A document was launched at COP 28 and sets out 20 key targets in 10 domains, focussing on global level changes. They then stated that this would be followed at COP29 with intricate details at the regional level. Detailed Country –Level Action Plans would be set out during COP30. Some of these actions include:
1. Reducing livestock emissions by 3% annually. And cutting methane emissions from livestock by 25% by 2030 but intensifying livestock production.
2. Managing 100% fisheries sustainably by 2030
3. Improving efficiency in crops. Increase legume production and multi-cropping and reducing fertiliser overuse.
4. Policies to make diets healthier, including legislation restricting harmful food advertisements to children.
It also sets out goals to change the livestock population to match nutritional needs and environmental opportunities and constraints, with a regionalized approach proposed. It was stated that in the UK the population eats nearly ten times as much red meat and more than twice as much chicken and dairy as is recommended for a planetary health diet.
Ruth Westcott, climate and nature emergency coordinator at Sustain1 said: “Producing and eating even moderately less meat and more locally produced legumes and vegetables in richer countries would mean freeing up land and could get us comfortably to these emissions reductions targets.”
So the general plan proposes that wealthy countries should cut their high consumption of animal source foods to enable developing nations to increase theirs without damaging the climate and nature.
Emile Frison2, a conservation and biodiversity expert, had this to say: “These efficiency first proposals are unlikely to be enough to get us off the high pollution, high fossil fuel, high hunger track we are on.”
However, users on multiple social media platforms claim the World Bank has directed Western nations to abolish farming completely in order to achieve net zero emissions by the year 2050. The posts say the evidence for this claim comes from a memo from the World Bank. However, the word memo links to a recent World Bank report titled “Recipe for a Livable planet - Achieving Net Zero Emissions in the Agrifood System.”3This document points out that livestock farming is the largest single source of greenhouse gas and methane emissions in the agrifood system. It warns that the world cannot achieve the Paris Agreement emission targets without significantly reducing agri-food.
The World Bank report suggests promoting low emission food such as fruits and vegetables over high emission options such as beef and dairy, adopting sustainable land use practices, and using low emission energy sources and cleaner production processes to reach net zero in the sector by 2050.
The World Bank says it has never advocated for or asked any nation to abolish farming.
As a result, from COP 28,4 environmental ministers and ambassadors from 13 countries have signed a commitment that pledges to reduce methane emissions in agriculture. The 13 countries are: The Uhited States (John Kerry signing for the Biden administration), Argentina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Panama, Peru, Chile, and Spain. By now over a hundred countries have signed.
The World Bank issued a paper in July 2023, entitled Food Security Update, World Bank Response to Rising Food Security. Further reports were issued in March 2025, May 2025, June 2026.
The Director of the UN World Food Program has also been putting out dire warming about a coming global famine. So the UN/ World Bank is talking about converting to a new unproven form of “sustainable” farming that seems to be focused more on reducing methane than it is on producing the highest yields of food. Marcello Mena, CEO of Global Methane Hub5 said: “Food systems are responsible for 60% of methane emissions. We congratulate countries willing to take the lead in food systems methane reduction and confirm our commitment to support this kind of initiative with programs that explore promising methane mitigation technologies and the underpinning research of methane mitigation mechanisms to create new technologies.”
Dennis Meadows, the author of the 1972 Club of Rome- endorsed book: The Limits of Growth, made the following comments in a video in 20176 : “We can have 1 billion people with freedom, or 9 billion slaves. We are at 7 billion right now (2017), so we need to bring that down to 1billion. I hope that culling can be peaceful and slow and equal between rich and poor.”
These changes have been on full display in the Netherlands, where the government generated intense controversy by launching a plan to reduce livestock herds by up to 50% and reduce the use of nitrogen fertilisers by 30%
The European Union has approved controversial plans for the Dutch government to forcibly buy out livestock farms as part of plans to cut nitrogen emissions.7 Farmers will be compensated up to 120% of the market value and the scheme will run till 2028. If farmers do not agree then they can be forced to sell. The Dutch coalition government says it must curb its nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions by 50% by 2030 to comply with the EU greenhouse gas emissions targets. It considers livestock farms as peak polluters and say their closure is necessary to meet the regulations. The argument is that nitrogen oxide from farm animal manure can help cause acid rain, while nitrogen based ammonia used in farm fertilisers can wash into lakes and cause algae blooms that kill marine life.
Sander van Diepen, spokesperson for the agricultural organization LTO, said that the reductions are so severe that those rural communities will be totally devastated.
Of course there have been strong protests from the farming community, and the wider Dutch community has also shown support for the farmers.
At this stage, it is interesting to mention the Deagel forecast. The Deagel report8 is produced by the Deagel corporation which is part of the US military intelligence community. It predicted a 70% reduction in the population of the US by 2025. At the present time, The US population decline is close to zero. However, Germany had 100,000 less people in 2025. They have a birth deficit of 1.35 children born per woman, below the 2.1 needed for a stable population. The forecast is for a significant population decline by 2070 from 83 million to 67 million. Japan’s birth rate has been falling for some 16 years and the 123 million population in 2024 is predicted to be 77 million in 2100. In NZ the population declined by 2.3 % in 2024 and there is risk of further decline.
China’s population is falling rapidly. Fertility rates are at historic lows. In 2023 alone, the population fell by 2.08 million. There were fewer than 8 million babies born in 2025. This gives a fertility rate of 1.0 babies per woman, far below the replacement level of 2.1. On top of this, deaths have slightly increased. The 1.4 billion population in 2025 is predicted to shrink to 500 million by 2100. The trend is accelerating, and the decline is due to cultural and economic factors.
In India, the fertility rate has also dropped below the replacement level of 2.1 children per person.
Insect Farms
There has been a proliferation of insect farms in recent years. There are estimated to be 400 around the world at present with more being built. One of the largest is in Nesle, France. Here, 10 billion maggots will be crushed, dried and sold as an alternative form of protein powder. At present they market it for fish feed, livestock feed and pet feed. However, after 8 years the firm, Innovafeed is yet to make a profit.
The publication Earth Org9 had this to say. “Among the most pressing environmental issue that needs to be addressed is food production and food waste. We now have a multitude of sustainable technologies that can help us grow food without destroying the planet. One of them is insect farming. Founded in 2019 “Fly Farm” has positioned itself as a leader in the rapidly growing market, producing black soldier fly larvae on organic waste, to reduce emissions and produce sustainable protein feed.”
Driven by the relentless population growth(!!!), the global demand for protein is set to increase by 60% by 2050. Traditional farming methods put tremendous pressure on the environment. To meet the need for protein to sustain a population of 10 billion people by 2050 sustainably new farming methods are required. Mealworms, crickets and black soldier fly larvae have been shown to provide significantly more protein than meat. The biggest benefit of producing edible insects for human consumption is that they can be raised on food waste. When coupled with renewable energy, the production process has a significantly lower carbon footprint. The claim is that insect farming cuts CO2 emissions, and requires much less land in comparison to livestock farming.
At present Thailand leads the way with edible insects.
So, what do we make of all this? The UN wants to transform farming. The government actions in the Netherlands, backed by the EU, suggests it wants a reduction in livestock farms. It is difficult to reconcile a reduction in livestock farms with a policy to tackle hunger. There has to be a replacement for the loss of livestock farms. With 400 insect farms already in operation world-wide and more being built, and Earth Org talking about the benefits of producing edible insects for human consumption are we destined to a life of insect meals?
There is another problem. The insect population is also declining. Insect populations are declining at unprecedented rates, with flying insect biomass dropping up to 75% in some areas over the past 40 years. Pollinators such as bees, moths and butterflies face widespread declines. Habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, and light pollution all contribute to this biodiversity crisis, creating cascading effects on birds, amphibians and soil ecosystems reliant on insects for survival. Insects are vital for pollination, sustaining 75% of global crops and supporting $600 billion in agricultural production annually.
Perhaps the 400 plus insect farms should be breeding those insects which are in serious decline and necessary for human survival, and then releasing them into the environment.
Since the population in many countries is already declining - some rapidly - and predicted to keep falling, it appears a reduction in livestock farms and the race to net zero should be abandoned.
References
1. Sustain: Eat-Lancet report: Ruth Westcott on Times Radio 5th Oct 2025
2. IPES Food: Emily Frison: Expert in conservation and agricultural biodiversity and is a member of the International Panel of Experts on sustainable food systems.
3. Europa eu : https//www allianceforgreencommercialbanks.org
4. COP 28: UAE Nov 2023
5. The Global Methane Hub 2026
6. U-Tube: Dennis Meadows interview – The Limits of Growth 2017
7. Farmers Weekly: 4 May 2023, Phillip Case
8. Scribd : https://wwwscribd.com by Daniel Karlsson
9. Earth Org : Environmental news. https://earthorg, 2026
Ian Bradford, a science graduate, is a former teacher, lawyer, farmer and keen sportsman, who is writing a book about the fraud of anthropogenic climate change.
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