A study has calculated CO2, methane and nitrous oxide emissions from the production of foods of animal and plant origin. A study has calculated CO2, methane and nitrous oxide emissions from the production of foods of animal and plant origin.
New data on greenhouse gas emissions linked to food production emerge from a study published in Nature Food. According to estimates made by an international group of experts led by the University of Illinois, with the participation of the FAO Statistics Division in Rome, the global production of food of plant and animal origin is responsible for 35 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions produced by humans.
By analysing the food supply chains of 171 crops and 16 types of livestock farming, the study found that 57 per cent of emissions stem from the production of foods of animal origin, and in particular from cattle farming, while 29 per cent is a consequence of the production of plant-based foods, most notably rice cultivation. The geographical areas that produce the most emissions are South America and South-East Asia. Brazil, the United States, China and India are responsible for the greatest number of emissions linked to animal production, while China, India and Indonesia lead for plant-based production.
The study is the first to consider net emissions of carbon dioxide, but also of methane and nitrous oxide, gases that are equally influential on climate change. "The methane generated by rice cultivation and livestock and the nitrous oxide derived from fertilisers are respectively 34 and 298 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere," explained Xiaoming Xu, one of the study's authors. Emissions from the production of plant-based foods are 19 per cent CO2, 6 per cent methane and 4 per cent nitrous oxide; those from the production of foods of animal origin are 32 per cent CO2, 20 per cent methane and 6 per cent nitrogen oxide.
Still on the subject of livestock farming, the 2021 edition of the meat production dossier Meat Atlas, compiled by Friends of the Earth Europe and Heinrich Böll Stiftung, indicts the financing of intensive animal product production. "While livestock companies fuel the climate crisis, deforestation, pesticide use and biodiversity loss, and while they drive people from their land – the document's introduction reads – they are still supported and financed by the world's most powerful banks and investors." The dossier also cites figures according to which the five largest meat and dairy producers emit more greenhouse gases per year than oil giants such as Exxon, Shell or Bp, while twenty of the world's largest livestock companies are together responsible for more emissions than Germany, Great Britain or France.