According to a new report released by the Worldwatch Institute, livestock is responsible for over 50 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Until now, the impact of livestock on global climate change was estimated to be much lower, at 18 percent according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
From Change.org:
FAO came up with this number by adding up the emissions generated by clearing land to graze livestock and grow feed, by raising the livestock and by getting the livestock to the consumer. The study’s authors explain that the initial figure undercounts or overlooks 25,048 million tons of CO2e associated with livestock.
According to the report’s authors, the original FAO number did not account for important realities of modern meat production such as cows’ breathing, the clearcutting of Amazon rainforest for grazing or the entirety of the marine products industry (apparently, up to half of marine organisms caught go to livestock; who knew?).
The authors’ analysis reveals that livestock are actually responsible for 32,564 million tons of CO2e, which amounts to 51 percent of total emissions attributable to human activity.
To reduce your environmental impact, find out how to reduce your red meat consumption today. Reducing national demand for beef will help curtail the large scale factory farming of cattle that is so damaging to our environment.
Originally published on CauseCast.org
