From the meatheads at the Carnegie Institution
Climate: Meat turns up the heat
Stanford, CA—Eating meat contributes to climate change, due to greenhouse gasses emitted by livestock. New research finds that livestock emissions are on the rise and that beef cattle are responsible for far more greenhouse gas emissions than other types of animals. It is published by Climactic Change.
Carbon dioxide is the most-prevalent gas when it comes to climate change. It is released by vehicles, industry, and forest removal and comprises the greatest portion of greenhouse gas totals. But methane and nitrous oxide are also greenhouse gasses and account for approximately 28 percent of global warming activity.
Methane and nitrous oxide are released, in part, by livestock. Animals release methane as a result of microorganisms that are involved in their digestive processes and nitrous oxide from decomposing manure. These two gasses are responsible for a quarter of these non-carbon dioxide gas emissions and 9 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions overall.
The research team, including Dario Caro, formerly of Carnegie and now at the University of Siena in Italy, and Carnegie’s Ken Caldeira, estimated the greenhouse gas emissions related to livestock in 237 countries over a nearly half a century and found that livestock emissions increased by 51 percent over this period.
They found a stark difference between livestock-related emissions in the developing world, which accounts for most of this increase, and that released by developed countries. This is expected to increase further going forward, as demand for meat, dairy products, and eggs is predicted by some scientists to double by 2050. By contrast, developed countries reached maximum livestock emissions in the 1970s and have been in decline since that time.
“The developing world is getting better at reducing greenhouse emissions caused by each animal, but this improvement is not keeping up with the increasing demand for meat,” said Caro. “As a result, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock keep going up and up in much of the developing world.”
Breaking it down by animal, beef and dairy cattle comprised 74 percent of livestock-related greenhouse gas emissions, 54 percent coming from beef cattle and 17 percent from dairy cattle. Part of this is due to the abundance of cows, but it is also because cattle emit greater quantities of methane and nitrous oxide than other animals. Sheep comprised 9 percent, buffalo 7 percent, pigs 5 percent, and goats 4 percent.
“That tasty hamburger is the real culprit,” Caldeira said. “It might be better for the environment if we all became vegetarians, but a lot of improvement could come from eating pork or chicken instead of beef.”
The Carnegie Institution for Science is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.
[ADDENDUM]: My thanks to Anthony for pointing out this study. This might be a good time to recommend to people my previous posts on the relationship of plants and animals in the planetary food systems:
Animal, Vegetable, or E.O. Wilson
Finally, one of the larger methane sources on the planet, ironically, is … rice paddies. Lots and lots of organic materials decaying underwater, someone needs to put an end to that terrible practice immediately …
w.
How much carbon is sequestered in livestock?
I think all cattle should be fitted for emissions collection and the full contents sent to special collection points at Stanford and East Anglia. It will be important to collect the solid emissions as well, just because. We can ask Tom Steyer to build the transfer pipelines.
Where is the methane they claim is being released by agriculture? About 90% of what the models expected isn’t showing up in the atmosphere.
I thought water vapour was the most important greenhouse gas.
Has someone moved the goalposts while I’ve been away sailing?
So.. That means that if we eat the vegetarians we would have less carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions… and there would be fewer obnoxious greens. sounds like a win-win to me.
Vegan extremism and its link to political extremism found in AGW advocates are worth researching. How do such sociological patterns form and reinforce themselves?
Red States and Blue States are one thing, journalists another, academics also self-segregated politically but why and how vegans? Does it start with an anti-industrial, pro-organic value structure …leading to a likely leftist viewpoint? Is that even a common theme among vegans as a rule?
Then again, it might be only the vegans who politically associate and perhaps a vast majority silent vegans who are largely invisible from debates and political comments. Vegan and green cross culture is worth a look.
Of course the papers claim are rubbish as it assumes a fact not in evidence, an unquantified claim regarding “greenhouse” gasses only assumed but never empirically defined.
I would suggest that if a person believes in climate change, they should not have a pet. What would be the impact of a dramatic reduction in number of dogs/cats (e.g. producing and transporting food and supplies)? I’m not anti-pet, I just would like to see the outrage among climate warming pet owners if they were badgered to give up their pets for the good of mother earth.
That should be CLIMATIC change.
The other type results from recurrent stimulation.
And here I thought all the tree-hugging, sticker-festooned Leaf drivers here in Seattle were unjustly sanctimonious. Now, I know that they’re merely trying to save us from climate change. The time I see a bumper sticker that reads, “Stop Global Warming, Be a Vegan” (not a joke, they exist here), I’ll embrace them with open arms.
Naked social engineering.
Agriculture, manufacturing and petrochemicals are still the three most energy intensive industries in the US.
Catastrophic Bovine Global Warming is upon us. My redheaded girlfriend and her two redheaded kids are begging you for their lies. Won’t you please help by not eating beef?
(Plus, if you all stop eating beef, my t-bone steaks will be much cheaper.)
Did they consider that if we ate nothing but vegetables, our methane emissions would increase? It is well known that herbivores produce more methane than carnivores.
Save the world! Eat more Meat to stave off the next Glaciation!
Thank God all those bison are gone. Just think of all that warming that must have occured during the little ice age.
“Climate Change” has simply become the all-purpose Trojan Horse for activist groups to push their particular agenda. I’m surprised we haven’t seen the claim that “climate change” is behind the surge in illegal immigration; that claim is no more absurd that others that have been made.
It’s gotten to the point where real scientists trying to do actual serious work don’t stand out any more from all the charlatans pushing junk.
Great. I hope they all stop eating bacon and beef.
That way prices would drop for the rest of us.
“Carbon dioxide is the most-prevalent gas when it comes to climate change.”
Sorry, that’s as far as I could read.
So does this mean that the early settlers were helping the environment when they hunted the buffalo nearly to extinction?
Will the President and presumptive candidate now taunt the meat eaters too?
Guess I’ll switch to vegan and eat only beans from now on. Only way to avoid those nasty cow farts…
Wait a minute…
As always, the unintended negative consequences are ignored.
http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/264585/speedreads-study-smelling-farts-may-be-good-for-your-health
Based on my experience of being around veg-heads, if this measure were adopted the amount of methane humans would exhaust from a diet of 7-bean salads, lentil burgers, Brussels sprouts etc. would certainly exceed the amount produced by cattle. It is my unique belief that all vegans wear special shirts/jackets that say “pesticide-, herbicide-, GMO- and additive-free human” so when the end comes I’ll know who to aim for. 🙂
@ur momisugly earwig42 July 21, 2014 at 12:22 pm
Brings a whole new meaning to the exhortation “Eat your Greens”
Being a Paleo diet convert this is deeply distressing to me. I consider grains to be poison. I am much more healthy since I gave up grains and beans. 30 pounds lighter, no arthritis, no GERD, better cholesterol values. They will have to pry the greasy steak from my cold dead fingers!
OMG! People in developing countries are improving their diet by adding meat! It’s much worse than we thought.