“If cattle were to form their own nation, they would rank third behind China and the United States among the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters.”
World Resources Institute, 2016
You can access articles and other material dealing with the impact of animal agriculture on climate change from this page. (Material on climate change in general can be found here.)
ARTICLES
The Climate Council misses the mark on agriculture’s true impact
Climate Council Australia – Playing down animal agriculture’s impacts
When carbon neutral farming is not carbon neutral
The meat industry’s misplaced hope over methane
When “revelations” about methane emissions are not revelations at all
Global Warming Potential: What’s it all about?
Should the charitable status of Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia be revoked?
Red meat and sustainability: A modern fairy tale?
A negative climate change impact of the coronavirus pandemic
Is a methane cloud hanging over New Zealand’s zero carbon law?
Why new beef brand is not carbon neutral
Animal farming’s disastrous impacts on Australia’s rangelands
Climate change: Be wary of meat industry claims
Some impacts of cattle farming
Is “regenerative grazing” the new “clean coal”?
Dietary change is essential for forests and climate
Climate Council’s head in the sand
Climate change impacts of eating sea animals
Beef and the reef: A recipe for disaster
Open email to Youth Food Movement Australia
Some questions for Youth Food Movement Australia
AYCC grossly understates livestock’s climate change and reef impacts
Youth Food Movement and the farce of NSW’s Green Globe Awards
Infographic: Some true costs of animal-based foods
Response to climate emergency plan
Meat Eaters vs the Great Barrier Reef
Less Meat Less Heat: Falling short of what’s required
Beef, the reef and rugby: We have a problem
The pork industry in the classroom
Livestock chief gets it wrong on the vegan diet
Youth Food Movement Australia and the red meat industry
Huffington Post contributes to African poverty
Open letter to Sydney Peace Foundation
Concerns over a concerned scientist’s comments
Lots of hot air in Savory supporter’s climate change arguments
The climate change campaigner and the steak
Eating for a safe climate: Protein and other nutrients
The climatarian diet must exclude pig, chicken, fish, egg and dairy
No, two pounds of beef are not worse than a trans-Atlantic flight
Lettuce, bacon and the climate crisis
My beef with Gore, Obama and the US EPA over climate change
A livestock recap on the road to Paris
Action on livestock is essential if we are to strike targets
Questions for Breakthrough climate forum
The Other Problem With The China Free Trade Deal (on New Matilda website)
Chickens, pigs and the Amazon tipping point
Volkswagen, animal agriculture and the climate crisis
Methane breakthrough not what it may seem
Emissions intensity of Australian beef
Meat, the environment and industry brainwashing
Some concerns with Chatham House
An industry shooting itself in the foot over “Cowspiracy”
More on Cowspiracy and the Australian red meat industry
Livestock and climate: Do percentages matter?
Cowspiracy and the Australian red meat industry
More on Savory, livestock and climate change
Savory and McKibben: Another postscript
No, humans are not at the top of the food chain
Some thoughts on protein in a plant-based diet
Some quotations on the climate crisis
More on Omissions of Emissions: Livestock and the Climate Crisis
The real elephant in AYCC’s climate change room
Do the math: There are too many cows!
Prince Charles on Climate Change and Deforestation
Protecting global climate with Vegan Challenge: Interview with Paul Mahony
Livestock and climate: Why Allan Savory is not a saviour
Does the standard of climate change reporting need beefing up?
Omissions of Emissions: A Critical Climate Change Issue
Climate Change and Diet: Calcium
Some Critical Omissions from Climate Change Discussions
VIVA LA VEGAN ARTICLES
Here’s a list of my articles dealing with the impact of animal agriculture on climate change from the Viva la Vegan website, which also includes the articles shown above:
To retain a habitable planet, what we eat is critical!
Climate change: Two presentations and an alarming update
Solar Or Soy: Which is better for the planet? (Part 6)
Solar Or Soy: Which is better for the planet? (Part 5)
Solar or Soy: Which is better for the planet? (Part 4)
Solar or Soy: Which is better for the planet? (Part 3)
PRESENTATIONS AND PAPERS
August 2020
July 2020
July 2019
July 2017
July 2016
February 2016
National Food Plan Green Paper Submission
Sep 2012
Extract: “It would be helpful if the government informed the community that they can have a significant environmental impact by modifying their diets. Such an approach would help balance the efforts of groups such as Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), who were named the 2007 advertiser of the year at the Australian Writers & Art Directors awards, for its work in promoting red meat sales domestically and internationally. No one could validly complain if well-informed consumers decided to purchase fewer meat and dairy products for environmental reasons. After all, efficient markets rely on decision makers being well informed. To mislead the public of the actual causes of climate change or water shortages is worse than doing nothing at all. It deflects action away from those measures that would help to solve the pressing environmental problems that we face.”
Victorian Government Climate of Opportunity Green Paper Submission
Sep 2009
Extract: “If the Victorian Government is willing to advertise to encourage us to adopt certain beneficial practices in regard to energy and water consumption, then it should also be willing to do the same in regard to dietary choices, as the environmental benefits of dietary change would be many times greater than the benefits to be derived from the other measures mentioned.”
Response to Victorian Government’s “Climate of Opportunity” summit paper
Jun 2008
Extract: “Whilst the Victorian Government has been willing to spend money on advertisements that encourage us to turn off electrical appliances and take shorter showers, it has said little, if anything, about the dramatic effect of our food choices on the environment. This must change; the Government must help to inform the community.”
Presentation – Solar Or Soy: Which is better for the planet? (A review of animal agriculture’s impact)
Description: Animal agriculture has a massive impact on climate change. In June 2010, the United Nations Environment Programme’s International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management reported on activities and resources that contribute disproportionately to environmental pressures and impacts. In its report, the panel said, “a substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products”. This presentation supports that view. (First presented in February, 2011)
Key Issues (inter-related):
- Inherent inefficiency
- Scale
- Greenhouse gases and other warming agents
- Deforestation
- Water
- Nutrition
Comments on Meat & Livestock Australia’s “Myth Busters”
I felt the need to respond to what MLA referred to as “myth busters” regarding the environmental impacts of red meat. Here’s my paper.
Other Papers:
Some Environmental Impacts of Animal Agriculture – Part 1 (Dec, 2010)
Some Environmental Impacts of Animal Agriculture – Part 2 (Dec, 2010)
Page image:
skeeze | Cattle | Pixabay | CC0 Creative Commons
Seafood image:
Grilled lobster | Prayitno | Flickr | Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Chinese flag image:
Chinese Flag Photo © Argus456 | Dreamstime.com
YFM image:
Youth Food Movement Australia | YFM logo badge only | Flickr | Creative Commons NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0) | http://tinyurl.com/j4c8ad9 | https://www.flickr.com/photos/142322734@N08/
Other image credits:
Please refer to relevant pages.
Planetary Vegan 