Let’s Crunch the CO2 Numbers Again –
And find out what changed.
My very first Substack article looked at the amount of human-made Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions caused by commercially farmed animals (among other numbers), and I quoted the commonly accepted 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions which are produced by livestock. This number is based on scientific studies undertaken by, for example, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Four gasses in particular contribute to the Greenhouse Effect because they form something like an umbrella, trapping heat and slowing their release into the atmosphere: 1. CO2, which is released through natural processes such as volcanic eruptions and through human activities, mainly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. 2. Methane occurs naturally in wetlands when plant matter breaks down. Human activity causing methane are landfills, rice farming, and animal agriculture. 3. Nitrous Oxide comes from burning fossil fuels and burning vegetation as well as from the use of commercial fertilizers. 4. Chlorofluorocarbons were used as solvents, refrigerants, and spray can propellants. Their use has been regulated and curtailed (see the Montreal Protocol) because they caused a hole in the ozone layer, and since then these hazardous chemicals have been largely phased out.
Emissions from fossil fuels are considered to be the dominant cause of global warming. Solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars etc. will hopefully slow the trajectory towards a climate catastrophe of untold proportions. But not every scientist believes that’s the only solution.
Recently I came across a video featuring Dr. Sailesh Rao, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Healers. He is also an author and Executive Producer of multiple documentaries including Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret and What the Health. A systems engineer by profession, he has studied climate change from a systems perspective for over 13 years. In a peer-reviewed white paper from 2019, Animal Agriculture is the Leading Cause of Climate Change, Dr. Rao makes the astonishing claim that Animal Agriculture is responsible for 87 percent of greenhouse gas emissions! This sounds shocking, doesn’t it. But when he explains how he reached these conclusions, he is immensely convincing. He suggests that the meat- and dairy industry is so powerful that it is able to influence agencies such as the FAO and IPCC. So, they fudge the numbers quite deliberately: methane, for example, breaks down rather quickly, after only 12.4 years. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, can persist for thousands of years. To compare the Global Warming Potential of different gasses, the agencies select a certain time window, usually 100 years. This incorrectly dilutes the potency of methane; its GWP over 100 years would be 28, whereas over 10 years – more accurate – it would be 84.
To be honest, all these numbers make my head spin. The 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to livestock (IPCC, FAO) seems indeed inaccurate because they count the methane impact over a time period of 100 years. But I’m unable to decide whether livestock and their byproducts account for 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions (see this paper by Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang) or 87 percent, as Dr. Rao claims. His solutions seem convincing, regardless of this number. (As an aside, the recommendations provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO] to reduce methane emissions from global livestock seem totally inhumane and only geared to profit the “producers”).
Dr. Rao’s solution sounds radical, but I’m absolutely convinced that he is correct: STOP ALL MEAT AND DAIRY CONSUMPTION. Become a vegan, but more than that: a vegan dedicated to becoming a caretaker, a “Homo Ahimsa”, a human being committed to “non-violence towards both human and non-human beings physically, mentally, and spiritually”.
Here are some numbers which are a direct result from human activity – and which have an immense impact on the future of humanity. Of all the mammals on earth, 60 percent are livestock, 36 percent are humans, and only 4 (FOUR) percent are wild mammals. And 70 percent of all birds are farmed poultry, only 30 percent are wild. The whaling/fishing industry is responsible for an 80 percent decline in marine life.1 (For a detailed report, see the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2020).
The human-induced Sixth Mass Extinction is well underway. Its loss of biodiversity has a direct effect on human well-being because it disrupts crop pollination and water purification.
The facts listed above produce a negative feedback loop as far as greenhouse gasses are concerned. Forests, in particular old growth and rainforests, are what is called Carbon Sinks, which means that they absorb carbon dioxide and offset what is released into the atmosphere. Human activities and natural processes produce carbon, and forests (and also grasslands, soils, and ocean water) absorb and store the carbon. No layer of gasses can form and trap warmth.
BUT! One third of the Earth’s forests has been lost, twice the size of the United States. Cattle ranchers burn the Amazon rainforest for beef and soy production (which in turn is used for animal feed). Thus, the forest is emitting more carbon dioxide than it can absorb and can’t function as a carbon sink any more. If one entertains the notion that forests are living entities who have wisdom, sentience, and often formidable age, then their mindless destruction becomes a travesty, an immensely sad act of annihilation.
The table above shows the greenhouse gasses footprint (kilograms of CO2 per person/year). Compare the meat eater’s (over 2,000) to the vegan’s (about 300). Isn’t it convincing that the animal agriculture industry is unsustainable? It produces a humge amount of greenhouse gasses and simultaneously destroys the forests which could absorb these gases. Crazy.
Here’s a test that lets you calculate your carbon footprint. It’s probably not all that accurate because it makes a few assumptions, that you live in England, for example. But it’s fun nonetheless.