Video: How can we eat without cooking the planet?

Professor Susan Jebb , Oxford’s diet and population health expert maintains, “We cannot meet Net Zero targets without changing our diet.”

Talking in the latest of 10 videos from leading Oxford experts in the run up to the COP26 climate conference, Professor Jebb points out that agriculture accounts for more CO₂ emissions than transportation, and she says “It is the single biggest cause of harm to nature.”

We need governments to make some structural changes in the food system, says Professor Jebb, but, meanwhile, we can all make a start by doing three things:

• Avoid eating too much
• Cut down on waste
• Reduce consumption of meat and dairy

She says, some people have given up meat altogether but, Professor Jebb maintains, “Although animals produce emissions, they are an important part of our agriculture eco-systems and provide important nutrients.”

But we need to reduce the global demand for meat, so countries that currently eat a lot of meat need to cut down. That would be good for health and the environment.

“Eating less meat will be a win for people and the planet,” she says.