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Eating less meat is 'essential' to ensure future demand for food can be met and 'dangerous' climate change avoided, experts have warned. A study by leading university researchers in Cambridge and Aberdeen found food production alone could exceed targets for greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 if current trends continue. Population growth and the global shift towards 'meat-heavy Western diets' has meant increasing agricultural yields will not meet projected food demands for an expected 9.6 billion world population in 30 years, according to the researchers. Increased deforestation, fertiliser use and livestock methane emissions are likely to cause greenhouse gas emissions from food production to rise by almost 80 per cent, experts from the University of Cambridge and University of Aberdeen found. Lead researcher Bojana Bajzelj, from the University of Cambridge's department of engineering, said: 'Agricultural practices are not necessarily at fault here - but our choice of food is. 'It is imperative to find ways to achieve global food security without expanding crop or pastureland. 'Food production is a main driver of biodiversity loss and a large contributor to climate change and pollution, so our food choices matter.' He added: 'Cutting food waste and moderating meat consumption in more balanced diets, are the essential 'no-regrets' options.' According to the study in Nature Climate Change, current trends in food production will mean that by 2050 cropland will have expanded by 42 per cent and fertiliser use increased by 45 per cent over 2009 levels.