“WE must change our diet. The planet can’t support billions of meat eaters.”

These are the words of Sir David Attenborough in his documentary ‘A Life on Earth’.

He is far from the first to warn us of the serious impact the intensive animal agriculture industry has on our planet.

In 2019, the Government advisory Committee on Climate Change recommended that in order to meet our target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, we must cut our intake of beef, lamb and dairy by 20%.

Experts agree, we don’t have to stop eating meat, but we do need to eat a lot less of it.

Fortunately, this goes hand in hand with a healthy diet - if we replace some of the meat in our diet with plant-based proteins we will benefit from more fibre, vitamins and minerals.

How about we get excited about adding new foods to our diet and cooking in new ways?

So much information is available online about plant-based eating - it couldn’t be easier. For example, as an alternative to dairy, Milk and More now deliver delicious, creamy, fresh Oat milk, 100% British, in the traditional glass bottles.

By normalising plant-based and vegetarian foods in this way, we can help the next generation learn to eat more healthily and sustainably, to safeguard their future on this planet.

With the issue of food poverty becoming more serious, school lunches are the main meal of the day for many children, therefore it is essential that they are as nourishing and nutritious as possible.

Providing more plant-based meals is, perhaps, one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways of improving children’s health and reducing our impact on the planet.

Feed Our Future is a campaign to include healthy plant-based food in Somerset’s schools.

You can read more and sign a petition to show you support this campaign at www.change.org/SomersetFeedOurFuture.

by CATHERINE CANNON