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The Impact of the Livestock Industry (Pt. 2)

How the livestock industry negatively impacts the environment.

By Karina Torres

January 8, 2021

There are six different greenhouse gases (GHG’s) present in Earth’s atmosphere. These are: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.

Of these six natural gases, three of them are anthropogenic (attributed to human activities) gases that markedly contribute to global warming, according to the David Suzuki Foundation (n.d.)

According to Grossi, Goglio, Vitali, and Williams (2019), industrial (or factory) livestock farming is among the leading contributors of anthropogenic GHGs--the industry accounts for roughly 14.5 percent of global emissions. 

However, this figure has increased in recent years as today’s society continues to excessively consume livestock products.  

The problem at hand

Modern-day human activities--such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, intensive farming and agriculture, among others--have accounted for a significant increase of GHGs in the atmosphere. 

After carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide follow as the second and third most abundant anthropogenic gases. Methane accounts for 20 percent (Global Methane Initiative, n.d.) of global emissions and nitrous oxide for 6.5 percent (United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). 

The largest amounts of these two gases are chiefly attributed to industrial livestock farming. 

According to Grossi et al. (2019), “Methane, mainly produced by enteric fermentation and manure storage, is a gas which has an effect on global warming 28 times higher than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide, arising from manure storage and the use of organic/inorganic fertilizers, is a molecule with a global warming potential 265 times higher than carbon dioxide.”

The amount of methane and nitrous oxide emitted by livestock depend on various factors: 

  • The number of animals: 

Around 70 billion animals are raised for food each year. This kind of figure evidently accounts for large amounts of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from part of livestock animals on a yearly basis. 

  • Their digestive system:

Ruminant livestock--such as cattle, sheep, buffalo, goats, deer, and camels--undergo a natural digestive process called ‘enteric fermentation’, which consists of microbes in the digestive tract (or rumen) that decompose and ferment food, producing methane as a by-product. This methane is then released into the atmosphere by the animal belching (Enteric Fermentation,  2014).

  • The type of feed:

Livestock animals’ diet typically consists of hay, straw, silage, grains, and legumes. However, the composition of these nutrients allow for the formation of methane due to a specific enzyme in their gut during the digestion (FutureFeed, n.d.).

  • Manure: 

Manure acts as an emission source for both methane and nitrous oxide. The quantity emitted is linked to environmental conditions, the type of management, and the composition of the manure (Grossi et al., 2019).

 

The combination of these factors allows for significant amounts of methane and nitrous oxide to be released into the atmosphere, and, consequently, greatly contribute to global warming and climate change. 

The effects 

It all revolves around the Greenhouse Effect--this process is responsible for keeping Earth warm and sustaining a balanced temperature, which averages between 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit). The way this process works is by maintaining natural gases (the GHGs) in the atmosphere and allowing them to trap heat from the sun that would otherwise escape into space (Greenhouse Effect 101, 2019).

This said, the more GHGs society produces through the different environmentally-harmful human activities, the more heat these gases trap and, thus, the higher the global temperature rises and other climatic changes occur. 

The industrial livestock industry consistently adds to the rapid increase in GHGs in today’s atmosphere with the rearing of millions of animals and unsustainable practices. 

The chemicals primarily emitted from livestock farms not only impact the present environment but also endanger the planet's future, as gases such as methane and nitrous oxide last for up to a decade in the atmosphere, allowing for their harmful effects to persist. 

Become part of the change!

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