Changing the way we eat and grow food could have an enormous impact on carbon emissions, a new study shows.

5/1/2014 4:56:07 PM

Hope on a Plate

Less meat and more efficient farming could slash global carbon emissions from agriculture by as much as 50% to 90% by 2030, according to a new report released by Climate Focus and California Environmental Associates. That's the equivalent of removing all the cars in the world.

The study highlights 12 key strategies that can deliver big climate wins while boosting global food production. Most important for consumers: eating less beef and reducing food waste. Those two actions alone in key countries could cut over three gigatonnes of CO₂ every year.

"By reducing the climate impact of the food we eat, we can improve our health and the health of the planet," said Dr. Charlotte Streck of Climate Focus, co-author of the study. "By making the way we produce food more efficient, farmers can reap the benefits of increased production while decreasing the environmental impacts of farming."

Policymakers can help farmers boost productivity while mitigating climate change, she said. "We need to dispel the notion, once and for all, that productivity and sustainability can't work hand in hand."

Why Beef?

The report finds that 70% of direct greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from livestock. Much of these emissions could be eliminated if beef demand were reduced, particularly in the U.S., currently the world's biggest consumers of red meat, and China, where demand for beef is set to rise rapidly.

Already, beef consumption has dropped in the U.S. from 88.8 pounds per capita in 1976 to 58.7 pounds in 2009, thanks in part to Meatless Mondays and health concerns. That figure is still much higher than other countries, though. The report's authors recommend public relations campaigns to continue this trend.

In China it's a matter of maintaining a low-meat diet.

"Because China already has a climate-friendly diet and hasn't yet embraced beef, it's still possible to discourage the consumption of more beef without changing the country's traditional beliefs and culture," said Amy Dickie of California Environmental Associates, co-author of the study. "Steering the Chinese diet in a more climate-friendly direction would yield enormous benefits for the country's health and food security—as well as the global climate." 

Learn more in the press release and the full report. A related study takes a look at reducing meat and dairy consumption in the EU.