IT'S not a good time to be a meat lover. As the horsemeat scandal spreads across Europe, a new report blames livestock for farms' excessive fertiliser use.
Last week, Europol, the pan-European police force, announced it would investigate how cheap horsemeat came to be added to "beef" products, and UK police arrested three individuals on suspicion of food fraud.
Against this backdrop, the UN Environment Programme revealed that 80 per cent of the fertiliser used in farming globally is for meat production – mainly to fertilise pastures and fodder crops. As over half the fertiliser put on fields isn't absorbed by crops, the resulting pollution is killing rivers, causing dead zones in the oceans, encouraging alien species and adding to acid rain and climate change.
Lead author Mark Sutton of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Edinburgh calls for fertiliser to be used 20 per cent more efficiently by 2020 – and for us all to eat less meat.
There was some good news for carnivores, however. The UK Food Standards Agency announced on 15 February that just 29 of 2501 meat products tested contained horse DNA.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Let them eat veg?"
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Fertiliser makes another reason to eat less meat
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Fertiliser makes another reason to eat less meat
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Fertiliser makes another reason to eat less meat
