Environmental Health Perspectives Article Implicates Role of Animal Agriculture in Climate Change

An article in the current issue of Environmental Health Perspectives highlights the connection between animal agriculture and the most pressing environmental issue of our time—climate change. Published in the peer-reviewed journal of the U.S. government's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a subdivision of the National Institutes of Health, the piece written by staff members of The Humane Society of the United States will reach public health and environmental experts and policy makers worldwide.

In their article, Gowri Koneswaran, Esq., director of animal agricultural impacts, and Danielle Nierenberg, M.S., animal agriculture and climate change specialist, detail how the farm animal production sector contributes to climate change and global warming during nearly every stage of production—from the greenhouse gases emitted by fertilizer and feed production to the fossil fuels required to operate factory farms and to slaughter and process animals. Koneswaran and Nierenberg discuss a variety of mitigation strategies not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to improve the welfare of billions of farm animals. These strategies include encouraging more pasture-raised and organic animal agriculture and reducing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products to make production more sustainable.

"Although factory farming's impacts on the environment, public health, and animal welfare are increasingly well-documented, only recently has the animal agriculture sector's role in climate change been evaluated, and the preliminary findings are staggering," says Nierenberg. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, meat, egg, and dairy production accounts for an estimated 18 percent, nearly one-fifth, of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions—a larger share than all transportation combined.

According to Koneswaran, "There is already a growing list of critical reasons to shun industrial animal agribusiness, and that sector's starring role in climate change is yet another. Choosing non-factory farmed products and reducing consumption of meat, eggs, and milk are two important ways to help lessen the devastating effects of animal farming on climate change."

Entitled "Global Farm Animal Production and Global Warming: Impacting and Mitigating Climate Change," the article appears in the May 2008 issue of the journal.

Facts:

• Globally, approximately 56 billion land animals are reared and slaughtered annually for human consumption. Farm animal populations are expected to double by 2050.
• Over the last few decades, factory farming has grown at twice the rate of mixed farming systems (crop and farm animal) and at more than six times the rate of pasture-based systems. Industrial operations account for an estimated 67 percent of poultry production, 50 percent of egg production and 42 percent of pork production.
• Climate change's far-reaching impacts not only threaten the environment, but also contribute to increased conflict, hunger and disease.

Timeline:

• April 2008—The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production releases the results of a two-year study, concluding that factory farms pose unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and animal welfare.
• January 2008—Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stresses the importance of lifestyle changes, including eating less meat, as a way to combat climate change.
• January 2008—National Council for Science and the Environment's conference "Climate Change: Science and Solutions" includes breakout session on animal agriculture and climate change, organized by staff of The Humane Society of the United States.
• December 2007—On behalf of the IPCC, Dr. Pachauri accepts the Nobel Peace Prize with co-recipient Al Gore "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."
• November 2007—The Humane Society of the United States releases its report, "The Impact of Animal Agriculture on Global Warming and Climate Change," pointing to the significant roles that meat, egg and dairy production play in climate change and other serious environmental problems.
• September 2007—The Lancet, the world's leading independent general medical journal, publishes a study that advocates a reduction in meat and milk consumption for residents of high-income countries, both to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and for human health benefits.
• May 2007—The IPCC releases its long-awaited report on climate change science, impacts and mitigation strategies, finding that greenhouse gas emissions have risen due to human activities, with an increase of 70 percent between 1970 and 2004.
• November 2006—The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations releases "Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options," which states that animal agriculture is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems" and is a major driver of climate change.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.