The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report serves as a powerful call to action. To avoid significant disruptions in the near future and ensure the well-being of future generations, transitioning from a centralized intensive farming system to a localized small-scale organic farming system is crucial.
The IPCC’s comprehensive assessment, published after eight years of meticulous work by hundreds of experts and peer-reviewed studies, represents our current understanding of the physical basis of climate change. It unequivocally attributes rapid climate changes, such as rising sea levels, melting polar ice, heatwaves, floods, and droughts, to human activity.
World leaders recognize the urgency of these stark findings and the need for immediate policy measures to shift the global economy toward a low-carbon future. This November, representatives from 197 countries will gather in Glasgow for the vital UN climate talks, known as Cop26.
Regarding agriculture, Sustain, the Alliance for Better Food and Farming, highlights the need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and intensive livestock agriculture. While some advocate for high-tech, centralized industrial farming and artificial meat made from genetically modified crops or animal cells, these systems are highly processed and fail to provide healthy diets. Instead, we should support independent “real” farmers who uphold high animal welfare standards. The Sustainable Food Trust emphasizes the importance of consuming locally produced, pasture-fed meat and reducing beef imports from countries with higher carbon footprints than the UK.
To address methane emissions, it is crucial to prevent a global increase in ruminant numbers. We should also significantly reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers, a major source of nitrous oxide emissions. Scaling back the use of grain and soy in livestock production and utilizing grazing animals to increase soil organic matter can help mitigate and adapt to climate change, enhance soil biodiversity, and rebuild essential farmland food chains.
A thought-provoking video by Local Futures highlights the stark contrast between the global food system and industrialized agriculture versus the numerous benefits of local food systems and small farms. It is truly absurd that the UK exports 270 million liters of milk daily while importing 170 million liters.
Let us heed the call to action and make sustainable choices for the future of our planet and generations to come.