Will Beef Change Humanity's Future? Warning: "The Whole World Must Change"

Food Accounts for 30% of Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions
"Both Flying and Beef Must Be Reduced, Not Just One"

A study has found that 44% of the global population would need to change their diets in order to limit climate change to within 2 degrees Celsius.

Livestock Farm. Photo is not directly related to the content of the article. The Asia Business Daily DB

On December 27 (local time), a research team led by Navin Ramankutty at the University of British Columbia in Canada published in the international journal Environmental Research: Food Systems that, after analyzing data from 112 countries accounting for 99% of global food-related greenhouse gas emissions, they concluded that 44% of the world’s population would have to switch to foods with lower carbon emissions to keep climate change within 2 degrees Celsius. Greenhouse gas emissions from food production and consumption account for about 30% of total human greenhouse gas emissions. The researchers explained that beef and other meats, as well as dairy products, are particularly significant high-emission foods.

In this study, the researchers analyzed data from 112 countries (as of 2012), representing 88.8% of the global population and 98.7% of global food-related greenhouse gas emissions. They divided each country’s population into ten groups by income level, then combined food consumption data with greenhouse gas emissions from global food production and supply chains to calculate per capita food-related emissions. They then compared these figures to the total emissions that the world can afford to stay below 2 degrees Celsius of warming, analyzing how many people exceed the allowable limit.

The researchers found that 44.4% of the global population (2.7 billion people) exceed the per capita emission threshold (1.17 tons of CO₂ equivalent per year) required to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius. In other words, 44% of the total population needs to immediately switch to foods with lower carbon emissions. Furthermore, when applying this calculation to the year 2050, they estimated that 89-91% of the global population would exceed the per capita emission threshold.

Notably, the study found that about 43% of the average Canadian’s food-related greenhouse gas emissions come from beef consumption. The researchers stated, “Reducing beef consumption is key to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the food sector if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.” They emphasized, “Since everyone needs to eat, everyone can make a difference through their diet. For those who both fly frequently and eat a lot of beef, it is no longer a choice between the two-both need to be reduced.”