Paris (AFP)

It is not a question of becoming necessarily vegetarian but of changing our consumption habits taking into account the specificities of each country: the report of Giec, made public Thursday, formulates tracks on food to fight against global warming.

- What does the Giec say about diets?

He emphasizes that changing consumption and food production habits is one of the levers to act against global warming.

"Some diets require more soil and water and produce more emissions than others," said Jim Skea, one of his co-chairs, summarizing the report.

This point is addressed by a sentence in the text in particular: "Balanced diets based on plant-based foods, such as those based on coarse grains (other than the main ones such as rice or wheat, Ed), legumes , fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and foods of animal origin produced in resilient, sustainable, low-greenhouse gas systems, offer significant opportunities. "

The formulation of this convoluted sentence has evolved over the different versions written in recent months and consulted by AFP. Sign that each word is weighed at the trebuchet and that the final version is the result of a political consensus, after examination of the text by the States.

- Does Giec recommend a particular diet?

No, because that's not his role. This group of scientists, under the auspices of the UN, is responsible for guiding state decisions on climate.

"The Giec does not make a recommendation on diets," said Skea. "What we have pointed out, based on scientific evidence, is that some diets have a lower carbon footprint."

Giec therefore does not advocate switching to a vegetarian diet (without meat or fish) and even less vegan (without any animal protein), contrary to what the media claimed before the report.

This claim was based on a truncated quotation from the text, omitting the passage on "foods of animal origin produced in resilient, sustainable and low greenhouse gas systems".

- Meat, central question?

Previous scientific work has unambiguously concluded that meat production, through intensive livestock farming, has more environmental impacts than other food products.

"It is obvious that reducing the demand for meat is an important way to reduce the environmental impact of the food system," said a British specialist, Professor Alan Dangour, on Thursday, reacting to a study concomitant to the IPCC report.

However, the Giec is careful not to write in black and white that the consumption of meat must be reduced.

In the same way, the report of the UN Expert Group on Biodiversity (IPBES), published in early May, did not directly call for eating less meat. The wording had been weakened from the draft, a likely sign of hostility from some meat-producing countries.

- What diet for the future?

By mentioning diets that focus on cereals, vegetables or nuts, the IPCC is a continuation of several recent recommendations.

In January, a report co-published by the medical journal The Lancet and the NGO Foundation EAT advocated a "radical transformation": halving world consumption of red meat and sugar and doubling that of fruits, vegetables and nuts .

According to these specialists, the ideal daily diet would be 300 grams of vegetables, 200 of fruits, 200 of whole grains, 250 of whole milk, but only ... 14 grams of red meat, ten times less than a classic steak. Proteins could also come from poultry, fish, eggs or nuts.

- How to adapt to each country?

A change in eating habits will not be uniform everywhere.

For example, the supply of animal protein is sometimes insufficient in poor countries, but too important in the rich countries of Europe and America. And beyond the standard of living, eating habits are not the same in Japan as in France.

"Food choices are influenced by local production practices and cultural habits," said Skea.

This parameter was taken into account in the Lancet's report. Rather than defining a single diet, he set "ranges of ingestions recommended by food groups" for a total daily intake of 2,500 calories, to be adapted locally according to "culture, geography and demography".

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