China’s health authority has issued a guidelines that recommend how people can eat healthier. The new guidelines are suggesting a dramatic cut in meat consumption.

Beijing hopes the campaign can improve public health as well as ease climate change, since meat production accounts more than 14 percent of global greenhouse emissions.

CCTV’s Wu Guoxiu reports.

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The Chinese government has been releasing public guidelines on how to eat since 1989.

The latest version is the first update in ten years, and features a pagoda representing the amounts and types of food that the government recommends per person per day.

Chinese consumers now eat more than 60 kilograms of meat per capita per year, compared to 13 kilograms in 1982.

The country currently consumes 28 percent of the world’s meat- including half all the pork.

However when looking at the data on a per capita basis, North Americans and Europeans still consume the most meat.

World per capita consumption of meat (kg)

Source: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

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Many people are eating too much fat and too little soybeans and milk, said Chang Jile, the Ombudsman of National Health & Family Planning Commission.

Obesity is also a concern, as are nutritional deficiencies in some places, Chang added.

Global per capita consumption of meat in 2010 (kg)

Source: Bunge Limited

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As a mother of two, Tong Lu of Beijing is very careful with what she prepares for the family. One of her tricks, is to vary the nutrition as much as possible.

“I believe we should eat a great variety things, but small amounts of each type,” Tong said.

Annual per capita consumption of meat by country in 1980 and 2005 (kg)

Source: United Nations (Food and Agriculture Organization); FAO