The spread of veganism will not solve climate problems linked to the farming sector and could even harm the environment, scientists have warned.
Agricultural experts from Edinburgh University and Scotland’s Rural College said that environmental campaigners had “demonised” the industry.
If the planet went meat-free, it would lose the biodiversity essential to sustaining a healthy ecosystem, they said. Veganism would not improve land use and millions of farmers who depended on their livestock would suffer.
Geoff Simm, director of the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security at the university, said: “Animals are eating by-products and grazing grassland, so if everyone went vegan those natural resources would essentially be wasted.”
The professor said that unsubstantiated claims about removing meat from diets were giving the farming