Animal agriculture is responsible for at least 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation

  • Environment
  • Greenhouse Gases

Transportation exhaust is responsible for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

This is the current figure published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Note: In 2013 the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) lowered livestock’s GHG emissions from 18%.

There are many factors to consider regarding the role of food choice in climate change (as well as many other ways in which animal agriculture negatively impacts the environment). The UN-FAO report has the following notable drawbacks:

  1. This figure doesn’t represent the entire life cycle analysis (LCA) or supply chain of livestock products. Particularly carbon dioxide from respiration (on average 4.8 tons CO₂ e/year/cow, 2.3 CO₂ e/year/pig, etc.)
  2. Does not include GHG impact of deforestation (20% of global GHG emissions per UN-REDD) of which livestock and feed crops play a significant role.
  3. The report uses a global warming potential for methane of 21 over 100 years but, the GWP of methane is actually 28–34 over 100 years and, perhaps more importantly is 86 times as destructive over 20 years (Myhre, G., D. Shindell, et. al. 2013).
  4. The report didn’t account for anthropogenic greenhouse gases generated by agricultural systems related to extraction or raising and eating fish, fuel, refrigeration, packaging, processing, transportation, etc.

Sources