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In France, do you know your porcherie from your pigeonnier?
These traditional structures have helped small-scale farmers source protein for hundreds of years
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These plants are endangered in France and should not be picked
More than 400 plants are protected in France – but more must be done to educate the public about them
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Stray dogs to be shot after sheep attacks in southern France
But animal welfare campaigners say the dogs should be taken to shelters instead
Statistics need questions
Regarding your article “Food for vegans is subsidised by cattle farmers like me” (see August issue ).
Farming is probably one of the most subsidised industries in the EU, making the farmer’s complaint somewhat ironic.
He states that the number of cattle has decreased. However, beef consumption has increased in the same period by 40%.
This implies cattle are either slaughtered at a younger age because they gain weight more quickly, or they are slaughtered at the same age but are much heavier than in the past.
His observation that there are “a billion more cars on the road” sounds a bit high, given that the worldwide number of cars on the road only passed a billion for the first time in 2010. It must also be mentioned how much environmentally cleaner cars are today.
The US Environmental Protection Agency states that 24% of 2010 greenhouse gas emissions came from the agricultural sector and 14% from transport.
I think that probably understates the transport figure, as the manufacture of cars appears to be included in industrial emissions, not transportation.
A recent study done at the University of Oxford found that going vegan is the single biggest way for an individual to reduce one’s impact on Earth.
Brian Ross, Haute-Vienne