How much does agriculture and livestock contribute to greenhouse gas emissions?

A dramatic rise of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the past several decades has resulted in heightened concern for the health of our environment. While carbon dioxide is naturally present in our atmosphere, our increased human activity with a negative environmental impact has produced excess CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) into our atmosphere, further contributing to the impending issue of global warming.

Breaking down greenhouse gas emissions by sector, we can identify which types of human activity contribute more substantially to manmade greenhouse gas emissions. Referencing the pie chart to the right, the energy sector contributes almost 72% of total global manmade greenhouse gas emissions. This makes energy by far the most significant source of manmade greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture comes in second, contributing 11% to total global manmade greenhouse gas emissions. To put this 11% in perspective, the entire agriculture sector amounts to the carbon emissions of a single car driving 1.6 trillion miles. A reduction in only GHG emissions due to agriculture can still make a dramatic impact on our carbon footprint.

How can a Vegan diet help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Within the agriculture sector, livestock production and crop cultivation are the two main sources of agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Comparing standard diets, which include all forms of animal products and plant-based foods, to a Vegan diet, which is purely plant-based, we can investigate how each diet might affect an individual’s contribution to carbon emissions.

An individual following a standard diet contributes 5.76 kg of CO2 per day which approximately equivalent to driving 14 miles in a car. In contrast, a Vegan diet will only contribute 2.89 kg of CO2 per day. Comparing the two diets, a standard diet produces almost double the amount of CO2 emissions.

The large discrepancy in CO2 emissions derives from the fact that animal-based foods often have higher contributions to greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based foods mainly due to livestock flatulence, or the release of greenhouse gases from animals involved in the production of animal-based products.

It is evident that following a Vegan diet can significantly reduce an individual’s carbon footprint and contribute to a more environmentally friendly world.

How much does agriculture and livestock contribute to our global water footprint?

Freshwater is vital for life on Earth, but it is a limited and coveted resource. From its use in food production to dishwashing, our world’s increasing water usage has put extreme pressure on our freshwater resources.

Many water conservation tips focus on cutting back on water usage within one’s household. However, changes to one’s diet could have a much greater impact on water footprint.

According to the International Water Management Institute, currently up to 90% of all managed water is used to grow food. For an average person, 73% of their water consumption goes into the food they eat, while another 24% is used in industrial goods, and the remaining 3% for household water usage.

As seen in the chart to the right, food production makes up an overwhelmingly large percentage of the world’s water footprint. This would suggest that conscious choices regarding our diet could drastically reduce our water footprints.

How can a Vegan diet help reduce our water footprint?

Because food production contributes to such a large percentage of the world’s water usage, the diets we choose to follow can have a large impact on water conservation. Therefore, in this environmentally dire state our world is currently in, it is important to choose diets that minimize our water footprint.

The production of meat requires the largest amount of water mostly due to irrigated crops with large green and blue water footprints used for animal feed. Approximately 4,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1kg of meat, which is in stark comparison to the approximate 600 gallons required for 1kg of peas (a primary ingredient in many Vegan meat substitutes).

For an average person following a standard diet, 1,000 gallons of water are required to produce their daily diet. In contrast, a Vegan diet only requires 400 gallons per day to produce.

Because water requirements of a plant-based diet are drastically lower than that of a meat-based diet, the best way to reduce dietary water footprint is to eat less meat and move towards food lower on the food chain.

How much does agriculture and livestock contribute to the ecological footprint?

Comprising only 29% of Earth’s surface, land supply is limited. But with an exponentially rising world population, human demand for land in the form of residential, industrial, mining, and recreational needs has only increased. The limited supply and high demand for land has resulted in immense pressure on this resource.

Of the total land on Earth, only 71% of it is actually habitable. Our pie chart to the right investigates how that habitable land is occupied and used.

The primary sector driving land use is agriculture. In fact, half (50%) of all habitable land is used for agriculture. The remaining 50% is occupied by forests (37%), other land (13%) uses such as shrubs and grassland, and urban/built-up land which uses a shockingly small 1%.

Considering the large percentage of habitable land use, it is evident that sustainable choices within the agricultural sphere can have a great impact on our ecological footprint.

How can a Vegan diet help reduce our ecological footprint?

Of the land used for agriculture, 77% is used for livestock to produce meat and dairy products; this includes grazing land for animals as well as arable land for animal feed production, both of which are not required for crop production. The remaining 23% is used for crops to produce plant-based products.

To put it in a per person perspective, to satisfy an individual following a standard diet, 26 global m^2 are required per day to meet their dietary and food consumption needs. Conversely, only 15 global m^2 are required per day to meet a Vegan individual’s food consumption needs. Comparing the two diets, a standard diet requires almost double the amount of land to satisfy consumer needs.

Furthermore, beef production requires 36 times more land than the production of peas, a common plant-based meat substitute. Research by Oxford University found that if 100% of the world became Vegan, global farmland use would drop by 75 percent. This decline would free up a landmass the size of Australia, China, the EU, and the U.S. combined.

Switching to a Vegan diet can reduce our ecological footprint by driving a shift in the agriculture industry to produce more plants for human consumption in place of animal products.