Global farm animal production and global warming: impacting and mitigating climate change
2008
Beef Production and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Avery Alex, Avery Dennis
Primary Institution: Hudson Institute, Center for Global Food Issues
Hypothesis
Switching to organic livestock production will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Conclusion
Switching to organic beef production may actually increase greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional methods.
Supporting Evidence
- Organic beef production in Sweden emits 22.3 kg of CO2-equivalent GHG emissions per kilogram of beef.
- Conventional beef production in the U.S. results in only 22 kg of CO2-equivalent GHG emissions per kilogram of beef.
- A large-scale shift to organic beef production could increase overall GHG emissions by nearly 60% per pound of beef produced.
- Grass-finishing cattle is at least three times less land efficient compared to grain-finishing cattle.
Takeaway
The study shows that organic beef might not be better for the environment than regular beef, and could even be worse.
Methodology
The study involved life cycle analyses comparing greenhouse gas emissions from different beef production systems.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to funding from the beef industry.
Limitations
The analysis may not account for all variables affecting greenhouse gas emissions.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website