A glass of milk for breakfast, spaghetti Bolognese for lunch, a boiled egg and a slice of salami for dinner – for many, this is a normal meal plan. But menus like this leave the global consumption of animal products steadily increasing. Especially in emerging and developing countries, the demand for meat and other products from animal production is growing massively. According to forecasts, the demand for meat will double by 2050.
It’s not just the animals that suffer. Growing consumption also has significant impacts on the environment and climate. However, this is not known to many.
The reason for climate change are the increased amounts of greenhouse gases caused by humans, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), which amplify the natural greenhouse effect.
However, these greenhouse gases are not only caused by the use of fossil fuels (eg coal, natural gas and oil) or by transport (cars, ships and airplanes). The livestock farming and the production of animal products contribute significantly to it.
Globally, 16.5 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions come from animal production. Beef cattle and dairy cows are kept in huge animal factories and are the sector’s biggest polluter – partly because of the high demand for feed and methane emissions.
Much more energy is required to produce meat, milk, cheese and butter compared to fruit and vegetables. This in turn releases more CO2. The increased production of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide is mainly caused by the fertilization of agricultural land or the production of mineral fertilizers and pesticides.