4 ms·

People don’t see industrial meat as a key cause of global warming

7 points by myshpa 3y ago

ChadNauseam 3y ago
Is industrial meat a key cause of global warming? Animals emit carbon, but they get the carbon by eating plants, which absorb it from the air. So it's never been obvious to me why they aren't carbon neutral.
- myshpa 3y ago
  - Methane emissions: Livestock, particularly ruminant animals like cows, produce methane as part of their digestive process. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with a much higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide over a shorter time frame (84-87 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period). - Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions: N2O is released from manure management and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in feed crop production. N2O is another potent greenhouse gas with a significant impact on global warming (global warming potential of about 265-298 times that of CO2 over a 20-year period). - Deforestation: Large-scale meat production often leads to deforestation to create space for grazing and growing animal feed crops. Trees play a vital role in sequestering carbon, and their removal results in additional carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. - Transport and processing: The meat industry involves transportation, refrigeration, and processing, which require energy and release additional greenhouse gases. - Water and resource use: Raising animals for meat demands significant amounts of water and resources, contributing to the overall environmental footprint. Animal agriculture is the leading driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss, eutrophication, oceanic dead zones in coastal areas, soil erosion, and more. Abolishing animal agriculture would free up an area the size of Africa, enabling large-scale reforestation and rewilding. This would allow us to store our entire 1.5C carbon budget, thus reversing climate warming and biodiversity loss. https://www.fao.org/policy-support/tools-and-publications/resources-details/en/c/1235389/ https://www.fao.org/policy-support/tools-and-publications/re... Tackling Climate Change through Livestock. A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_from_agriculture#Livestock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_from_...
  - tempera 3y ago
    I think we should have mandatory insect meals introduced in kindergarten and schools such that the future population of earth is well accommodated with eating the bugs and being happy for it.
    - myshpa 3y ago
      That's imho a solution for the collapse and nuclear winter. For the civilization as we have now the plants are enough and plentiful.
fasthands9 3y ago
I feel like the overall point is fair (cattle do produce a lot more emissions than omnivores like myself would like to think) but ultimately I feel like reporting on this has been weird. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emis... https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector The article asks why the average person does not list industrial meat production as a top 5 emitter of greenhouse gasses, but the sources above actually dont state it is not a top 5 emitter. The original article doesnt quote what they think the top 5 are. I fully realize technocratic solutions will probably not ever be implemented, but really wish the emissions were just taxed at the same rate as other sources of emissions so I didnt have to make piecemeal decisions based on info thats impossible to know on a personal level.
- myshpa 3y ago
  https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector#annual-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-sector https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector#annual-greenh... Agriculture is 4th there, animal ag is 80% of agriculture (by land). It's all approximations anyway. Emissions from Animal Agriculture—16.5% Is the New Minimum Figure https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352100490_Emissions_from_Animal_Agriculture-165_Is_the_New_Minimum_Figure https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352100490_Emissions... "For emissions from animal agriculture, we have a potential range between 16.5 and 28.1% based on the FAO GLEAM 2.0 estimate presented here and Poore and Neme- cek. Given the shortcomings of the second FAO report, the number may not be as low as 16.5%, which should be seen as a new minimum." And last but not least, these are just the emissions ... there is no reforestation potential of pastures, biodiversity loss, other forms of pollution, ... the list is too long.
  - fasthands9 3y ago
    The Our World in Data link you sent lists total agriculture contributions as 18.4% of total contributions and livestock at 5.8% total contributions. At 5.8% it is still sizable but not close to being in the top 5 contributors. I realize they are all approximations, but nonetheless doesnt seem like livestock agriculture is in the top 5 in most estimations.

7 points by myshpa 3y ago

Is industrial meat a key cause of global warming? Animals emit carbon, but they get the carbon by eating plants, which absorb it from the air. So it's never been obvious to me why they aren't carbon neutral.

myshpa 3y ago
- Methane emissions: Livestock, particularly ruminant animals like cows, produce methane as part of their digestive process. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with a much higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide over a shorter time frame (84-87 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period). - Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions: N2O is released from manure management and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in feed crop production. N2O is another potent greenhouse gas with a significant impact on global warming (global warming potential of about 265-298 times that of CO2 over a 20-year period). - Deforestation: Large-scale meat production often leads to deforestation to create space for grazing and growing animal feed crops. Trees play a vital role in sequestering carbon, and their removal results in additional carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. - Transport and processing: The meat industry involves transportation, refrigeration, and processing, which require energy and release additional greenhouse gases. - Water and resource use: Raising animals for meat demands significant amounts of water and resources, contributing to the overall environmental footprint. Animal agriculture is the leading driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss, eutrophication, oceanic dead zones in coastal areas, soil erosion, and more. Abolishing animal agriculture would free up an area the size of Africa, enabling large-scale reforestation and rewilding. This would allow us to store our entire 1.5C carbon budget, thus reversing climate warming and biodiversity loss. https://www.fao.org/policy-support/tools-and-publications/resources-details/en/c/1235389/ https://www.fao.org/policy-support/tools-and-publications/re... Tackling Climate Change through Livestock. A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_from_agriculture#Livestock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_from_...
- tempera 3y ago
  I think we should have mandatory insect meals introduced in kindergarten and schools such that the future population of earth is well accommodated with eating the bugs and being happy for it.
  - myshpa 3y ago
    That's imho a solution for the collapse and nuclear winter. For the civilization as we have now the plants are enough and plentiful.

fasthands9 3y ago

I feel like the overall point is fair (cattle do produce a lot more emissions than omnivores like myself would like to think) but ultimately I feel like reporting on this has been weird. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emis... https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector The article asks why the average person does not list industrial meat production as a top 5 emitter of greenhouse gasses, but the sources above actually dont state it is not a top 5 emitter. The original article doesnt quote what they think the top 5 are. I fully realize technocratic solutions will probably not ever be implemented, but really wish the emissions were just taxed at the same rate as other sources of emissions so I didnt have to make piecemeal decisions based on info thats impossible to know on a personal level.

myshpa 3y ago
https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector#annual-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-sector https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector#annual-greenh... Agriculture is 4th there, animal ag is 80% of agriculture (by land). It's all approximations anyway. Emissions from Animal Agriculture—16.5% Is the New Minimum Figure https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352100490_Emissions_from_Animal_Agriculture-165_Is_the_New_Minimum_Figure https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352100490_Emissions... "For emissions from animal agriculture, we have a potential range between 16.5 and 28.1% based on the FAO GLEAM 2.0 estimate presented here and Poore and Neme- cek. Given the shortcomings of the second FAO report, the number may not be as low as 16.5%, which should be seen as a new minimum." And last but not least, these are just the emissions ... there is no reforestation potential of pastures, biodiversity loss, other forms of pollution, ... the list is too long.
- fasthands9 3y ago
  The Our World in Data link you sent lists total agriculture contributions as 18.4% of total contributions and livestock at 5.8% total contributions. At 5.8% it is still sizable but not close to being in the top 5 contributors. I realize they are all approximations, but nonetheless doesnt seem like livestock agriculture is in the top 5 in most estimations.