Livestock (meat consumption)

Livestock (meat consumption)
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In a recent report, Fourth Assessment Report, issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body made up of 1300 scientists from around the world, revealed that 90% of human activity during the last 250 years is what makes the planet hotter. Since the Industrial Revolution, carbon dioxide levels rising from 280 ppm to 379 ppm in the last 150 years. No kidding, increased concentration of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere was the highest since 650,000 years!

The IPCC also concluded that 90% of greenhouse gases produced by humans, such as carbon dioxide, methane and Nitrous oxide, especially during these 50 years, has dramatically raised the temperature of the Earth. Before the industrial period, human activities are not a lot of greenhouse gases, but population growth, deforestation, farming industry, and the use of fossil fuels causes greenhouse gases in the atmosphere grew more and contribute to global warming. [15]

Research that has been done by the experts during the last few decades shows that the heat was more of the planet and changing the earth's climate system is directly related to gas-greenhouse gases generated by human activity.


Specifically to monitor the causes and effects produced by global warming, United Nations (UN) formed a research group called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Every few years, thousands of experts and the best researchers in the world who joined the IPCC held a meeting to discuss the latest findings related to global warming, and make conclusions from the report and new discoveries are collected, then make a deal for a solution of the problem.

One of the first things they found was that some types of greenhouse gases directly responsible for the warming we experience, and the largest contributor is people from the creation of gases such greenhouse. Most of these greenhouse gases produced by livestock, the burning of fossil fuels in motor vehicles, modern factories, power plants, and deforestation.

However, according to United Nations reports about livestock and the environment published in 2006 revealed that, "farming is a producer of industrial greenhouse gas emissions are the largest (18%), this amount more than the combined emissions of all greenhouse gases worldwide transportation (13%). "Almost a fifth (20 percent) of carbon emissions come from livestock. This amount exceeds the combined emissions from all vehicles in the world! [16] [17] [18]

Farm sector has contributed 9 percent of carbon dioxide, 37 percent of methane gas (a warming effect 72 times stronger than CO2 within 20 years, and 23 times in 100 years), and 65 percent of Nitrous oxide (a warming effect over 296 times more stronger than CO2). Livestock also generates 64 percent of the ammonia produced by human intervention, which causes acid rain. [19]

Livestock has also been a major cause of damage to soil and water pollution. Currently the farm using 30 percent of the land surface on Earth, and even more land and water used to grow animal feed.

According to reports Mr. Steinfeld, senior author of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Impact of the Old Poor Farm - Environmental Issues and Options (Livestock's Long Shadow-Environmental Issues and Options), the ranch is the "main drivers of deforestation approximately .... 70 percent of former forests in the Amazon has been converted into field-enable livestock. [20]

In addition, the field of cattle feed has reduced the quality of the soil. Approximately 20 percent of the meadow go off due to excessive animal husbandry, compaction, and erosion. Livestock are also responsible for the consumption and pollution of water very much. In the United States alone, trillions of gallons of irrigation water used to grow livestock feed annually. Approximately 85 percent of water sources in the United States used to it. Livestock also cause excessive biological waste for the ecosystem.

Consumption of water to produce one pound of food in farm animal feed in the United States

1 kg of meat Water (liters)
Beef 1000000
3260 Pig
12,665 chickens
Soybean 2000
Rice 1912
Potatoes 500
Wheat 200
Slada 180


Besides damage to the environment and ecosystems, is not difficult to calculate that the livestock industry is not energy efficient. Livestock industry requires an abundance of energy to convert livestock into meat on the dinner table. To produce one kilogram of meat, has produced carbon dioxide emissions as much as 36.4 pounds. Whereas to produce one calorie of protein, we only require two calories of fossil fuel to produce soybeans, three calories for corn and wheat; but requires 54 calories of oil energy to the ground beef protein!

That means we have been squandering fossil fuel 27 times more just to make a hamburger rather than the consumption required to make a hamburger from soya beans!

By combining the cost of energy, water consumption, land use, environmental pollution, damage to ecosystems, it is not surprising if one person on a diet of meat can feed 15 people on a diet of plants or more.


Let us now discuss what is the source of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

You may be wondering what part of the farm sector, which contributes greenhouse gas emissions. The following outline according to the FAO: [21]

1. Carbon emissions from the manufacture of cattle feed

a. The use of fossil fuels in the manufacture of fertilizer contributed 41 million tonnes of CO2 each year

b. The use of fossil fuels in the farm contributes 90 million tonnes of CO2 per year (eg, diesel or LPG)

c. Over the function of land used for livestock contributed 2.4 billion tons of CO2 per year, including the land here is modified for grazing livestock, which changed the land to plant soybeans as livestock feed, or clearing forests for farm land

d. Carbon is released from the processing of agricultural land for livestock feed (eg maize, wheat, or soybeans) can reach 28 million of CO2 per year. You need to know, at least 80% of soybean harvest and 50% of the world's corn crops used as food ternak.7

e. Carbon released from grasslands into deserts because of eroded contributed 100 million tons of CO2 per year

2. Carbon emissions from animal digestive systems

a. Methane is released in the digestive process of animals can reach 86 million tons per year.

b. Methane released from manure fertilizer can reach 18 million tons per year.

3. Carbon emissions from processing and transportation of cattle meat to the consumer

a. CO2 emissions from the processing of meat may reach tens of millions of tons per year.

b. CO2 emissions from transport of livestock products can reach more than 0.8 million tons per year.


From the above description, you can see the amount of the contribution of greenhouse gas emissions generated from each component of the farm sector. In Australia, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock sector is greater than power plant coal. Within 20 years, the Australian farm sector contributed 3 million tonnes of methane per year (equivalent to 216 million tonnes of CO2), while the power sector for coal contributes 180 million tons of CO2 per year.

Last year, investigators from the Department of Geophysical Sciences (Department of Geophysical Sciences) University of Chicago, Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin, also reveals the relationship between food production and environmental problems. They measured the amount of greenhouse gases caused by red meat, fish, poultry, milk, and eggs, and compare that number with a vegan diet.

They found that if the standard American diet switched to a diet of plants, it will be able to prevent one and a half ton of greenhouse gas emissions per person extra per year. By contrast, switching from a standard sedan like the Toyota Camry to a hybrid Toyota Prius saves about one ton of CO2 emissions.