November 10, 2009
Animal Agriculture Plays Key Role in Climate Change
New report suggests bigger impact
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Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, the authors of the new report, offer several reasons for revising the estimate to 51%, including:
1) Release of CO2 by farm animals' respiration is not taken into account in the FAO report because the authors regard breathing as part of a rapidly cycling biological system. However, the artificially large farm animal populations and intensive confinement characteristic of animal agriculture in developed countries, and increasingly prevalent in developing countries, cannot be considered part of a natural system.[3]
2) The FAO's estimates of GHG emissions attributable to animal agriculture-related land use changes do not take into account the opportunity cost of not reforesting that land, or using it for biofuel production.[4]
3) The FAO figures do not account for deforestation in Argentina[5], where significant tracts of land have been cleared to grow soy for farm animals.[6]
4) Farm animal populations are greatly underestimated. The outdated figures used in the FAO report would not have even been accurate in 2002.[7] Between 2002 and 2009, stocks of live animals worldwide increased by approximately 10 percent.[8]
5) Fish farming, or aquaculture, was excluded from the FAO report's calculations.[9] Nearly half of all fish consumed by humans worldwide are farmed.[10]
6) Several stages in the processing and disposal of animal products and by-products were excluded from the FAO's calculations.[11]
Although Goodland and Anhang note a number of factors that were not considered by the FAO, their report similarly fails to account for CO2 emissions resulting from live farm animal transport. More than one billion farm animals are traded internationally each year[12], and millions more are transported over long distances within a country's own borders.[13] In addition to the human health and animal welfare implications of transporting live animals and the potential for spreading animal disease, there are significant fossil fuel and climate costs.
Another recent development in the area of climate change science is the release of a report by the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, arguing that the GHG methane has a greater global warming impact than previously believed.[14] A recent study from the UK similarly suggests that the impact of methane on climate change may be underestimated.[15] Globally, farm animals are the most significant source of human-induced methane, responsible for 35 to 40 percent of methane emissions worldwide.[16] Goodland and Anhang point out that the FAO report undervalues the large effect methane reductions can have on mitigating climate change within the next 20 years, due to its shorter life span in the atmosphere.[17]
While the Goodland and Anhang article has been criticized for not including sufficient data to confirm their estimate,[18] Goodland and Anhang undeniably raise important questions about the way in which the global warming impact of animal agriculture is calculated. The issues they raise, combined with emerging evidence that methane's impact is more significant than previously understood, suggest that the impact of the animal agriculture sector on climate change is greater than 18 percent. Governments must take the lead in measuring the GHG emissions from the animal agriculture sector and mandating improvements in production practices. Individuals can also help slow the effects of climate change by reducing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products. Nobel Laureates Al Gore and Rajendra Pachuri, along with other world leaders, have stated that reducing global meat consumption can help reduce GHG emissions.[19]
[1] Steinfeld H, Gerber P, Wassenaar T, Castel V, Rosales M, and de Haan C. 2006. Livestock's long shadow: environmental issues and options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, p. 90. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/A0701E.pdf. Accessed November 9, 2009.
[2] Goodland Robert, Anhang Jeff. 2009. Livestock and climate change: what if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens? WorldWatch. November/December 2009. http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
[3] Goodland Robert, Anhang Jeff. 2009. Livestock and climate change: what if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens? WorldWatch. November/December 2009. http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
[4] Goodland Robert, Anhang Jeff. 2009. Livestock and climate change: what if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens? WorldWatch. November/December 2009. http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
[5] Goodland Robert, Anhang Jeff. 2009. Livestock and climate change: what if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens? WorldWatch. November/December 2009. http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
[6] Valente Marcela. 2009. More soy, less forest – no water. Inter Press News Agency. http://ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=27911. Accessed November 5, 2009.
[7] Goodland Robert, Anhang Jeff. 2009. Livestock and climate change: what if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens? WorldWatch. November/December 2009. http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
[8] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAO Statistical Database, FAOSTAT. http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/default.aspx. Accessed November 6, 2009.
[9] Goodland Robert, Anhang Jeff. 2009. Livestock and climate change: what if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens? WorldWatch. November/December 2009. http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
[10] Nearly half of all fish eaten today are farmed, not caught. 2006. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000383/index.html. Viewed on November 6, 2009.
[11] Goodland Robert, Anhang Jeff. 2009. Livestock and climate change: what if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens? WorldWatch. November/December 2009. http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
[12] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAO Statistical Database, FAOSTAT. http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/default.aspx. Accessed November 6, 2009.
[13] Shields DA and Mathews KH Jr. 2003. Interstate Livestock Movements. U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. http://ers.usda.gov/publications/ldp/jun03/ldpm10801/ldpm10801.pdf. Accessed November 6, 2009.
[14] Shindell, DT, Faluvegi G, Koch DM, Schmidt GA, Unger N, Bauer SE. 2009. Improved attribution of climate forcing to emissions. Science. 326: 716-718..
[15] Boucher Oliver, Friedlingstein Pierre, Collins Bill, Shine Keith. 2009. The indirect global warming potential and global temperature change potential due to methane oxidation. Environmental Research Letters. October. http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1748-9326/4/4/044007/erl9_4_044007.pdf?request-id=e199b797-2a04-4558-aeb0-5e882bed715d. Accessed November 6, 2009.
[16] Steinfeld H, Gerber P, Wassenaar T, Castel V, Rosales M, and de Haan C. 2006. Livestock's long shadow: environmental issues and options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 82 and 112.
[17] Robert, Anhang Jeff. 2009. Livestock and climate change: what if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens? WorldWatch. November/December 2009.
[18] Walsh S. 2009. The impact of use of animals as livestock on global warming. http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhpcprfw_39g5ptgfhk. Accessed November 9, 2009.
[19] Turn vego to save the planet: Gore. 2009. The Age, November 4, 2009. http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/turn-vego-to-save-planet-gore-20091104-hy5i.html. Accessed November 9, 2009.