New FAO Report on Dairy and Greenhouse Gases

Today I found an article that just came out yesterday featured in the Farmers Guardian regarding results to a new study conducted by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. The report finds that cows are only responsible for 2.7 percent of global greenhouse gases, contrary to the very controversial Livestock’s Long Shadow report in 2006 which claims 18 percent of all greenhouse emissions were caused by the livestock sector.



This is a step in the right direction in getting accurate information out to the public regarding the dairy/livestock industry and greenhouse gases.  

Let's hope this story will be broadcast by mainstream media organizations such as, NBC, CBS, ABC, etc.  As I have said before in a previous post, the dairy, beef and livestock industries often get 'bad raps' and it's nice to see when an article points out facts about issues regarding these industries.

Here is the article in it's entirety from Farmers Guardian:

DAIRY cows are not the environmental villains they are often portrayed to be, according to a comprehensive UN study into dairy emissions.


A new report, from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has found cows are responsible for only 2.7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The figure rises to four percent if emissions related to meat produced from dairy animals are included.

The report, Greenhouse gas emissions from the dairy sector, was commissioned in response to calls from the dairy sector for more information after the publication of the FAO’s controversial Livestock’s Long Shadow report in 2006.

That report claimed 18 percent of all greenhouse emissions were caused by the livestock sector – a figure used widely by environmental campaigners but disputed by the livestock industry.


Jim Begg, Dairy UK director general, said the latest study ‘shed light on the true impact of dairy farming on the environment’. “In producing some of the nation’s most popular and nutritious foods, dairy cows, milk tankers and dairies emit less than 2.7 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases.

“Of course, we’re still working to lower that figure, but the report shows that the industry’s critics are the ones really producing hot air.”

Mr Begg said the dairy industry had worked hard to improve its environmental footprint through initiatives such as the UK’s Milk Roadmap which set tough targets to slash cow emissions.

“The FAO has confirmed that northern Europe is one of the most efficient regions in the world to produce milk,” he said. 

The study covers the entire dairy food chain, including the production and transport of inputs used for dairy farming, on-farm emissions and emissions associated with milk processing and packaging as well as the transportation of milk products to retailers.

“This report is fundamental to understand and identify opportunities for reducing the environmental impact of the dairy sector while providing safe and nutritious foodstuffs,” said Samuel Jutzi, from the FAO.

The assessment is part of an ongoing program to analize and recommend options for climate change mitigation.

Emissions from buffalo, poultry, small ruminants and pigs will form the basis of the next FAO study. A final report will be published in 2011.

 
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Dairy, Meat & Global Warming

The dairy and the meat industries often get a ‘bad rap’, so it’s really nice to see when an article points out facts about issues regarding these industries. The following article was featured in Science Daily and is about a report presented at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco, titled “Eating Less Meat and Dairy Products Won’t Have Major Impact on Global Warming, Export Argues.” Now, this subject and article has been wide spread in the 'Ag World' on Twitter, Facebook and all other forms of social media within the past two weeks or so, but I have not seen it pop up in the mainstream news sector. Unless I missed it........ Here is the article in it’s entirety, or click HERE to go to Science Daily. ScienceDaily (Mar. 22, 2010) — Cutting back on consumption of meat and dairy products will not have a major impact in combating global warming -- despite repeated claims that link diets rich in animal products to production of greenhouse gases. That's the conclusion of a report presented at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco. ________________________________________ Air quality expert Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D., who made the presentation, said that giving cows and pigs a bum rap is not only scientifically inaccurate, but also distracts society from embracing effective solutions to global climate change. He noted that the notion is becoming deeply rooted in efforts to curb global warming, citing campaigns for "meatless Mondays" and a European campaign, called "Less Meat = Less Heat," launched late last year. "We certainly can reduce our greenhouse-gas production, but not by consuming less meat and milk," said Mitloehner, who is with the University of California-Davis. "Producing less meat and milk will only mean more hunger in poor countries." The focus of confronting climate change, he said, should be on smarter farming, not less farming. "The developed world should focus on increasing efficient meat production in developing countries where growing populations need more nutritious food. In developing countries, we should adopt more efficient, Western-style farming practices to make more food with less greenhouse gas production," Mitloehner said. Developed countries should reduce use of oil and coal for electricity, heating and vehicle fuels. Transportation creates an estimated 26 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., whereas raising cattle and pigs for food accounts for about 3 percent, he said. Mitloehner says confusion over meat and milk's role in climate change stems from a small section printed in the executive summary of a 2006 United Nations report, "Livestock's Long Shadow." It read: "The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents). This is a higher share than transport." Mitloehner says there is no doubt that livestock are major producers of methane, one of the greenhouse gases. But he faults the methodology of "Livestock's Long Shadow," contending that numbers for the livestock sector were calculated differently from transportation. In the report, the livestock emissions included gases produced by growing animal feed; animals' digestive emissions; and processing meat and milk into foods. But the transportation analysis factored in only emissions from fossil fuels burned while driving and not all other transport lifecycle related factors. "This lopsided analysis is a classical apples-and-oranges analogy that truly confused the issue," he said. Pin It