BUT WHICH GOVERNMENT?

"Government says eat less meat to save planet" blares this headline, but anyone harboring hope that the government in question would be ours, doing an about-face into the land of reality and facts, should get a hint from the fact it's a Reuters story. In other words, the government in question is that of the United Kingdom.

"Eating less meat and dairy could help tackle climate change by reducing the amount of methane gas emitted by cows and sheep, a government agency says. In an email leaked to a vegetarian campaign group, Viva, an Environment Agency official expressed sympathy for the green benefits of a vegan diet, which bans all animal product foods."

The story itself is a little weird and weak, failing to address the fact that animal agriculture is not just one of the factors but the most significant factor in greenhouse gas emissions, and also involving that mysterious non-official email, but even with all those caveats, it's a lot further than we've gotten on this side of the Atlantic.