Neil Parish MP to lead debate on the environmental impact of livestock farming

Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish has secured a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament to discuss the scientific models used to measure the Carbon Footprint of the beef cattle and livestock sector as well as the environmental benefits of livestock farming.

The hour and a half debate is taking place on Wednesday 26 June in Westminster Hall and follows on from a four month inquiry coordinated by Neil Parish as chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Beef & Lamb.

Specifically, the inquiry examined issues around the carbon footprint of our farming systems and the models used to measure the carbon emissions of grazing livestock.  The subsequent report concluded that more robust scientific data and a standard model to measure carbon sequestration is needed to help the beef and lamb sector meet the twin challenges of sustainable food production and reducing its environmental impact, whilst also acknowledging the positive environmental impacts that grazing livestock bring.

In his speech Neil Parish will make the points that grazing cattle and sheep are often given disproportionate blame for carbon emissions from the agriculture sector and there is not enough recognition of the role livestock farming, particularly grass-fed beef and lamb, plays in storing carbon, protecting biodiversity and utilising marginal land that cannot be used for arable crops.

He will also raise the point that there are a large number of models used to assess carbon footprint which means that there is a lack of consensus on how to measure livestock’s emissions that any debate going on at a supranational level is not based on comparable data.