Zero will not shut down Norwegian meat production

Environmental foundation Zero is criticized for its meat policy by ABC Nyheter’s Thomas Vermes. But contrary to what he and other media reports may give the impression, Zero does not want to shut down Norwegian meat production. However, we want meat consumption to be in line with the new dietary guidelines, which say we should eat a maximum of 350 grams of red meat per week.

It is no more radical than that both the Directorate of Health and the Directorate of the Environment recommend the same thing.

Vermes writes that Zero believes Norwegian farmers should cut off the supply so that we eat less meat. It’s wrong. We must first of all change consumers’ habits in order to reduce meat consumption. It is needed. Every Norwegian eats on average the same amount of meat now as we did in the last 20 years.

To reduce meat consumption, we suggest several things in the Zero Report 2024:

Ban the shops from selling red meat at a loss. Such a ban already exists for alcohol. It prevents meat products from being used as bait, where prices are dumped in campaigns to attract customers.

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Introduce graduated VAT or tax on red meat, while reducing VAT or tax by the same amount for fruit and vegetables. The latter is important to ensure that everyone can afford healthy and nutritious food. Both the Directorate of Health and the World Health Organization have recommended such a healthy tax exchange.

Introduce a labeling scheme that makes it easier for consumers to make healthy and sustainable choices.

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Shut down the Egg and Meat Information Office, which promotes a diet that is not in line with the dietary guidelines.

Should change to plant-based

In order to prepare Norwegian agriculture for the future and the zero-emission society, farmers must receive support to change their operation from meat and milk production to plant-based production through the agricultural agreement. Because plant-based food will always be better for the climate than red meat, no matter how the meat is produced.

In order to reach the Storting’s goal of being 50 per cent self-sufficient, there is also room to increase the production of chicken and fish – both of which have lower greenhouse gas emissions than red meat. At the same time, improvements are needed for animal welfare, local environmental impact and feed composition for this operation.

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It takes time to change habits. We do not think it is possible to get the entire population to eat in line with the dietary guidelines already in 2030, but in order to solve our environmental and climate problems, it is absolutely essential to change the current food system. This applies in Norway, and to an even greater extent globally.

Zero suggests ending the tax-free scheme or reducing the quotas for meat.

Livestock make up 62 percent of all mammals

Meat and milk production is estimated to account for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but also has other major sustainability challenges.

Today, wild animals make up only 4 per cent of the total biomass of mammals on earth, while domestic animals make up 62 per cent. Meat production and the production of animal feed occupy large areas, which reinforces the ongoing nature crisis and leads to greenhouse gas emissions through deforestation.

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If the world’s diet had been more plant-based, we would have needed less land for agriculture than we do today. There are areas that can return to nature, increase biodiversity and CO2₂ – uptake in forests, and thus significantly cut greenhouse gases, according to the UN climate panel.

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Measures are needed to slow down imports

Vermes points to an important challenge with the import of meat. It is of course unfortunate if Norwegian meat production is replaced by imports without consumption falling. Both consumption, import and production of meat must fall from the current level.

Zero suggests ending the tax-free scheme or reducing the quotas for meat, so that fewer Norwegians buy meat abroad. More people will then choose Norwegian meat when they shop, but that will not prevent commercial players from importing meat, as Vermes points out.

To remedy this, the Norwegian Environment Agency proposes that customs protection for beef and pork be strengthened, for example through a transition to percentage duty.

Zero proposes to set requirements in public procurement to reduce the purchase of red meat for public canteens, schools and institutions. Stricter environmental and climate requirements will probably also contribute to the fact that the meat that is actually bought by the public sector will come from Norwegian producers.

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Collectively, these measures can help to reduce the import of meat as meat consumption falls.

Much to go on in import cuts

Vermes nonetheless paints an unvarnished picture of how much meat Norway must import. Figures from the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture show that the amount of imported meat varies greatly from year to year.

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In 2023, the demand for meat was lower than expected due to the increase in prices. This resulted in less need for imports, because Norway produced enough to meet much of the demand. From 2022 to 2023, imports of cattle, pigs, chicken and sheep/lamb thus fell by as much as 46 per cent – from 22,900 tonnes to 12,300 tonnes.

Zero is not in favor of import bans for commercial actors or anything else that would be in conflict with concluded trade agreements. If global food production changes in the future, it may be relevant to renegotiate some of the agreements Norway is bound by, where meat imports are particularly looked at. When imports of the four largest types of meat can fall by as much as 10,600 tonnes from one year to the next, it shows that we have a lot to do within the current framework.

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How much we import is closely related to how much meat we eat. If we eat less meat, imports will decrease, especially if we combine measures to reduce meat consumption with measures to reduce imports.

Norway still needs farmers who engage in meat and milk production in a sustainable way, with good animal welfare, Norwegian-produced feed, and a large element of grass grazing. And the agricultural policy is also about development throughout the country and the preservation of cultural landscapes. But it is indisputable that a lower consumption of red meat is the best for the climate, both in Norway and globally.

(Voices is ABC Nyheter’s debate section. Regular and occasional contributors write here about topical news topics. We also have a collaboration with the political online newspaper Altinget.no. If you are burning with an opinion or analysis, you can send the text to [email protected], then we will evaluate it).