Half of World’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Caused by Livestock

According to a new report published by the Worldwatch Institute, global emissions caused by the “lifecycle and supply chain of animals raised for food”  are much higher than previously thought.   Environmental advisers Jeff Anhang and Dr. Robert Goodland, report previous estimates of greenhouse gases caused by livestock were in fact, underestimated.   

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An earlier report,  Livestock’s Long Shadow – Environmental Issues and Options, released in 2006 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), took an in-depth look at the impact the world’s livestock had on the environment. 

Based on a simple model of the carbon cycle, the report concluded that annual emissions from cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs and poultry were 18 percent, “The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent.  This is a higher share than transport.”   Dr. Henning Steinfeld, senior author of the Long Shadow report and FAO official said that livestock is “one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems” and urged immediate action.

According to the new controversial study, the 19-page paper states, “At least 51 percent of worldwide human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to livestock.”  A whopping 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide is emitted from  livestock and their byproducts each and every year.  According to the FAO, livestock emit about 37 percent of the world’s human-induced methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  According to the Clean the Air, Heat the Planet  report, methane has more of an effect on climate change than previously thought. 

Goodland said while “regeneration of pasture and forest would occur on a large, global scale, then as much as half of today’s atmospheric carbon could potentially be absorbed.”   He went on to say, switching one meat for another, even with a lower carbon footprint, will not “suffice.”  If you have been considering switching to a meat-free lifestyle using meat and dairy substitutes, perhaps now would be the perfect time?

Goodland, author and retired environmental advisor at the World Bank Group, is also the recipient of the first IUCN Coolidge Memorial Medal for contributions to nature and natural resources.   Anhang is an environmentalist at World Bank Group.  Their report, Livestock and Climate Change, is published in World Watch Magazine.

Photo by Andy Stafiniak

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