Cattle cause more environmental pollution than cars

The livestock industry generates more greenhouse gas emissions than transport. Cattle are also one of the main causes of agricultural land degradation and water pollution, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced.

"If converted into carbon dioxide, the livestock industry produces more greenhouse gases than all cars combined , " the FAO report said.

If calculated by CO2, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by livestock worldwide accounts for 18% of total emissions.

Increasing demand for milk and meat is the main factor leading to this situation. In 2001, humanity consumed 229 million tons of meat. But by 2050, according to FAO estimates, this figure will double to 465 million tons. Milk consumption will also increase from 580 million tons to 1.043 million tons in the same period.

"If we include emissions from land use, cattle on the planet are responsible for 9% of global CO2 emissions, but the rate of other emissions they produce is much greater." , FAO affirmed.

Specifically, cattle produce 65% of nitrous oxide (N ₂ O). This is a gas that can absorb 296 times more solar energy than CO2 and most of it is made from animal manure.

Livestock also produce about 37% of methane (CH ₄ ) - which has 23 times the ability to retain heat than CO ₂ - and 64% of ammonia (NH ₃ ), the main culprit of acid rain.

Moreover, the demand for animal feed is also a factor leading to an imbalance in the ecosystem, degrading the quality of agricultural land and polluting water sources.

Viet Linh