The livestock sector could use almost half of the 1.5 degrees Celsius greenhouse gas emission budget allowed by 2030 with its high emission of methane. Addressing this issue will help hit climate targets.

‘A transition from consuming animal proteins to plant proteins makes a much needed contribution to reduce the extent of methane emission from livestock sector and help hit temperature goals.’

For the first time, Harwatt proposes a three-step strategy to gradually replace animal proteins with plant-sourced proteins, as part of the commitment to mitigate climate change. 




These are acknowledging that current numbers of livestock are at their peak and will need to decline.
Set targets to transition away from livestock products starting with foods linked with the highest greenhouse gas emissions such as beef, then cow's milk and pork.
The best available food approach is assessing suitable replacement products against a range of criteria, including greenhouse gas emission targets, land usage and public health benefits.
In the study published in Climate Policy, Harwatt further elaborates that recent evidence shows, in comparison with the current food system, switching from animals to plants proteins could potentially feed an additional 350 million people in the US alone.
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The article reports that the current livestock population in the world is around 28 billion animals and constitutes the highest source of two major greenhouse gases -- methane and nitrous oxide.
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Methane emissions from the livestock sector are projected to rise by 60 per cent by 2030 -- the same time period over which strong and rapid reductions are needed.
"Given the livestock sector's significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and methane dominance, animal to plant protein shifts make a much-needed contribution to meeting the Paris temperature goals and reducing warming in the short term, while providing a suite of co-benefits," Harwatt added.
Source-IANS