The livestock sector produces 37% of all human-induced methane (a much more strongly warming greenhouse agent than CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive system of ruminants such as cattle. In addition, livestock are responsible for 65 per cent of human-related nitrous oxide(N2O), another powerful GHG.
The UN’s Livestock’s Long Shadow report also states:
“Livestock now use 30 per cent of the earth’s entire land surface, mostly permanent pasture but also including 33 per cent of the global arable land used to producing feed for livestock, the report notes. As forests are cleared to create new pastures, it is a major driver of deforestation, especially in Latin America where, for example, some 70 per cent of former forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing.”
Source: Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, UN report warns – UN News Centre
Date: 29 November 2006
Source: Livestock’s Long Shadow (UN FAO) – Full Report
Date: 2006
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