21-04-2008

Meat the Truth throws Wageningen into confusion about the impact of meat and milk production

After three months of meticulous calculations, Wageningen University still cannot pick any holes in documentary Meat the Truth

Amsterdam, 21st April 2008. According to researchers at Wageningen University, Meat the Truth is the first time the relationship between livestock farming and climate has been properly explored. And with success, as it turned out today. Despite their intensive calculations, Wageningen University (WUR) has been unable to controvert the conclusions that have been drawn in the documentary. Previously Aalt Dijkhuizen, chair of the university’s board of governors, had disputed the veracity of the facts presented in the film along with Christian Democrat MP and farmer Annie Schreijer-Pierink. Now they have to swallow their words. The results of the WUR report, which was presented by Dijkhuizen today, do not detract from the conclusions from Meat the Truth in any way.

The WUR cannot deny that the claims made by the film, such as the fact that livestock farming is responsible for 18% of all global greenhouse gas emissions and that meat is an inefficient source of protein, are solid. This is perfectly logical given that these conclusions were based on research reports published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Worldwatch Institute and the Institute of Environmental Studies, Free University Amsterdam. It is striking that these research studies, which were published in 2005 and 2006, had never previously been analysed by the WUR. The film Meat the Truth appears to have finally made researchers at the university sit up and take notice. For years they have failed to adequately address global issues, such as the climate problem, global food distribution, deforestation and the loss of biodiversity, in which livestock farming plays a very great role.

It is likely that the closely woven relationship between the WUR researchers and the meat and dairy industries have played a role in this. A large proportion of the research conducted at Wageningen University and the professors are funded directly by the meat and dairy industries. Indeed, it is the only university with seven sponsored meat and milk professors. Dijkhuizen also previously worked for Nutreco, one of the biggest animal feed producers in the world, and continues to act as an adviser for large livestock and meat companies.

The tide now seems to be turning under pressure from the film. Wageningen University underlines the message of Meat the Truth, which is that attention should be devoted to the consequences of the consumption of animal protein:

• ‘In 2050 the global situation will be as such that the climate may go off the rails unless the per capita consumption of meat is restricted.’
• ‘The production of animal protein is less efficient and is at the expense of plant-based proteins, which are immediately suitable for human consumption’.

It is also noteworthy that the WUR’s report appears to be an application to get additional climate research financed. Nonetheless, the question remains whether Wageningen University will ever be able to make up for the ground they have lost in this field. The problem is partly because the WUR frequently presents itself as an extension of the conventional agricultural sector. Dijkhuizen himself, for example, has made it clear that he still wishes to develop technological solutions for the global problems surrounding the production of animal protein, which will involve even more animals ending up in factory farms. He ignores that fact that the intensification of livestock production results in significant animal suffering. Moreover, such solutions ignore the impact of these intensive systems elsewhere in the world, such as large-scale deforestation for animal feed and food shortages, which occur because 40% of the global grain harvest is fed to animals.

The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation is, however, greatly pleased by the conclusions drawn by former Wageningen University professor Louise Fresco who acknowledges the effect of reducing meat consumption. She remarks “In Wageningen we calculated that forty to fifty billion people could be fed with the amount of land that is currently used for agriculture. But they will then only get wheat and beans.”