HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL and a number of key national organisations from health, environment, social justice, animal welfare, development, faith and consumer sectors have launched a new alliance to promote the idea that eating ‘less and better’ meat is fairer, greener and healthier for people and the planet.
Eating Better for a fair, green, healthy future is made up of 25 organisations including the British Dietetic Association, Fairfood International and People and Planet and is calling for action by governments and the food industry to:
- Help people adopt diets that are better for us and the planet by eating a greater variety of plant-based foods and less meat (red, white and processed).
- Support farming that produces meat in ways that benefit the environment, health and animal welfare.
This new group has been set up as a result of increased awareness and expert opinion that links the high consumption of meat to health related problems such as heart disease as well as the green impact of cattle rearing.
Last month the UK Parliament’s International Development Committee recognised that people in Britain should move towards eating meat less often to help global food security and called for a stronger focus on pasture-fed livestock production.
Supporting the launch of Eating Better, celebrity chef and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said:
“I’ve always said we should be eating less meat, of higher quality, and the highest possible welfare standards. So I am delighted to support the Eating Better alliance which brings together leading NGOs who have done so much important work on these topics.
“As the world’s insatiable demand for cheap meat continues to ramp up, their message of reducing our overall meat consumption and committing to the highest welfare and environmental standards in the meat we do chose, is a no brainer. It’s right for our health, right for the planet and only fair to the millions of farm animals we raise for food.”
Current supporting organisations of Eating Better are:
Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC)
Behaviour Change
British Dietetic Association
Compassion in World Farming
Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH)
Fairfood International
Feeding the 5000
First Steps Nutrition Trust
Food Ethics Council
Food for Life Partnership
Forum for the Future
Friends of the Earth
Part-Time Carnivore
People & Planet
RSPB
Soil Association
Sustainable Restaurant Association
UK Health Forum
Vegetarian Society
Waste Watch
World Society for the Protection of Animals
WWF-UK
Food Climate Research Network
Sustain – the alliance for better food and farming
UK Food Group
