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Pete spoke on managing the demand for food in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
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He demonstrated that despite policies and global agreements, greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing and that agriculture, forestry and other land-use accounts for about a quarter of these. 
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Over the past decade, agricultural emissions have increased but emissions intensity has decreased, primarily as Pete states because &#8220;we are getting better at doing agriculture&#8221;. However, the data shows clearly that there are big differences in the greenhouse gas intensities related to the production of different foods. The emissions from the production of meat, and growing vegetables out of season in glasshouses, are significantly higher than those from producing pulses for example. 
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Considering the demand side of the equation, and modelling what would happen to total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions if there were significant dietary changes, is a growing area of research with a number of recent high profile papers. These all indicate that fewer animal products in global diets would allow everyone to be fed, and leave more land available for energy and nature conservation. 
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Pete indicated that current practices need reform and relying exclusively on sustainable intensification will still not reduce greenhouse gases to the extent required. It will not be easy to encourage demand side changes for a whole raft of reasons, but it is something which is becoming a more mainstream issue. It&#8217;s important to remember that social norms have changed significantly in living memory and that they can change again. It is possible that New Zealand has an opportunity to provide high-quality, grass fed meat to fill a niche for a future society which eats meat as a more occasional, luxury, high premium treat.
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Pete&#39;s presentation gave much food for thought...
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<a href="user/file/854/06_Smith_1150.pdf" target="_blank" title="http://www.nzagrc.org.nz/user/file/854/06_Smith_11... - link will open in a new window">Download presentation</a>&#160;
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