What is the relationship between global warming and animal husbandry?

What is the relationship between global warming and animal husbandry?

According to the report, the whole process of livestock production will emit greenhouse gases, 39% of which are derived from the intestinal fermentation of livestock, that is, greenhouse gases discharged from the gastrointestinal tract of cattle and sheep; and the greenhouse gases emitted by producing feed and changing land use ranks first. Second, accounting for 30%. In addition, different livestock have different greenhouse gas emissions. In the livestock industry's own emissions, large ruminants such as cattle and sheep dominate, with 1.4 billion cows worldwide accounting for 66% of total animal husbandry emissions, while 60 billion chickens account for only 10%. The reason is that chickens have less gastrointestinal tracts, higher food conversion efficiency, and less land.

At present, China has become a global meat consumption country, consuming 28% of the world's meat and dairy products, and 50% of the world's pork. According to the statistics of China Meat Association in 2015, China's per capita meat consumption is 63 kg/year, which is 6 times higher than that in 1978. It is estimated that by 2030, it will increase nearly 30 kg on the existing basis. At the same time, by 2030, China's greenhouse gas emissions from meat consumption will increase by more than 50%. Yang Yuexin, chairman of the Chinese Nutrition Society, told reporters that the continued increase in meat consumption has increased the risk of non-communicable diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In 2010, 85% of the dead population in China was caused by non-communicable diseases.

Li Junfeng, director of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy Research and International Cooperation, said that the importance of energy transformation in the industrial and transportation industries has been recognized worldwide, but animal husbandry-related emission reductions have not received sufficient attention. As we all know, transportation, energy and industrial emissions require the construction of new infrastructure, or even the development of new technologies. In contrast, livestock investment requires less investment. At the end of 2015, two research reports published by the Chatham House in the United Kingdom and Johns Hopkins University in the United States pointed out that if the diet structure is not changed, the global average temperature rise will be controlled within 2 °C (with the pre-industrial period of the 19th century). The goal of comparison) will be difficult to achieve. Yang Yuexin introduced that the Chinese Nutrition Society revised the “Chinese Dietary Guidelines 2016”, stating that the per capita meat intake of healthy diets should be 40-75 g/day, or 14.6-27.4 kg/year. According to the “Guidelines”, in terms of China's population and emissions in 2015, 657 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent can be reduced in the current year, which is equivalent to a 81% reduction in China's agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and a 12% reduction in global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Li Junfeng said: "Responding to climate change requires the judgment of scientists, the decision of politicians, the power of entrepreneurs, and the actions of the whole society to transform consumption patterns together." Two experts called for a balanced diet that is good for personal health and can also reduce For the impact on the environment, it is recommended to: 1. Eat less meat, follow the dietary guidelines, control the amount of meat, reduce the intake of beef and mutton, replace it with chicken; 2. Reduce food waste, eat at home or outside, reduce the amount of meals, eat Food in the net; 3. Vegetarian food on Monday, a global event that improves health and the environment through vegetarian diets every day; 4. Eating local food, foreign foods produce a large carbon footprint during transportation, local The food produced is 5 to 17 times less greenhouse gas emissions than exotic food.