Less meat is good for us and the planet – why are politicians shy to say so? | Felicity Lawrence

A Guardian investigation reveals exploitation is rife in the meat industry, while also being a major source of greenhouse gases. Yet we still subsidise it

The case for cutting meat consumption is so compelling that you would think politicians would be less shy about making it. Yet while campaigners warn with increasing urgency that global livestock production is accelerating climate breakdown and causing devastating damage to nature and human health, governments remain reluctant to tackle meat-eating.

Industrial livestock systems designed to extract ever greater commercial value from farmed animals have repeatedly been shown to depend on cruelty to animals and the armies of workers processing them.