How do our dietary habits affect greenhouse gas emissions?

As of May 2022, 140 million tons of meat have been consumed globally, with the number still increasing with each minute that passes by. The average annual global meat consumption for the past several years has reached approximately 350 million tons, which is double the amount compared to 1988, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Many of us are not aware of the negative impact of how meat consumption continues to raise greenhouse gas emissions, adding to the burden of climate change. In fact, the food we eat is responsible for onethird of all greenhouse gas emissions, and agriculture and landscape shifts have increased food production systems in developing countries. This establishes the idea that as industrialized farming grows, emissions continue to rise, thus we need to do something to slow down on food-related emissions.

As aforementioned, one of the underlying causes that have an effect on climate change is the increase in livestock farming in the agricultural sector. There is a direct correlation between food production toll and deforestation along with a meat-heavy diet. This is due to the huge amount of land being cleared to make space for cattle and the large-scale farming of animal feed. Such livestock farming generally takes place in the globe’s most naturally valuable and vulnerable areas, such as the Amazon –– the world’s richest and most-varied biology reservoir, the area that is responsible for producing more than 20% of the world’s oxygen. In addition, the land sector accounts for 70% of the global total food emissions. The ecological footprint of farming livestock largely stems from the highly inefficient resource use in the production process of animal products. An example of this includes meat and milk, as it uses vast amounts of energy, water and land in their production. However, only a small portion of the food consumed by cattle is converted into meat or dairy for human consumption, whereas the rest goes to waste, making the entire food production cycle unsustainable and inefficient, thereby wasting natural resources.

On the other hand, another dimension of meat’s unsustainability is the amount of methane emitted in the production process. The gut microbes living in digestive tracts release methane when grazing animals digest grasses and other human-inedible forage. Methane that comes from ruminants accounts for approximately 40% of all livestock-related greenhouse gas emissions. It is one of the most crucial issues that have yet to be resolved, and right now animal scientists are working to reduce the amount of methane produced by grazers with a forage-based diet, such as how some feed additives or supplements can inhibit methane-producing microorganisms. However, if no human-edible food were fed to livestock, scientists have calculated that the world could only be able to produce around 20 grams of animal protein per day for everyone –– enough for a three-ounce piece of meat or cheese each day. This would direct a huge shift in our meat-based diet, especially for individuals in wealthy countries who would have to get used to eating less meat than they currently do. However, meat consumption fluctuates every year–– with the total 2022 per capita meat consumption forecasted to reach 222.4 pounds which are 0.2 pounds lower than last year but 10.3 pounds higher than the 2012-2021 average. Individuals in some countries have made an effort to reduce their meat consumption; the average North American now cuts down on about 70 grams of animal protein a day –– well above their protein requirement –– and the average European on 51 grams. This is extensively less than what most individuals consume nowadays, of around 100 grams of animal protein a day (which is nearly twice the recommended amount). There is an existential dilemma as to maintain the ecological balance for animals if we were to alter their forage-based diets, along with reducing our meet consumption simultaneously.

Alternatively, there are tangible solutions that can be acted upon to reduce meat consumption in an efficient and sustainable manner. Firstly, the introduction of taxes on animal products – this step has been called forwards in several European countries such as Denmark and Sweden and is currently being initiated in Germany. In fact, meat taxes could actually help us eat better at a lower cost, and taxing meat and dairy means that animal farms will have to pay for the greenhouse gases they emit in 2025 and later. According to Max Springmann, who is a senior researcher of the Environmental Change Institute, this implementation also includes redirecting subsidies for animal agriculture to fruits and vegetable production, along with alternative plant-based protein. European countries are actually starting to consume less meat overall, this is due to the heightened campaigning in recent years by environmental changemakers over the environmental toll of meat production, and The European Commission estimates a 4% decline in per capita meat consumption by 2031, which is a huge decrease. One person going meatless a day would cut down to 1600 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions per year, and a two-thirds vegan diet would cut down to 740 kilograms of carbon dioxide, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions by a lot.

Ultimately, cutting down on meat consumption and implementing new policies in the agricultural sector and food market (i.e. charge more tax on animal products, altering forage-based diet for grazers and more) can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as methane. In recent years, a lot of countries are already switching to dietary habits that incorporate less meat on a day-to-day basis, as well as more vegan-based food production. Such direct actions would not only slow down the effects of climate change, but it will also benefit the agricultural sector and establish a food production system that is efficient and sustainable for human consumption.