Podcast for Inquiry S04E09: A little less livestock, a lot more action - with Mark Lynas

Mark Lynas is the author of several environmental books, including Seeds of Science (2018), Our Final Warning (2020), and the forthcoming Six Minutes to Winter. Until 2024 he was research and climate lead with the Alliance for Science at the Boyce Thompson Institute, an affiliate of Cornell University. Mark is now the policy lead with the pro-science environmental campaign network WePlanet, launched in 2021 and now active in 18 countries. 

Our conversation starts with a recognition of the dire emergency presented by climate change, and that human food production is a significant contributor to humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions. Three changes can greatly reduce the environment impact of feeding ourselves: 

1. Reduce or eliminate human consumption of beef and lamb (See https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture)
2. Remove legal and regulatory barriers to genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
3. Remove legal and regulatory barriers to precision fermentation 

Mark believes a brighter future is possible if we allow our policy decisions to be guided by the best scientific knowledge and insight we have available.

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