For Peat's Sake!

Most commercially-produced mushrooms, available in the UK, are grown on peat. The National Trust have, consequently, eliminated them from the meals they serve. It's certainly true, that maintaining peat bogs, stores carbon as well as reducing flooding risk. The environmental impacts of commercial mushroom production are, however, 'small beer' compared with some other common meal ingredients (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/19/forbidden-fungi-why-mushrooms-have-been-banished-from-national-trust-menus). It would be interesting to note if the National Trust has even considered banning all animal meat products, as well as milk, butter and cheese. These all have much more dramatic impacts on climate change than mushrooms (they can also be more damaging to human health). What about fruit and vegetables, imported over long distances by ship or air? What about paying visitors, arriving in SUVs? It's good that folk in the National Trust are thinking about climate change but the lowly breakfast mushroom is a really small target.