef production and encourage “plant-based diets” to cut carbon emissions.

As Scott Morrison considers the Nationals’ plan to protect rural and regional jobs in agriculture and mining as part of the Coalition’s plans to commit to a net zero carbon emissions target by 2050, a slew of reports in the UK have worried Nationals MPs. One Nationals MP told The Australian that any move to agree to cut beef and lamb production would be the end of any Coalition agreement on net zero emissions by 2050.

According to documents leaked by Greenpeace to the BBC, the draft report states “plant-based diets can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50 per cent compared to the average emission intensive Western diet”.

There are also passages in the COP 26 text referring to “plant-based diets” playing a role in tackling climate change, or which describe beef as a “high carbon” food.

Part of the proposals for reducing beef production include support for “Meatless Monday” when people don't eat meat.

Brazil and Argentina, both large beef producers like Australia, have lodged complaints about the references according to the leaked documents.

Brazil’s submission said it was not correct to say beef production necessarily created more carbon emissions than plant production and Argentina called for references to proposed taxes on meat to be removed from the report.

Both countries call on the authors to delete or change some passages in the text Argentina also asked that references to taxes on red meat and to the international “Meatless Monday” campaign, which urges people to forgo meat for a day, be removed from the report.

The South American nation recommends “avoiding generalisation on the impacts of meat-based diets on low-carbon options”, arguing there is evidence that meat-based diets can also reduce carbon emissions.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Energy and Climate Minister Angus Taylor. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Brazil says “plant-based diets do not for themselves guarantee the reduction or control of related emissions” and maintains the focus of debate should be on the levels of emissions from different production systems, rather than types of food.

Energy and Emissions Minister, Angus Taylor, who leaves for the Glasgow conference next week told The Australian on line Australia would not agree to any proposals which would trade off emissions against the survival of industries.

“We won’t support any policy undermining our agriculture sector,” Mr Taylor told The Australian on Saturday.

Australia’s mining and agriculture sectors support $360 billion in exports a year and are growing rapidly.

Agriculture Minister, David Littleproud, has warned that impinging on Australia’s exports in the name of carbon emission reductions was a national security threat and would affect rural and city people.

Mr Taylor said: “We won’t be doing anything that wipes out our traditional industries or threatens our electricity grid. We will be continuing to reduce emissions but we’re not going to wipe out industries in the process”.

Mr Taylor said “you can’t trade off prosperity and emissions reduction”.