Tomás García Azcárate
Agricultural economist specialising in the Common Agricultural Policy and agricultural markets, associate researcher at CEIGRAM, member of the Advisory Council on European Affairs of the Community of Madrid and of the Committee of Experts of Foro Agrario
Is the study of good quality?
‘The study is interesting and original, as it rigorously addresses a topic that has not been addressed before, at least to my knowledge: the labour consequences (or labour needs) of a global change in diet, a change that would undoubtedly have positive consequences for the sustainability of the planet.’
What are its limitations?
"Both in the introduction and in the conclusions, important limitations of the work are not made explicit. It is an academic exercise that does not incorporate into its methodology the technological change that will reduce labour needs or the impracticality of a change of this magnitude. Nor do they mention the other side effects that a change of this magnitude would have on the environment, such as (among others) the increase in water requirements generated by new crops, in particular fruit and vegetables; the necessary investments; or the environmental impact on the territory of the decline in extensive livestock farming."
What repercussions will this change have for Spain?
Encouraging a change in diet is an important element of the necessary climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy, but the article demonstrates its limitations and highlights one of the obstacles standing in its way.
As an intellectual and academic exercise, it is therefore of interest, even in the case of Spain. Its results confirm the need for a complex, multisectoral and multifactorial sustainability strategy to make what is necessary possible."