Report Says Meat, Dairy to Become World’s Biggest Polluters

The world’s five biggest meat and dairy producers could soon take the top spot as the world’s biggest polluters. A new report from the nonprofit GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy says meat and dairy could soon produce more greenhouse gasses than oil giants Exxon, Shell, and BP.  ZeroHedge.com lists those five ag companies as JBS, Fonterra, Dairy Farmers of America, Tyson Foods, and Cargill.

If they continue to grow at projected rates, they’ll produce 81% of the world’s global emissions by 2050.  The report says meat and dairy production is concentrated in a small number of countries, including the U.S. China, the European Union, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia.  The report says those countries are already responsible for over 60% of global meat and dairy emissions, which is about twice what the rest of the world produces on a per capita basis.  The authors looked into efforts to reduce emissions by all of the countries and found only six that had set reduction targets that included their whole supply chain.

The study’s lead author then said a vegan diet is the “single biggest way to lower your impact on the planet.”

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