The Green Analysis

We have all heard it before: the devastating effects of livestock, particularly cattle, on our planet and the call to explore meat alternatives. Livestock contributes to roughly 15% of the total greenhouse gases produced each year. As emissions from other sectors decrease, the proportion contributed by livestock will only increase. Activists worldwide push for the complete elimination of meat from diets. However, the majority of people are not yet ready to give up this protein source. So, what can we do, individually and collectively, to mitigate the impact of livestock on the world, without completely abandoning meat?

The Problem

Livestock makes up ~15% of global emissions, with a large portion of that 15% being from cattle. Cattle produce a lot of methane, which is more than 80 times worse than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Apart from the vast amounts of greenhouse gasses that livestock produces, it also takes up many other key resources, including land, water, and food. In perspective, around 6,800 liters(1,800 gal) of water produce just one pound of beef, while a pound of wheat only requires 830 liters(220 gal) of water. Cattle and livestock, in general, also need far more land than the per-pound equivalent of wheat or other plants. Furthermore, the amount of feed fed to livestock in the US alone could feed 800 million people. According to the UN, 828 million people will be affected by hunger in 2021. This amount of resources that are wasted raising livestock, not to mention the greenhouse gasses emitted, make livestock a very inefficient food source.

Solutions

Some solutions to making livestock more sustainable are, first, individually, we can consume less meat or eat other, more efficient meats instead of beef. For example, chicken is much more sustainable than beef, and wild game is even more sustainable. Accepting these new foods into our daily lives will make us far more sustainable. An example of this is the Axis deer of Hawaii. These invasive species are being hunted and eaten on a large scale. Axis deer even possess more nutrition than most farmed animals. If more species can replicate the success of Axis deer, then we will go a long way towards making them more sustainable while also promoting biodiversity. Other solutions that don’t require changes in your diet include improving food management so that cattle emit less methane, increasing land usage efficiency, and improving soil health. These solutions, however, need more time to mature and are currently too costly, making farmers less likely to use them. As time continues, humans will need to adapt to this issue, by either innovating new techniques to make livestock farming far more sustainable, or by making the switch and changing their diets. But what is certain, is that the current efficiency of farming livestock is far too inefficient and costly at supporting the global population, and for the planet we live on.