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The Missing Target: Why Industrialized Animal Farming Must Be at the Core of the Climate Agenda
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The Missing Target: Why Industrialized Animal Farming Must Be at the Core of the Climate Agenda

Jenny L Mace, Andrew Knight, Fernanda Vieira, Patricia Tatemoto and Mariana Gameiro
Animals (Basel), Vol.15(22), 3256
2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15223256
PMID: 41301964
pdf
Published451.83 kBDownloadView
CC BY V4.0,  Open Access

Abstract

environment land use CO2 equivalents animal agriculture methane biodiversity loss climate crisis animal farming climate change greenhouse gas
Global greenhouse gas reduction targets are applied to many sectors in many countries, as part of the Nationally Determined Contributions mandated within the Paris Agreement (climate). However, industrialized animal farming is typically missed out or deprioritized. This is despite suggestions that excluding this sector would automatically result in global failure to meet 1.5 °C and potentially even 2 °C maximum temperature rise targets, even if fossil fuel use were to immediately cease. To foster further discussion and assessments about the need for such targets in relation to industrialized animal farming, this study collated and analyzed recent studies on the impacts of industrialized animal farming on the environment. Of the 579 items initially retrieved, 47 studies were shortlisted. Over three quarters ( = 37, 79%) of the shortlisted studies were unequivocal concerning the significant negative impact industrialized animal farming has had, and continues to have, on climate change and broader environmental concerns-between 12 and 20% of greenhouse gases, and 50%, 32%, and 76% of all eutrophication, soil acidification, and land use, respectively. This all creates immense contributions to biodiversity loss, which itself further aggravates climate change. The remaining studies did assert that industrialized animal farming had an significant impact; however, their findings complicated the picture in one way or another (e.g., suggesting suboptimal measuring methods) or they had flawed methodologies. As a matter of urgency, the present paper recommends that targets for significant reductions in levels of animal production and consumption should be incorporated into discussions and policies for tackling the climate crisis, such as at COP30.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#12 Responsible Consumption & Production
#13 Climate Action

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
6 Social Sciences
6.263 Agricultural Policy
6.263.1720 Dietary Sustainability
Web Of Science research areas
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Veterinary Sciences
Zoology
ESI research areas
Plant & Animal Science
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