ROME (TND) — Americans will soon be advised to eat less meat in an initiative by the United Nations to meet the constraints of the Paris Climate Accords, Bloomberg reported.
The United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) is expected to announce the guidance at the COP28 summit in December. Richer nations such as the U.S. and Australia will be asked to curb their “overconsumption” of meat. Developing nations, though, will be advised to pick up the slack in meat production to meet nutritional deficiencies.
Food systems responsible for farming livestock account for one third of all global greenhouse emissions, research shows. Rich nations are largely responsible for driving the demand in meat production, with Americans eating roughly eight times the EAT-Lancet Commission’s recommended amount of meat every year.
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Other recommendations by the FAO will aim to help farmers adapt to “erratic weather” patterns while limiting emissions in farming. Food waste and fertilizers are leading sources of emissions related to farming, the FAO says.
Livestock and fisheries represent about 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions from food production, followed by crop production at 27% and land use at 24%.
U.S. officials could find the guidance difficult to implement as the request will likely spark political debate.
“Livestock is politically sensitive, but we need to deal with sensitive issues to solve the problem,” climate advocate Dhanush Dinesh told Bloomberg. “If we don’t tackle the livestock problem, we are not going to solve climate change. The key problem is overconsumption.”
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The FAO in April released a report declaring meat, eggs and milk as an “essential source of nutrients.”
Climate change is beginning to affect Americans across the U.S. A national climate report released in November shows the country is warming 60% faster than the rest of the world.