Drastically cut SA meat production to aid low-carbon economy

An animal welfare organisation has proposed that SA reduce its animal protein consumption and production 50% by 2040.

This is in line with the proposed Climate Change Bill, which was open for public comment until Friday last week.

The draft legislation is aimed at changes proposed by the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment during the “Just Transition” to a low-carbon economy, which was tabled before parliament in February. 

But animal rights organisation Four Paws raised concerns in its submission that the proposed bill did not strike a balance between sustainable agriculture and sustainable development “as well as the role of adaptation to achieve such a sustainable agriculture sector, sectoral emission targets and carbon budgets”.

Fiona Miles, director of Four Paws, said in her submission to parliament that the emergence of risks such as changes in rain patterns as well as higher temperatures calls for urgent climate change-focused action “to ensure the resilience of a truly sustainable SA agricultural sector”.

She said SA is increasingly moving away from a free-ranging livestock sector and making use of processed meat.

“Which means more and more use of concentrated animal feeding operations.”

Miles said such intensive farming has many environmental risks, including increasing greenhouse gas emissions, a high increase in water consumption and land resource use.  

She believes the proposed bill “at present is not taking this into consideration”. 

Four Paws has recommended a reduction in livestock numbers.

“Worldwide, more than 77% of agricultural land is used to raise and feed farm animals and animal agriculture is one of the main drivers for the destruction of important areas of biodiversity, which unleashes new pathogens that could cause the next pandemic.”

Processed feed, Miles said, was not what is best suited for the animals.   

She said carbon budgets for livestock operations should not be skewed by carbon offsets. For carbon budgets to have a real effect in climate mitigation, they must rely on robust and scientifically-proven accounting systems.  

“The solution is promoting sustainable farming practices through the proposed bill while removing financial and non-financial incentives that support high-carbon and otherwise environmentally harmful agricultural practices.”

Miles believes that by diverting subsidies and other incentives from intensive farming and towards “sustainable agriculture, diverse and resilient food chains, and small  and medium enterprises, government can ensure with this bill a growing population has access to healthy diets within planetary boundaries” .

“We urge government to ensure the proposed legislation as well as possible amendments according to submissions of stakeholders form a comprehensive legal framework to kick-start and complete the Just Transition to a low-carbon future,” she said. 

The parliamentary committee on forestry, fisheries and the environment will consider the submissions and recommendations to amend the proposed Climate Change Bill and make recommendations to the National Assembly to take the legislative process forward. 

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