Did you know that the largest meat and dairy companies are responsible for more methane emissions than all the countries in the European Union and the UK combined? A recent report has highlighted this alarming issue, showing that livestock, mainly beef and dairy cattle, contribute about one-third of global methane emissions. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, which makes its impact on climate change significant.
Despite their large contribution, meat and dairy companies currently don’t have to disclose their emissions like energy companies do. To understand their impact better, a nonprofit research group, Profundo, teamed up with environmental organizations like Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace Nordic, and Foodrise. They analyzed data from 45 major livestock companies and discovered that these firms produced approximately 1 billion tons of greenhouse gases in 2023. To put that into perspective, that is about the same amount as emissions from Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest oil producer.
“These emissions are enormous, yet they hardly come up in government discussions,” said Ben Lilliston, a director at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, one of the group’s involved in the report.
The five biggest emitting companies were Brazilian giants like JBS and American firms like Tyson and Cargill. Remarkably, JBS alone accounted for nearly a quarter of all emissions from the analyzed companies, even outpacing the methane emissions of oil giants like ExxonMobil and Shell combined.
This report is particularly timely, coming just weeks before the annual UN climate summit, held this year in Belém, Brazil. The Brazilian beef industry has been implicated in severe deforestation of the Amazon, which is the largest rainforest on the planet. Around 80% of deforestation in the region is attributed to cattle ranching. Even with public commitments to avoid sourcing cattle from illegally cleared land, ranchers continue this destructive practice.
Interestingly, only a few countries that signed the Paris climate agreement actually have targets to reduce livestock emissions. Kari Hamerschlag of Friends of the Earth stressed the need for significant emission cuts in the meat and dairy sector to meet climate goals: “Without reducing the number of animals, we can’t achieve our climate targets.”
The findings also point to a glaring issue: even if we halted fossil fuel use today, emissions from our food systems alone would still exceed climate goals. Research has consistently shown that agricultural emissions play a crucial role in the climate crisis.
While some companies have made promises to cut emissions, many are focusing on growth instead. For instance, JBS has plans to significantly increase production to meet projected global meat demand in the coming decades. They have even faced legal challenges, such as a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused them of misleading the public about their emissions goals.
Amid increasing scrutiny, some companies have started to retreat from their earlier commitments. For example, Nestlé has pulled out of a dairy industry compact aimed at reducing methane emissions. Tyson has removed references to “climate smart” beef from its marketing materials. “It’s disheartening to see these companies walking back their already minimal commitments,” noted Lilliston.
Looking ahead, some regions like California and the European Union plan to require large companies, including those in agriculture, to report their greenhouse gas emissions. This could enhance transparency and accountability, providing consumers with crucial information about the environmental impact of their food choices.
In summary, the findings underscore the urgent need for the meat and dairy industry to reassess their emissions and take stronger action for climate change. The growing awareness and demand for accountability may push these companies towards more sustainable practices in the future.
For further insights into these issues, you might find the UN’s modeling framework, developed to analyze agricultural emissions, helpful. Understanding and addressing these emissions could play a pivotal role in our efforts to combat climate change.
