Brit official backs meat reduction report

LONDON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A British Cabinet minister has put his support behind a report by scientists calling for people to eat less meat to curb climate change.

Hilary Benn, a vegetarian and minister for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, put his support behind a paper by British and Australian scientists calling for people to reduce their meat intake by one sausage a day to reduce the number of farm animals bred for meat by 30 percent, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

The report, published in medical journal Lancet, said the reduction would help combat rising temperatures and sea levels.

"There are lots of ways people can cut their carbon footprint and impact on the environment -- and reducing the amount of meat in our diets is one option," the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said. However, the department did not endorse the 30 percent figure.