The Environmental Impacts of Livestock Farming

Livestock farming is one of the main drivers of environmental degradation worldwide. Its impacts are multidimensional, affecting the climate, water resources, biodiversity, air quality, and quality of life.

It is a fact that industrial livestock farming – and meat consumption in general – is not sustainable for our planet.

Before we delve into the subject, however, it is worth reminding ourselves that:

Every piece of meat comes from an animal that had feelings, consciousness and a desire for life. And this industry is based on violence, deprivation, and despair.

Billions of animals around the world:

• spend their entire lives cramped in small cages

• are deprived of sunlight

• cannot move, play, or run

• end up being slaughtered without any chance to live a normal life

The fight for the planet is also a fight for the animals. When we defend the environment, we are not only defending oxygen and water, but also the fundamental right of all living beings not to be tortured for profit.

Now let us look at the environmental impacts of industrial livestock farming:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Livestock farming is responsible for about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a percentage comparable to that of all global transportation combined.

The main pollutants include:

• Methane (CH₄): Released mainly from ruminant digestion and manure management. Methane is 84 times more powerful than CO₂ over a 20-year horizon.

• Nitrous oxide (N₂O): Livestock farming produces 65% of anthropogenic N₂O emissions, a gas with 296 times greater greenhouse effect compared to CO₂.

According to a FAO report, beef and dairy production are responsible for about 3.8 gigatons of CO₂-equivalent annually, which corresponds to 62% of total livestock emissions.

In addition, a CarbonBrief chart, which is based on three different studies, shows that the carbon footprint of two meat alternatives is about 20 times smaller than that produced by the same amount of beef.

Extensive Land Use

Industrial livestock farming requires vast areas of land, not only for housing animals but mainly for cultivating animal feed (e.g., soy, corn, grains).

This has two critical consequences:

1. Cultivable land is mostly located in Global South countries.

The vast majority of land for soy cultivation is in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, where forests are cleared and communities are displaced to produce feed consumed in Europe, the US, and China.

Production does not serve local communities: nutritious products are exported to fatten animals that will end up on the plates of wealthy consumers.

2. Crops grown for animals could feed humans.

36% of global grain production is not consumed by humans but used as animal feed, according to the study by Cassidy et al. (2013).

Moreover, the same study estimates that only 12% of total calories from crops consumed by animals ultimately contribute to human diets (through meat and other animal products).

Based on current crop use, cultivating food exclusively for direct human consumption could, theoretically, increase available food calories by up to 70%, enough to feed an additional 4 billion people.

Furthermore, according to FAO, the consumption of 1 kilo of meat requires:

1. 7–10 kilos of animal feed

2. and more than 10 times the calories and water that would be needed if the crop were directed straight to humans.

Finally, according to the NGO Our World in Data, if everyone became vegan, we would save 75% of arable land.

Water Consumption and Pollution

The production of animal products requires vast amounts of water.

To produce one kilo of beef, about 8,500 liters of water are needed:

• The largest portion of water is not consumed by the animal itself, but for growing the feed it eats. Corn and soy cultivation (common feed) requires thousands of liters of water per kilo, mainly for irrigation.

• Over its lifetime (18–24 months for beef), a cow may consume 10,000–15,000 liters of water, which translates into several hundred liters per kilo of meat.

• Water is also needed for cleaning facilities, machinery, maintaining barns, cooling, and meat processing in slaughterhouses.

Where does the 8,500-liter figure come from?
The figure of 8,500 liters/kilo comes from the “water footprint” concept, as defined by Professor Arjen Hoekstra (University of Twente, Netherlands), a pioneer of the methodology:
It includes blue water (irrigation), green water (rainwater), and grey water (required for diluting pollutants).

It was analyzed by the Water Footprint Network, which calculated:

• 15,400 liters/kilo of beef (global average, full approach)

• Of this, 8,500 liters/kilo is a more conservative figure, used in policy and NGO work.

Beyond consumption, let us not forget water pollution from nitrates and phosphates (from animal waste), which cause eutrophication and threaten marine life.

Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss

The expansion of pastures and cultivation of animal feed, such as soy and corn, leads to extensive deforestation:

• In Brazil, 91% of Amazon deforestation since 1970 is due to livestock farming.

• Globally, livestock occupies 70% of agricultural land and is responsible for 60% of biodiversity loss due to feed crop cultivation.

But what do we mean by biodiversity loss?

• First, biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth and includes all species of plants, animals, microorganisms, as well as the ecosystems in which they live. It is one of the most important factors for maintaining the balance and health of our planet. The preservation of biodiversity is vital for the balance of nature, the production of oxygen, the regulation of the climate, and the nourishment of humans.

• Second, let us look at another side of the issue that recently came to light.

According to the NGO World Animal Protection US, the US government outsources to a federal agency called Wildlife Services the killing of wild animals that “interfere” either with livestock or with crops intended for livestock.

An excerpt from the World Animal Protection US article:

“Wildlife Services frames its work as ‘wildlife removal’ — a sterilized phrase that obscures the violence of its operations. These ‘removals’ are not gentle relocations. They are exterminations.

Through aerial gunning, wire neck snares, steel-jawed leghold traps, and poisoned explosives, Wildlife Services kills more than one million animals every year — with the total surpassing 58 million animals since 2004. Its goal is simple: to eliminate any wild animal that threatens the interests of livestock farming.”

So, we kill wild animals so that humans can eat chickens, pigs, and cows.
We consider the lives of all these creatures inferior and take them without a second thought, even though the law states that a human cannot kill another human or a pet.

Air Pollution and Public Health

Emissions of ammonia and particulates from intensive farming units contribute to air pollution:

• In the US, it is estimated that livestock farming causes over 12,000 premature deaths annually due to air quality issues.

• Concentrated animal feeding operations also release antibiotics and resistant bacteria into the air, affecting the health of local communities.
  

Conclusions

Industrial livestock farming is not just a harmful branch of agriculture. It is an ecological disaster of global proportions, undermining climate stability, destroying valuable ecosystems, polluting water resources, endangering public health, intensifying food inequality, and killing millions of animals every year.

It is no longer enough to talk about “reducing” animal product consumption. The time has come to demand the complete abolition of livestock farming, a system based on exploitation and violence.

The transition to a plant-based, fair, and sustainable diet is not just an option – it is a moral and ecological imperative. States, organizations, and citizens have the responsibility to act immediately, abandoning a model that leads us to destruction.

Let us pave the way for a world without exploitation!

Research & Writing:
Alexandra Stefanopoulou, Educator