A behind-the-scenes dispute between two government ministries over whether the public should reduce meat consumption to help fight global warming ended swiftly when one side folded and censored its own document.

At the last minute, the Environment Ministry removed a passage in its latest white paper on the environment that had called on the public to cut down on meat consumption, caving to pressure from the agriculture ministry which wants to promote animal husbandry and eating a “balanced diet.”

But tension between the ministries will likely continue, as some Environment Ministry officials publicly complained about the decision to drop it.

“The consistency of the environmental administration was disrupted,” one disgruntled official said about the white paper published in June.

The Environment Ministry had initially planned to draw attention in its paper to the activity of the group Meat Free Monday All Japan (MFMAJ), which is urging people not to eat meat on Mondays out of concerns that meat consumption is fueling global warming.

The livestock industry accounts for 14.5 percent of the emission of greenhouse gases, according to environmentalists.

Methane produced by cow, sheep and other farm animal burps and flatulence account for 40 percent of these gases.

Raising cattle requires an enormous amount of feed, which places a burden on the environment and could potentially lead to environmental destruction, environmental advocates warn.

The ministry commended the MFMAJ’s activity by giving it the Good Life Award in November.

The ministry’s Environmental Strategy Division drafted its text around March about the group’s activities.

“The ministry is encouraging a cut in meat consumption, while trying to gain understanding from the public about relations between the environment and husbandry, as well as the positive effect eating vegetables has on one’s health,” the draft read.

But the Livestock Production and Feed Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries was unhappy about the phrase “cut in meat consumption,” accusing the Environment Ministry’s message of being “too strong.”

After the farm ministry protested, the Environment Ministry removed the passage from the white paper.

“We have consistently insisted on the importance of having a balanced diet and urged the Environment Ministry to think it over,” said Tatsuya Haruna, an official with the agriculture ministry’s Livestock Production and Feed Division.

He said it was ultimately the Environment Ministry’s decision to edit out the part in question.

“The agriculture ministry also publishes its own white paper,” he said. “We listen to what other ministries and agencies have to say about our draft version. But the responsibility rests with our own ministry to decide whether to retain a disputed text in the printed version.”

Eri Nakajima, an official with the Environment Ministry’s Environmental Strategy Division, said the ministry prioritized producing a white paper embraced by the entire government.

“As the white paper would be published after it won Cabinet approval, we settled on texts that were endorsed by all Cabinet members, government ministries and agencies.”

The white paper was approved by the Cabinet on June 12.

She defended this year’s publication, saying it was the first ever to highlight how people’s dietary choices can contribute to emissions of heat-trapping gases.

Pushing for a reduction in meat consumption is not new in the world, with about 40 countries issuing that call, including the United States and many European countries. Paul McCartney, a founding member of The Beatles, is a prominent advocate for the Meat Free Monday movement.

But Japan is lagging behind other countries on this front.

Environmentalists raised their eyebrows when Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi ate a steak during his visit to the United States to attend a U.N. climate change conference in September.

His critics said eating meat on that occasion showed he lacks awareness about the relationship between food and global warming.

An Environment Ministry employee conceded that only a handful officials at the ministry pay attention to the consequences of food production on the environment.

“The ministry should have included the MFMAJ’s activity in the white paper all the more to drive home Japan’s stance” after Koizumi was criticized for eating the steak, the employee said.

But the Environment Ministry may not have considered the message to be a hill to die on.

Yoshihiro Katayama, a former minister of internal affairs and communications, noted it is not uncommon among government ministries and agencies to pursue policies in conflict with those of others.

“Ministers and top bureaucrats usually engage in discussions with their counterparts if they have an issue that they cannot back down on,” he said. “But Environment Ministry officials did not do that this time.

“The Environment Ministry would not be able to defend itself, even if it was criticized for being not so serious about its white paper’s call for a cut in meat production.”