| Global Farm Animal Production and Global Warming: Impacting and Mitigating Climate Change Gowri Koneswaran1 and Danielle Nierenberg1,2 1Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC, USA; 2Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC, USA Abstract
Background: The farm animal sector is the single largest anthropogenic user of land, contributing to many environmental problems, including global warming and climate change. Objectives: The aim of this study was to synthesize and expand upon existing data on the contribution of farm animal production to climate change. Methods: We analyzed the scientific literature on farm animal production and documented greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as various mitigation strategies. Discussions: An analysis of meat, egg, and milk production encompasses not only the direct rearing and slaughtering of animals, but also grain and fertilizer production for animal feed, waste storage and disposal, water use, and energy expenditures on farms and in transporting feed and finished animal products, among other key impacts of the production process as a whole. Conclusions: Immediate and far-reaching changes in current animal agriculture practices and consumption patterns are both critical and timely if GHGs from the farm animal sector are to be mitigated. Key words: animal agriculture, CAFO, climate change, concentrated animal feeding operation, diet, environment, farm animals, farm animal welfare, food choices, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) . Environ Health Perspect 116:578–582 (2008) . doi:10.1289/ehp.11034 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 31 January 2008]
Address correspondence to G. Koneswaran, HSUS—Farm Animal Welfare, 2100 L St. N.W., Washington, DC 20037 USA. Telephone: (202) 676-2362. Fax: (202) 676-2372. E-mail: gkoneswaran@humanesociety.org Both authors are staff members of the Humane Society of the United States. D.N. also serves as a Senior Fellow with the Worldwatch Institute, where she was previously employed. Received 31 October 2007 ; accepted 27 January 2008.
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