The full "Climate Change and Food Systems" report is behind a pay wall but the abstract can be read here.
Britain's National Farmers Union representative Nathan Alleyne told the Daily Mail: "I don't think we'd be coming out in support of that measure, but we'd need to read the report before commenting on it."
While New Zealand's farming methods may be better than those used in Britain, the report said growing food for sheep, cows and pigs uses more land and produces more greenhouse gases than producing crops for human consumption.
The report, which was published in the 2012 Annual Review of Environment and Resources, also suggested China could cut emissions with more efficient manufacture of fertilisers.
"The food-related emissions and, conversely, the impacts of climate change on agriculture and the food system, will profoundly alter the way we grow and produce food.
"This will affect different parts of the world in radically different ways, but all regions will have to change their current approach to what they grow and eat," said Sonja Vermeulen, the lead author of Climate Change and Food Security.
A second CGIAR report, Recalibrating Food Production in the Developing World, suggested climate change is going to reduce yields of three of the developing world's largest crops - maize, wheat and rice.
Farmers could be forced to turn to more flood and drought-tolerant crops, such as yam, barley, cowpea, millet, lentils, cassava and bananas, the report said.
"We are coming to terms with the fact that agriculture is a critical player in climate change," Frank Rijsberman, chief executive of CGIAR, said. "Not only are emissions from agriculture much larger than previously estimated, but with weather records being set every month as regional climates adjust and reset, there is an urgent need for research that helps smallholder farmers adapt to the new normal."
Bruce Campbell, who heads the CGIAR research programme on climate change, agriculture and food security, said: "Farmers around the world, especially smallholder farmers in developing countries, need access to the latest science, more resources and advanced technology. This research serves as an urgent call for negotiators at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha."