Prince Charles is talking about climate change by advocating the consumption of meat and dairy to reduce the harmful effects on the environment. The Prince of Wales was interviewed by BBC which aired last week. He made remarks on his diet and other environmental issues that we are facing today.

A lot of concerning issues must be addressed when it comes to the dire changes happening to Earth, for instance, animal agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to climate changes. With cattle being the biggest source of emissions where with one beef consumption creates 1,984 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, not to mention nearly 16% of global freshwater is used for growing livestock. 

“I’ve always felt that we are overexploiting and damaging nature by not understanding how much we depend on everything that nature provides and somehow not understanding or being trained to believe that nature is a separate thing from us. And, that we can just exploit and control and suppress everything about it without suffering the consequences,” says Prince Charles in the interview.

Through this statement, Prince Charles added that he has been limiting his meat and fish consumption to two days in a week and he doesn’t consume dairy for one day in a week. He even added “...if more did that (reducing animal product consumption) you would reduce a lot of the pressure on the environment and everything else”

He also explained that in order to reduce the harm, it is important to note the source of animal products and the quantity of it being consumed, “So if it’s grass-based and from the right breeds, you know if it is better quality but eating less often ... that approach to farming is less damaging than the industrialized approach with intensive everything, and causing huge pressures and damage.”

More on carbon footprints, in this interview, Prince Charles was asked about his personal impacts on the environment such as the heating of the royal family’s palaces cited as an example. “The more we disrupt it the more impossible it is.” He adds there are collective pressures being made to help boost sustainability in the private sector.

He was also asked about his views on Greta Thunberg, he expressed that he shared his frustrations and he said that he’s always thinking about the next generation. He mentioned that across history nobody would address these issues upon meeting her. However, when the conversation on Extinction Rebellion comes up he notes that activism isn’t ‘helpful’ when done in ‘a way that alienates people’. “The difficulty is how do you direct that frustration in a way that is more constructive rather than destructive.”