Louise Gray

Why are COP26 delegates turning their noses up at haggis?

As if negotiating a global climate deal into the early hours was not enough, delegates at COP26 have to worry about whether the haggis, neeps and tatties they enjoyed for lunch is destroying the planet. The COP26 menu tells delegates that each serving of the traditional Scottish dish generates 3.4kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). It is

Can you have your grass-fed beef and eat it?

Grass-fed beef just came off the North London dinner party menu. A report by the Food Climate Research Network at the University of Oxford dismissed claims by Prince Charles and others that grazing animals on permanent pasture can reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The old argument was that the carbon dioxide absorbed by growing grass outweighed the

Why Brexit could be a boon for GM crops

Genetically modified crops could be grown in England following a split from the European Union. But will it be good for Britain to forge ahead with a science that many consider to be dangerous for the environment, and potentially our health? George Eustice, the agriculture minister, revealed in a written parliament answer that as part of

The government can’t be relied on to rear happy farm animals

Yesterday, the government abandoned its plans to scrap farm animal welfare codes, but if you think that means the cheap chicken you buy is ethical, you’re a bird brain. The embarrassing u-turn was made after animal rights charities pointed out that asking the industry to come up with its own guidelines wasn’t going to work. The

If you really hate wind farms, David Cameron won’t help you

The Prime Minister is planning to cap the total number of onshore wind farms in Britain. But what would limiting the number of wind farms to those in existence or already in the planning system mean? The UK already has 7.1GW worth of turbines spinning away. There are 1.8GW under construction and some 4.3GW approved

Are climate change talks getting dirty?

Warsaw – As reports flood in of devastation in the Philippines,  pressure is growing on ministers attending United Nations talks in Poland to prove that on-going climate change talks are not a waste of money. While it is impossible to blame a single event on climate change, the World Meteorological Organisation has warned that warming oceans and