sigh
"The relationship between livestock production and greenhouse gas emissions is the subject of multiple global assessments and much public and policy commentary. Too often, this results in misunderstandings, rooted in a poor comprehension of both the impacts and benefits of different systems of livestock production, despite plentiful, comprehensive, evidence-based reviews (e.g., Alibés et al.,
2020; Herrero et al.,
2016,
2009; Paul et al.,
2020; Rivera-Ferre et al.,
2016). A generalized narrative frequently prevails, which argues for major shifts in diets to reduce meat and milk consumption and a reduction in livestock production worldwide, releasing land for conservation uses and rewilding. This article challenges this now widely held narrative, arguing for a more differentiated perspective, based on a more sophisticated approach to global assessments.
This is important since methane—the greenhouse gas emitted by ruminant livestock—has become the centre of recent climate mitigation debates (Reisinger et al.,
2021). As a powerful “climate-forcing” gas, methane has major effects on global warming, even though its lifetime in the atmosphere is short relative to carbon dioxide. Livestock production, together with gas pipelines, shale fracking, waste dumps and wet rice agriculture, is a significant emitter of methane.
1 Reducing methane therefore is seen as a “quick win” for climate mitigation due to its significant influence on warming in the short term, and the Global Methane Pledge that commits to reducing methane by 30% by 2030 has over 100 countries as signatories.
2
Efforts to reduce methane emissions will have major implications for livestock production globally, as systems of greenhouse gas measurement, verification, and climate emissions reporting are established. But which livestock, where? What are the uncertainties within the global scientific assessments central to framing mitigation policies? What assumptions and biases may distort, with what consequences? These are just some of the questions addressed in this article, which is based on the recent report,
Are Livestock Always Bad for the Planet? Rethinking the Protein Transition and Climate Change Debate (Houzer & Scoones,
2021,
Report: Are livestock always bad for the planet?)."
From:
Scoones, I., 2023. Livestock, methane, and climate change: The politics of global assessments. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 14(1), p.e790.
Hoping the embedded links work too for further reading.
