The 2006 FAO Report “Livestock’s Long Shadow – Environmental Issues and Options” predicts that global meat consumption will more than double by 2050 (from 2001) and milk consumption will almost double.4 Animal farming itself has changed, from being small-scale, often ruminant-based to being industrial and based on monogastric animals, with burgeoning global numbers of pigs and poultry. Already, 50% of global pork production and over 70% of chicken production comes from industrial systems. Animal feeding regimes have changed from being forage-based to being heavily dependent on cereals and soya. The FAO Report reckons that the production of nitrogen fertilizer just for growing the 33% of global crops that are fed to farm animals results in “an estimated annual emission of CO2 of more than 40 million tonnes”.

The FAO Report shows us that livestock farming is responsible for significant levels of emissions of many of the gases associated with global warming, expressed in Table 1 opposite. Globally, the livestock industry is said to be responsible for 18% of the global warming effect - more than the transport sector.

“Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”

Henning Steinfeld, Chief of the FAO’s Livestock Information and Policy branch