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Where's the beef at Copenhagen?

Peter Henley|12:03 UK time, Wednesday, 25 November 2009

cow.jpgSo President Obama is going to Copenhagen, And whilst it's not quite "Yes we can" the "pathway" is towards much tougher targets than the US has ever considered.

Whenever we're talking about promises on the enviroment I think of another American catchphrase "Where's the beef?" It's from an old hamburger advert, another way of asking, a little sarcastically, what will this really do for us.

British MEP Edward McMillan-Scott has another snappy catchphrase he thinks could save the world: "Less meat = Less heat"

OK, OK it might take a while to catch on, but hear him out. Sir Paul McCartney will be in Brussels next week to help launch the plan which aims to cut the number of farm animals by 30 percent.

The report Health and Climate Change was published in the Lancet and states that livestock production causes more greenhouse gases - 18 percent - than all transport - 13 percent.

It's not been welcomed with open arms by the farming community, of course. Sussex MP and Conservative Environment Secretary Nick Herbert said

"Careless demands like this don't just undermine farming, they erode public support for action on climate change".

The days before Thanksgiving are the busiest of the year on American roads. Since that nation causes more pollution per head than any other that makes them some of the worst for the planet.

But if you follow the animal alternative to climate change perhaps we should be giving the car drivers a break, and cracking down on the consumption of turkeys.

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