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BOB HIRSHON (Host):
A better diet for the planet. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
Food production and consumption takes up 43% of the world’s usable land, most of our drinkable water, and is a major contributor to climate change. In the journal Science, University of Oxford researcher Joseph Poore and his colleague Thomas Nemecek looked at the environmental impacts of virtually every aspect of beef, dairy, and crop production worldwide. The detailed findings could be used to encourage more eco-friendly farming practices, and buying decisions.
JOSEPH POORE (University of Oxford):
Specifically we’re putting forward an approach where producers monitor their own impacts, flexibly decide between multiple mitigation options, and then communicate these impacts up the supply chain to through to consumers.
HIRSHON:
Poore says that reducing our consumption of animal products by fifty percent and purchasing all our food from the lowest impact providers could go a long way toward protecting the planet. I’m Bob Hirshon for AAAS, the Science Society.
Story by Bob Hirshon