In sizzling New York City last week, contributors from the leather and luxury fashion industries provided fascinating insights into their experiences and perceptions of working with leather.
The programme certainly fulfilled its brief to discuss pertinent topics and each speaker was extremely well-researched, but for us the most compelling presentation was by Dr Frank Mitloehner from the University of California, Davis. An expert in agricultural air quality, livestock housing and husbandry, Dr Mitloehner spent 20 minutes dismantling the myths and untruths regarding the purported greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and farming, with some startling facts and statistics.
We were unable to video the entire piece, but have edited his presentation regarding the amount of quality agricultural land we have on the planet. This is vital for understanding the complex issues surrounding a purely plant-based diet advocated by so many at present.
Dr Mitloehner starts with a piece of A4 paper, stating that this is the entire surface of the Earth. On being folded in half twice, the quarter left is the amount of land on our planet; the rest is water and ice. Of this quarter, only a business-card sized amount is agricultural land, the rest is populated, desert or mountainous. You can watch the further revelations here...https://twitter.com/i/status/1151175819475267585
To download the World Leather Congress proceedings, click here and to view the photo gallery click here
