Meat Industry Just As Big A Threat To The Environment As Big Oil, Study Finds

With the surge in demand and use of renewable energy, the fossil fuel industry has seen a marked decline in profitability. This is a huge deal because no money means no reason to keep using harmful energy sources. However, a new study argues that the meat industry is also a huge contributor to climate change. In time, it could even be worse than Big Oil.

The report was published by the non-profit organization GRAIN, detailing how just three huge meat companies have a larger greenhouse gas footprint than the whole of France. These companies are JBS, Cargill, and Tyson, and the amount of greenhouse gases that they produce is apparently almost comparable to what oil giants emit.

“So for the first time ever, we have estimated corporate emissions from livestock, using the most comprehensive methodology created to date by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). And before the meat and dairy industries descend upon COP23 to broadcast their “feed the world” narrative, let’s set the story straight: their emissions could lead us to a point of no return,” the report reads.

Now, it’s worth pointing out that the contributions of livestock to global warming and climate change has been an established fact within the scientific community. The only new thing that this new report really added was just how much even a handful of companies are adding to greenhouse gas levels.

Unfortunately, addressing the meat industry’s role in global warming is not as easy as confronting fossil fuel. As Futurism notes, buying an electric car instead of a gas-powered one is not hugely life-changing. Going on a completely meatless diet, however, is.

Fortunately, giving up meat entirely is not necessary to reduce the impact of livestock on the environment. However, meat producers will need to make some changes to reduce the level of greenhouse gases they emit.