Farmers and meat companies across Britain reacted with a mixture of anger and exasperation yesterday after one of the world’s leading climate change campaigners urged people to become vegetarian to help to fight global warming.

The offensive by Lord Stern of Brentford in The Times was especially timely as about 100 leading meat and farm industry figures sat down to breakfast in the elegant Cholmondeley Room in the House of Lords to celebrate champions in the pig industry.

The occasion was also an opportunity to show the vegetarian Farming Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, the efforts being made to reduce the carbon footprint of livestock farms.

Serving the right bacon and sausage was therefore important, and industry leaders chose Bedfordia Farms, which is pioneering technology in farming. The group pumps slurry from pig units to an anaerobic digestion plant, where it is combined with other waste from the food chain to produce renewable energy and bio-fertiliser. These type of plants are increasingly being seen as one of the ways to help British farming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Times Archive, 1851: Meeting of the Vegetarian Society

Her Majesty's health was drunk with loud acclamations in iced water, milk and tea

• Letter: Vegetarianism, 1879

• Vegetarianism at the Health Exhibition, 1884

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It was the lack of acknowledgement about what the industry is doing to help to fight climate change that made senior farming leaders so outraged by the comment by Lord Stern. The reaction in Whitehall, however, was muted. The remarks were a personal view from Lord Stern, who is an economist, one senior insider said.

It was left to Professor Robert Watson, chief scientific adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to set the record straight and make clear that stopping people eating meat was not on the government agenda. The professor, who eats meat, fish and cheese but admits that he consumes more fruit and vegetables these days, made clear that eating a balanced diet that was good for health and the environment was the key. However, he did not flinch from Lord Stern’s view that the nation had to reduce its carbon emissions.

“There’s no question we need to reduce greeenhouse gas emissions, not only the way we produce energy and use energy, but also from avoiding deforestation and our agricultural sector. Livestock globally could account for as much as 18 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions.

“When you look at the livestock industry, it’s not just the cows burping methane, it’s transporting the meat, it’s cooking the meat, it’s storing the meat. It’s not stopping eating meat. It’s how do we get a balanced diet that reduces the environmental footprint.”

Work is already under way to tackle emissions from livestock. Defra has a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 11 per cent in 2020. Duncan Fuller, head of research and development at the English Beef and Lamb Executive, said new feeding regimes were being investigated.

“The better the feed, the more digestible it is, then the lower the methane as a by-product,” he said.

Experiments on mixing rye grass with clover were showing this could work. He said: “Farmers will be able to reseed on their existing pastures with the right varieties of grass that can cut greenhouse gases.”

Selective breeding from animals with the most efficient feed systems that reduce methane emissions was also a subject of research.

“I am optimistic that with the state of knowledge we have now, we will be able to meet the low carbon transmission plan of 11 per cent reduction by 2020. The biggest task, however, is how to influence 80,000 livestock producers in the UK they have to change their behaviour,” Mr Fuller said. Tending his 220 cattle and 1,300 sheep on the west coast in Cumbria, Alastair Mackintosh, the livestock board chairman for the National Farmers’ Union, was besieged with calls and e-mails from members who were incensed and worried about their future.

He said: “A week doesn’t go by without an attack on the livestock sector. Agriculture and farming are part of the solution to climate change, it’s not the problem. We have a challenge going forward, but we are up to it. One area of work is whether we can trap methane and reuse it. If the technology is there we need to do it.”

The Soil Association; Compassion in World Farming; the food and farming campaign group, Sustain; and VIVA, vegetarian campaigners, were united that everyone should have one or two meat-free days a week.

The word on meat

“Eating a vegetarian diet is a lot cheaper than a meat one. Let’s face it — the most expensive foods on the average families shopping lists are meat and dairy” — Jonte Jay

“Thanks for the good and scientific article. More people should be vegan. I hope all people take \ up soon, before it’s too late” — Sean Lee

“Those who refuse to give up meat are contributing significantly to the destruction of the planet” — Peter Radcliffe

“If we quit breeding large herds of animals for meat, population goes down, less animals producing less methane gas. Unfortunately, there will still be Lords and politicians producing more than their fair share of gas . . .” — Dbrent Willis

“Tell me I’m having a bad dream and not living in such a ridiculous country” — Nicholas Fox

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