Britain’s countryside will be transformed by policies to combat climate change, the government’s former chief environment scientist says.
Interesting controversy arising here….
Professor Sir Ian Boyd said climate policies after Brexit will alter the landscape more than most people expect.
There will be many more trees and hedges but far fewer grazing animals as people eat less red meat, he said.
The farmers’ union, the NFU, rejected his analysis and forecast that there may be more grazing animals, not fewer.
It said the UK’s well-watered pastures are ideal for producing low-carbon livestock and exporting it to places where growing conditions are less favourable.
This is the first public eruption of a long-running conflict between Professor Boyd, the former adviser to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the body that represents Britain’s farmers.
Sir Ian thinks the NFU has wielded far too much influence over departmental policy. The NFU believes he is out of touch with the reality of farming.
The antipathy reflects deeper technical, ethical and political debates over the future of the production and consumption of animals for food.