Farmers For Action says biofuels, not diet cuts, must lead net zero drive

Farmers For Action has accused the government of “missing the real target” on net zero, warning that ministers are focusing on diets while failing to back biofuels as a major alternative to fossil fuels.

The campaign group’s Northern Ireland steering committee said farming families across the UK were “outraged” by what it described as the government’s willingness to access Russian oil while calling for reductions in meat, milk and egg consumption.

It accused Westminster of failing to confront what it called a biofuel “cover-up scandal”, arguing that renewable fuels could play a major role in cutting fossil fuel use in aviation, petrol and diesel engines.

Rather than targeting livestock products as part of the net zero debate, FFA said the priority should be a major reduction in fossil fuel dependency.

The organisation criticised what it called Ed Miliband’s “ridiculous claim” that milk, eggs and meat should be cut from “the healthiest part of our diet”.

It also warned that food security was already being affected by extreme weather, with concerns over El Niño and a warmer-than-usual Pacific potentially adding further pressure to global food supplies in 2026.

William Taylor, of Farmers For Action, said politicians had to stop “following the money” and listening to major oil, grain and oilseed corporations.

He urged governments to expand the use of biofuels in aviation and combustion engines, with the aim of reducing fossil fuel use by 75% by 2035.

Mr Taylor argued that this was achievable with existing technology, citing Brazil’s use of ethanol in petrol cars since the 1970s.

He said: “The time has come to change the world order of politicians following the money and listening to the world’s corporate oil giants and the world’s corporate grain and oil seed trader giants.”

Failure to act, he added, would mean politicians were putting “wealth in front of their children and grandchildrens future”.

FFA wants greater public and media attention on biofuels, urging the press to “set this alight” and highlight what it sees as a missed opportunity to cut fossil fuel use.

Its proposals include moving aviation towards biofuel, including fuel produced from sugar. The group argued this would not raise food prices because sugar was “not a necessary food additive”.

Global aviation fuel use, according to FFA, has been estimated at 295 million tonnes per year, compared with human sugar use of around 175 million tonnes.

Switching sugar use towards aviation fuel, alongside increased production, could have a major impact on global temperatures, the group claimed, citing reductions in aviation activity seen after 9/11 and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

FFA also called for renewed biofuel production capacity after claiming a recent plant had been closed for “no good reason other than Government greed”.

The group wants the UK to put at least 75% biofuel into all diesel and petrol engines by 2035.

It believes the biofuel industry lost momentum around 2009 because major grain and oilseed traders feared losing control over farmgate prices.

Those companies, according to FFA, warned governments that biofuels would push up food prices — a claim the group described as “a total mistruth”.

The organisation said this had left farmers exposed to wider pressure over food pricing, with supermarkets competing with one another before pushing costs back down the supply chain.

Farmers in the UK, Europe and around the world are capable of producing both food and fuel, FFA argued, but only if they are paid fairly through farmgate prices based on the true cost of production, linked to inflation and including a margin.

The group also criticised the use of productive farmland for trees and solar panels, claiming grassland sequesters more CO2 than trees and that there are already enough roofs available for solar generation.

FFA said its central demand is for all flights, petrol engines and diesel engines to run on biofuel by 2035.

The organisation claimed this would cut fossil fuel use by 75%, with North Sea production supplying the remaining 25% for the UK.

It said all other net zero measures should be treated as secondary to cutting fossil fuel use through biofuels.

The government has been contacted for comment.