The Big Meat

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Read Jamie's beef Wellington recipe to find out more about how to create this dish. Delia Smith's roast beef recipes

E. Gooch, R. Hoskin and J. Law, “China Dairy Supply and Demand,” USDA, December 2017. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/86231/ldpm-282-01.pdf?v=43084 We are not going to achieve these radical transformations of our food system without a fight with the big meat and dairy companies. These are powerful actors with deep political connections, working hand in hand with governments to protect their interests (see Box 4). Breaking their grip will require a big, collective movement of farmers, workers and consumers. This is a movement that has been building for some time but has struggled to overcome the political power of the corporations. Climate change brings a new urgency to our organising efforts. Endnotes European Commission, 2017. “Overview Report: Welfare of Cattle on Dairy Farms,” 2017 . http://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/overview_reports/act_getPDF.cfm?PDF_ID=1139 Most other meat-producers lobby the EU via trade bodies such as Beef and Lamb New Zealand, the Dutch Meat Association, or the Danish Bacon and Meat Council.Throughout summer we’ll sell thousands of them and it’s what we’re most renowned for as well as our Christmas hampers. It’s funny coming into the business because there are people who have been loyal customers since we started. They all ask about my dad and how he is and now their kids are using us.” Read More Related Articles An emissions intensity approach also provides a justification for exports. If New Zealand is a lower—intensity producer of milk than China, the reasoning goes, then the climate will benefit by having China import from New Zealand rather than producing its own milk. This argument could be adduced to claim that Chinese trade barriers or national emissions reduction schemes unfairly penalise New Zealand dairy producers. 49 Roughly speaking, it should be about 15-20 minutes per 500g for rare beef, 20-25 minutes for medium-rare and 25-30 for well done. Delia's recipe also uses a mushroom pâté to encase the beef, but uses nutmeg instead of garlic and rosemary.

Danone sources most of its milk from farms where dairy cattle are already moderately productive (approx. 4,000 kg of milk per cow per year). Further opportunities for emissions intensity reductions are limited once cows are moderately productive. The rib joint recipe involves adding onions to the roasting tin to help flavour the meat juices so they can be used for the gravy. This recipe also includes details on how to make your own horseradish to go alongside it. Delia Smith recommends going for a sirloin cut if it's a very special occasion – such as Christmas dinner – and rib if it's a Sunday roast. Most chefs, such as Delia and Nigella Lawson, agree that beef still on the bone is more tasty. Yes, you can cook beef in a slow cooker. You might want to consider using less expensive meat, such as brisket, as this is less tender, but should be made so by the slow-roasting process. Both suggest layering the fat with English mustard powder and plain flour to make it nice and crunchy.

No accountability, few targets, even fewer details

See S.J. Gerssen—Gondelach et al., “Intensification pathways for beef and dairy cattle production systems: Impacts on GHG emissions, land occupation and land use change.” Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, vol. 240. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.02.012. Scope 3 captures the lion’s share of emissions from a given company or food product in the meat and dairy sector. It is critical to include all Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions if one is to meaningfully answer a question such as “what quantity of GHGs does Cargill emit into the atmosphere from its meat production processes?” Unfortunately, most companies report only narrow assessments of Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Marco Contiero: 'It's not about losing something we love. That's really not the point. It's about reducing the quantity and improving the quality of meat in European diets' (Photo: Greenpeace)

JBS, “JBS Day Transcription — 2013 and 4Q13 results,” 25 March 2014. https://docslide.com.br/documents/jbs—day—transcription—2013—and—4q13—results.html A recent study of the Dutch dairy sector is also indicative. It not only shows that the emissions per kilogram of milk decreased from 1990—2011 but have since gone up but also that the Dutch dairy industry underestimated its baseline emissions per kilogram of milk by 19%. See A.G. Dolfing, “Scenarios for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the Dutch dairy sector,” MSc thesis, Utrecht University, July 2017. https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/352967 Danone’s proposed climate emissions trajectory from 2015–2050 would see the company increase its output (as implied in the upward—trending “do nothing” line in Figure 10). If this line is an indication, Danone’s production would increase by as much as 70 percent between 2015 and 2030, with similar growth likely between 2030 and 2050. So how can Danone possibly achieve net zero emissions? It's not about losing something we love. That's really not the point. It's about reducing the quantity and improving the quality of meat in European diets," he said. In Brazil, the Minister of Agriculture, Blairo Maggi, is one of the country’s largest producers of animal feed crops, with a personal business interest in expanding Brazil’s meat and dairy industry. Last year, he publicly warned the FAO not to recommend reductions in meat consumption because of climate change. 55 Furthermore, the influence of JBS and its CEOs over the previous two governments and the current Temer government is now well—documented, along with the massive corruption that has resulted. 56

So how do we get out of this?

And there are other accountability problems, starting with Danone’s action plan. If Danone were to take direct responsibility for zero net emissions by 2050, it would have to begin with a business plan that included cutting its output. But Danone plans to increase production. Rather than taking direct action itself, Danone’s plan apparently assigns the financial burden and investment risks associated with the needed reductions to its farmer suppliers. These farmers will be expected to reduce their emissions per litre of milk, thus reducing emissions intensity, while their absolute emissions will increase if they continue to produce more milk from more animals. Danone’s only other commitment to reaching net zero emissions appears to be an allotment for questionable offset programmes ( more on Danone in Box 3). No Specifics And Europe's rightwing populists are even more carnivorous, pushing an ideology that bakes meat-eating into the same pie of identity politics that also contains nationalism, xenophobia, and homophobia. Woke culture wars