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Contributions of the Meat Industry to Global Warming

According to a study by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), half a pound of hamburger meat generates as much heat-trapping greenhouse gas as driving a 3,000-pound car 10 miles. Although sectors like industry and transportation are usually singled out as the chief culprits of global warming, the food we eat also has a considerable impact on global warming. The impact of meat, due to its more complex production process, is particularly conspicuous.

  1. Feeding the Cattle

    • Before cattle can be raised, huge amounts of cattle feed, such as grass and simple cereals, must be made available, generating a whole agricultural sector dedicated to feeding cattle in order to later feed us. The intensive cultivation of cattle feed leads to deforestation, which removes natural carbon sinks, according to Jim Motavalli, and usually uses artificial petrochemical fertilizers in order to maintain soil fertility without rotating crops. Ultimately, these methods increase fossil fuel use for fertilizers and reduce natural carbon trapping mechanisms.

    Raising Cattle

    • The land used for pasturing cattle is also often obtained at the expense of more complex ecosystems like forests and jungles. In Brazil, clearing for pasture land accounts for 60 percent to 70 percent of rainforest loss, Motavalli notes. The burning of rainforest to produce pastures -- the usual strategy for obtaining pasture land -- emits greenhouse gasses as the carbon contained within organic matter is released into the air. As meat consumption increases globally, deforestation is accelerating rapidly.

    Transportation and Machinery

    • Meat produced in a specific area is often consumed at tables far away. The transportation of meat to its final destination requires enormous fossil fuel inputs to move the product across countries and continents while maintaining hygienic conditions like refrigeration. The production of meat and cattle feed also uses fossil fuels, since most tractors and farming implements run on non-renewable fuels.

    Manure and Methane

    • Livestock accounts for 37 percent of total methane production and 64 percent of nitrous oxide generation, mostly from manure "off-gassing," the process by which manure decomposes and releases gas into the air, according to Motavalli. As a greenhouse gas, methane traps 23 times more heat than carbon dioxide, while nitrous oxide can be up to 296 times more potent. Although several methods, such as biodigestor installation, exist for trapping these gasses, ineffective and incomplete implementation has limited the mitigating effect of these practices.

      Overall, according to FAO estimates, meat production still accounts for 14 percent to 22 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, a figure that could rise as global diets include more meat.

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