Transform UK’s food system, says WWF

Swathes of the UK’s agricultural land are used to grow cereal crops to feed farm animals instead of people in an “inherently inefficient” process, wildlife charity WWF said recently, calling for transformation of the country’s food system.

A report from WWF said 40 percent of productive arable land in the UK – some two million hectares – was being used to grow wheat and barley to feed farm animals. Half the country’s wheat harvest goes to feeding livestock, mostly chickens and pigs, and would be enough to produce nearly 11 billion loaves of bread, it said.

In addition, the UK imports large quantities of soy to feed pigs and poultry, relying on 850,000 hectares of land abroad to grow the crops.

Dairy, egg and meat products provide only a third of the calories consumed in the UK and just under half the population’s intake of protein, despite livestock, grazing land and crops for animal feed taking up 85 percent of the UK’s farmland, WWF said.

The report recommends replacing animal feeds such as soy and cereal with alternatives including food waste and innovative ingredients such as insects could free up land to grow food for people, which is more efficient, and create space for nature.

WWF also said that in the UK, people currently consume more calories, protein and animal source foods than recommended, and experts say more than half of our protein should come from plant-based sources.

The report recommends a focus on “less but better” meat that supports production which values nature, animal welfare and farmer livelihoods, and highlights the need to look at all the environmental impacts of different livestock, not just carbon emissions.