Environment: Agricultural emissions are roasting the planet |
Together, 45 global livestock companies produce more greenhouse gases than all but eight countries. Plus, crimes against nature are big business that rely on criminal networks, corrupt officials and eager customers, and global warming marches on.
Agricultural emissions are roasting the planet
The global livestock industry (mainly producing beef, pork, chicken and milk) is responsible for 12-19 per cent of all annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Forty-five major companies, mostly multinationals, currently generate one billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) each year – more than all but eight countries. They mostly mass-produce and/or process meat and dairy products, typically rearing large numbers of animals in concentrated feeding operations that are vertically integrated into international value chains.
Just five of the companies produce almost as much GHG as the other 40 combined. In fact, the Brazilian company JBS alone produces almost a quarter of the total. Of the six biggest GHG producing companies, three are based in Brazil and three in the US. Nine Chinese-based companies are responsible for just over 10 per cent of the total GHGs. Teys, the only Australian company in the list, produces 4.25 million tonnes of CO2eq per year.
Cattle are the major producers of the billion tonnes of GHGs. Beef is responsible for 46 per cent and milk 34 per cent, with methane production associated with enteric fermentation accounting for about 60 per cent of both. Chicken and pigs produce about 10 per cent of the GHGs each.
Around 80 per cent of global production and consumption of meat occurs in high and upper-middle income countries. Only 2 per cent of each occurs in low income countries. Most if not all of the companies plan to expand production (and emissions) in the coming decades as poor countries develop. JBS is........