Livestock Are Part of the Solution – HuffPost – Pietro Paganini
Even during COP29 and the G20, the livestock sector has been accused of being one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, with an environmental impact allegedly greater than that of transportation. This is not the case – livestock is not the problem but part of the solution. I explained this, supported by scientific arguments, in a commentary for HuffPost.
You can read the full article on HuffPost or below.
Livestock Are Part of the Solution
Livestock farming is often accused of being one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, with an environmental impact even greater than that of transportation. However, this narrative, amplified over the years by ideological approaches and commercial interests, is misleading and distracts from real climate priorities.
The belief that the livestock sector exceeds transportation in global emissions originates from the 2006 FAO report “Livestock’s Long Shadow.” This report propagated a distorted comparison: for livestock, emissions were calculated across the entire lifecycle of meat production from cereal cultivation to distribution and consumption while for transportation, only tailpipe emissions were considered, ignoring the full production cycle, including material production and energy consumption.
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For nearly 20 years, this flawed methodology has fueled a false perception of the livestock sector, which contributes only 5.8% of global CO2 equivalent emissions. By comparison, fossil fuels account for 78.4%, with the industrial, residential, and transportation sectors being the main contributors.
Methane produced by cattle, often criticized, follows a natural and renewable cycle: plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, cattle transform cellulose into methane, and methane breaks down into CO2 within 9-12 years, completing a zero-sum cycle without adding new carbon to the atmosphere.
Fossil fuels, on the other hand, release carbon accumulated over millions of years, adding new carbon to the atmosphere, where it remains for centuries, exacerbating the climate crisis. Comparing biogenic methane to fossil fuels oversimplifies a complex issue and risks penalizing a sector vital to global food security.
Despite its relatively small contribution to global emissions, the livestock sector continues to evolve, adopting innovative solutions to further reduce its environmental impact. The use of feed additives to limit methane production during digestion and technologies to capture methane from manure and convert it into energy are just some of the innovations that position the sector as a climate asset capable of contributing to a more sustainable future.
Livestock is not the problem but part of the solution. With an informed approach and support for innovation, the sector can continue to balance food security and emission reductions, addressing global challenges practically and sustainably.
