Gove losing the plot
Gove said improving our national diet is an important job for our farmers, he said: “A balanced diet, rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, beans, pulses and cereals, fresh dairy produce and protein sources such as fresh fish, offal and properly sourced meat is critical to human health and flourishing.”
Gove is clearly completely out of touch with what constitutes a healthy diet. Cow’s milk and dairy foods are linked to a huge number of illnesses and diseases including teenage acne, allergies, arthritis, some cancers, colic, constipation, coronary heart disease, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, dementia, ear infection, food poisoning, gallstones, kidney disease, migraine, autoimmune conditions, including multiple sclerosis, overweight, obesity and osteoporosis. Read more about the detrimental health effects of dairy here. In 2015, The World Health Organisation published an extensive review of the impact of processed and red meat on health. They concluded that processed meats (bacon, ham and sausages) do cause cancer and red meat (beef, pork and lamb) probably does to.
The Guardian asked Gove if the government might consider suggesting that people reduce their meat consumption, he replied; “For health reasons there’s an appropriate level of meat in anyone’s diet which doctors and nutritionists would advise us to consume”.
Almost 30 doctors have signed an open letter to Gove following his claims; Dr Shireen Kassam stated in Plant Based News: “The ‘Western’ diet, high in animal and processed foods, is the leading cause of illness and death contributing to high rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and hypertension.”
“We know from many scientific studies that the longest lived, healthiest populations are those eating a predominantly plant-based diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.”
In 2016, Public Health England’s new dietary advice recommended people halve their dairy intake and eat less meat, replacing it with beans and pulses. Does Gove even know what his own government’s public health policy is?
Gove is also revealing his ignorance of the devastating effect livestock farming is having on the environment. Professor Peter Scarborough of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food said in the UK, a 50 per cent reduction in meat and dairy consumption (replacing them with fruit, vegetables, pulses and wholegrain foods), could result in a 19 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and prevent over 43,000 deaths a year. Going vegan, Scarborough told Viva!, would cut emissions by half!
Researchers from the University of Cambridge, writing in the journal Nature Climate Change say that changing the way we farm animals will not be enough, a decrease in agriculture-related emissions can only be achieved by a reduction in demand for animal foods.
Encouraging people to eat meat and dairy foods is short-sighted and irresponsible.
Find out why meat and dairy are so harmful and why a vegan diet is best in our fully-referenced reports here.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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