Latest reports have shown that farmland in England will be reduced by more than 10% by 2050 under government plans, with less meat produced and eaten by the country’s citizens.
Steve Reed, who is the environment secretary, launched the government’s blueprint for land use change to balance the need to build infrastructure and meet nature and carbon targets on Friday. Grassland, used to rear livestock, faces the largest reduction under government plans. This means, Reed said, people will also be encouraged to eat less meat.
Reed explained: “I’ll speak to consumers about the choices that they’re taking there. We know we need to develop a food strategy. If we can give parents better information to make better informed choices, they will do that. I’m sure that there will be no mandate from government about that, but I’m sure those informed choices will then affect what farmers grow, and producers and manufacturers provide, to meet the demands as that changes.”
He added that farmland that is currently flooded most years should not be used for growing food and could potentially be put to better use if it was restored for nature.
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Reed said: “Into the future it is probably not a good idea to keep growing crops in fields like that, because your investment will get destroyed. But what a great location, perhaps, to plant more vegetation, more trees, to help reduce flooding in a nearby urban area.”
Reed added that while the government is “not going to tell farmers what to do”, “levers and incentives” will be used to ensure land is used in the most efficient way.
Government officials have produced maps of England showing where there is the most potential for different types of nature restoration, and where it is best to farm. Farmland will be used more intensively under the guidelines, producing more food in less space. Some areas have been highlighted that need to be protected, such as rare peatland and places with high potential for woodland to be grown.
Some arable land will be lost under the plans, as large areas next to rivers will have to be kept free for the government to meet its river cleanliness targets, for example with trees planted to soak up nutrient pollution in the waters.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
