The call was published on December 11, 2019 to coincide with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) happening in Madrid this month . According to the UN report "Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems", food prices will rise by 80% by 2050 which will likely lead to food shortages. Glaser, Christine, et al. If global consumption of meat and dairy continues to grow at the current pace, the agriculture sector could consume about 70 percent of the allowable budget for all GHG emissions by mid-century. The livestock business is among the most damaging sectors to the earth’s increasingly scarce water resources, contributing among other things to water pollution from animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and the pesticides used to spray feed crops. Greenhouse gas emissions reached a new high last year, putting the world on track for an average temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius, a U.N. report showed on Wednesday. Climate change is a global emergency that goes beyond national borders. Rising temperatures, increased rain and more extreme weather events will all have … "Costs and Consequences: The Real Price of Livestock Grazing on America's Public Lands". They also discharge pesticides, antibiotics, and heavy metals into water systems. Cattle are by far the biggest source of emissions from animal agriculture, with one recent study showing that in an average American diet, beef consumption creates 1,984 pounds of CO2e annually. One of the main crops grown in the rainforest is soybeans used specifically for animal feed. Last year's UN Climate Change Conference in Paris presented a ready-made opportunity to agree carbon cutting obligations in specific areas. A United Nations report published last week shows a record rise in climate change inducing greenhouse gasses, setting us on a path towards destruction. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), the animal agriculture sector is responsible for approximately 18%, or nearly one-fifth, of human-induced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is no pathway to achieve the Paris climate objectives without a massive decrease in the scale of animal agriculture, they added. Global meat production is projected to more than double from 229 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 465 million tonnes in 2050, while milk output is set to climb from 580 to 1043 million tonnes. Livestock waste can also pass through the soil to groundwater, which may then contaminate nearby streams and rivers with nitrates and pathogens. On the ground, climate change is hitting us where it counts: the stomach – not to mention the forests, plants and animals. Two-thirds of those gases are directly emitted by ruminants: animals … Agriculture would use up 20 of those gigatons, leaving only three for the rest of the global economy. ♦ Receive daily updates directly in your inbox -, Livestock’s Long Shadow–Environmental Issues and Options, Work to make the world a better place: 5 things you need to know about ‘green jobs’, Death Valley temperature likely highest since 1931: UN weather agency, 2020 may be third hottest year on record, world could hit climate change milestone by 2024. Global GHG emissions from the livestock sector increased by 51 percent between 1961 and 2010, spurred by a 54 percent increase in methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock manure. The agriculture sector is one of the biggest drivers of anthropogenic – meaning human-caused – climate change. A view of herd of cows grazing in the valley of Campo Imperatore in Abruzzo, Italy. Concentrated animal farming operations present additional public health risks to nearby communities, as viral diseases may spread from sick livestock to humans and the increased use of antibiotics encourages antibiotic resistance. Working in close collaboration with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other actors at international and national level, FAO is helping countries develop and implement new strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture sector. Millions of people around the world are facing disaster from flood, droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather, as governments fail to take the measures needed to adapt to the impacts of climate breakdown, the UN has warned. This is the main conclusion drawn by the report “Tackling climate change through livestock”. The rapid growth of animal agriculture is the main cause of this. It provides livelihoods to about 1.3 billion people and contributes about 40 per cent to global agricultural output. Climate change has both direct and indirect effects on agricultural productivity including changing rainfall patterns, drought, flooding and the geographical redistribution of pests and diseases. Cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation, and smarter production methods, including improved animal diets to reduce enteric fermentation and consequent methane emissions, are urgently needed, according to a new United Nations report released today. With increased prosperity, people are consuming more meat and dairy products every year, the report notes. Further amplifying water and air pollution, global livestock produce seven to nine times more sewage than humans, most of which is left untreated. Governments around the world should all declare a state of climate emergency until the world has reached net-zero CO 2 emissions, the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has told a summit of world leaders. Furthermore, air and water pollution can be directly attributed to the livestock sector, which is the largest contributor to global water pollution. GHG intensity from the average western diet could be cut in half by adopting a plant-based diet. Groups like Solutions from the Land are working with American farmers to find ways to reduce emissions without sacrificing production, and the US Department of Agriculture set up Climate Hubs to help farmers adapt to and mitigate climate change. Of that 1.9 billion acres: 778 million acres of private land are used for livestock grazing (for… “The environmental costs per unit of livestock production must be cut by one half, just to avoid the level of damage worsening beyond its present level,” it warns. Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing countries around the world - the challenge for the agriculture and agri-food sector is to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHG) and adapt to the impacts of climate change without jeopardizing food security. Livestock now use 30 per cent of the earth’s entire land surface, mostly permanent pasture but also including 33 per cent of the global arable land used to producing feed for livestock, the report notes. At the same time herds cause wide-scale land degradation, with about 20 per cent of pastures considered degraded through overgrazing, compaction and erosion. To meet the global goal of limiting warming to 2°C, annual emissions must be reduced from today’s levels of 49 gigatons of CO2 to around 23 gigatons by 2050. Furthermore, a third of worldwide grain production is used to feed livestock. Replacing beef with plants would reduce that figure 96 percent, bringing it down to just 73 pounds of CO2e. Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock, a widely-cited 2013 report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), estimates about 14.5 percent of global GHG emissions, or 7.1 gigatons of CO2 equivalent, can be attributed to the livestock sector annually. As forests are cleared to create new pastures, it is a major driver of deforestation, especially in Latin America where, for example, some 70 per cent of former forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing. That means emissions from beef production are roughly on par with those of India. The way we produce food and manage land must change radically if humans hope to avoid catastrophic global temperature rise, according to a new report by the United Nations panel on climate change. But when we connected the dots on animal agriculture’s impact on … By 2050, consumption of meat and dairy prod… By 2050, consumption of meat and dairy products is expected to rise 76 and 64 percent respectively, which will increase the resource burden from the industry. Animal agriculture puts a heavy strain on many of the Earth’s finite land, water and energy resources. Moreover, approximately one gigaton of carbon dioxide equivalent worth of animal-based foods is wasted globally every year. The burning of fossil fuels is currently the leading source of … Irresponsible manure management from high-volume facilities risks aerosolizing fecal matter that may reach nearby homes and cause respiratory problems. Most of this comes from manure. Climate Change Cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation, and smarter … “Livestock induced” emissions (extensive clearing of trees for agricultural expansion) amount to roughly 0.65 gigatons of CO2e per year. Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). A 2013 study by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that total annual emissions from animal agriculture (production emissions plus land-use change) were about 14.5 percent of all human emissions, of which beef contributed 41 percent. Five years ago, our family felt hopeless about climate change, and helpless to make meaningful change. Agriculture has a role to play in helping combat climate change, according to a new U.N. report. ⠀ ⠀ 91% of the deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest is due to animal agriculture, and the land is being occupied by pastures and feed crops. Beyond improving animal diets, proposed remedies to the multiple problems include soil conservation methods together with controlled livestock exclusion from sensitive areas; setting up biogas plant initiatives to recycle manure; improving efficiency of irrigation systems; and introducing full-cost pricing for water together with taxes to discourage large-scale livestock concentration close to cities. Nearly a third of biodiversity loss to date has been linked to animal agriculture. Furthermore, a third of worldwide grain production is used to feed livestock. Animal agriculture puts a heavy strain on many of the Earth’s finite land, water and energy resources. When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the livestock sector accounts for 9 per cent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. Agricultural emissions can also be limited through smarter livestock handling, technology-enabled monitoring of fertilizer application, simple changes in field layout and other, more efficient agricultural techniques. Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. Nationwide, reductions to agricultural productivity or sudden losses of crops or livestock will likely have ripple effects, including increased food prices and greater food insecurity. January 2015 The US lower 48 states represents 1.9 billion acres. In order to accommodate the 70 billion animals raised annually for human consumption, a third of the planet’s ice-free land surface, as well as nearly sixteen percent of global freshwater, is devoted to growing livestock. During the Climate Ambition Summit UN Secretary-General, António Guterres says that countries need to do more to reach climate goals. Nitrous oxide, arising from manure storage and the use of organic/inorganic fertilizers, is a molecule with a global warming potential 265 times higher than carbon dioxide. In the United States, 42 percent of agricultural emissions come from animal agriculture. “Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”. For the Center for Biological Diversity. Animal products were all … Climate change poses a threat to the security of our food supply. The greenhouse gas footprint of animal agriculture rivals that that of every car, truck, bus, ship, airplane, and rocket ship combined, they said. It generates 65 per cent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. AGA, Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization,FAO ... Tackling climate change through livestock . The carbon dioxide equivalent is a standard unit used to account for the global warming potenti… Climate Healers’ latest paper Animal Agriculture is the Leading Cause of Climate Change also says focusing exclusively on the reduction of fossil fuel burning will ‘accelerate climate change, potentially to the point of no return’. Animal agriculture is the second largest contributor to human-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after fossil fuels and is a leading cause of deforestation, water and air pollution and biodiversity loss. In order to accommodate the 70 billion animals raised annually for human consumption, a third of the planet’s ice-free land surface, as well as nearly sixteen percent of global freshwater, is devoted to growing livestock. Animal agriculture accounts for ‘at least’ 87 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) provides support to countries to address with the impacts of climate change on livestock production and to reduce the contribution of domestic animals to greenhouse gas emissions. Because FAO only modestly accounted for land-use-change … Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has also urged people to observe one meat-free day a week to curb carbon emissions. For many poor farmers in developing countries livestock are also a source of renewable energy for draft and an essential source of organic fertilizer for their crops. In this paper, we present the results of a Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) proving that animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change, responsible for at least 87% of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Though much of the world is focused on transitioning away from fossil fuels as a way to fight climate change, there is another, often-overlooked climate change culprit: animal agriculture and its environmental impact. Cattle-rearing is also a major source of land and water degradation, according to the FAO report, Livestock’s Long Shadow–Environmental Issues and Options, of which Mr. Steinfeld is the senior author. … “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems,” senior UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official Henning Steinfeld said. This is broadly equivalent to the emissions from all the fuel burned by all the world’s transport vehicles, including cars, trucks, trains, boats and airplanes. Guterres issued a searing indictment of humanity’s “war” on the environment Wednesday, in a speech on the state of the planet in which he urged everyone to prioritize “making peace with nature.” In the United States, methane from the normal digestive processes of animals totalled, Loss of carbon stored in forests and soils from. Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture. The livestock sector is also one of the leading drivers of global deforestation, and is linked to 75 percent of historic deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. The global livestock sector is growing faster than any other agricultural sub-sector. Animal Agriculture & Climate Change According to a 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the animal agriculture sector emits 18% of global, human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. And it accounts for respectively 37 per cent of all human-induced methane (23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive system of ruminants, and 64 per cent of ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain. Projected impact of climate change on yields of corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton by the years 2080-2099. Animal agriculture, which sees the raising and processing of ruminants, poultry, and marine life, accounts for some of the biggest sources of greenhouse gasses. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that the “planet is broken” and urges immediate change to save it from climate catastrophe. UN report shows link between environmental destruction and rise in pandemics 14 Jul, 2020 Democracy Now interviews Delia Grace from the UN Environment Programme on the contribution of animal agriculture to pandemics. An important emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), the livestock sector also has a large potential to reduce its emissions. 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