STUDY: Organic meat production just as bad for climate
Analysis also found the lowest impact meat was still far more damaging than the worst plant foods.
DAMIAN CARRINGTON: The cost of the climate damage caused by organic meat production is just as high as that of conventionally farmed meat, according to research. The analysis estimated the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from different foods and calculated how much their prices would need to rise to cover the harm they cause by fuelling the climate emergency.
For beef and lamb, organic and conventional production resulted in similar climate costs, the study found. Organic chicken was slightly worse for the climate and organic pork slightly better than their conventional counterparts… The research analysed German food production but the scientists said the results would be similar for any EU country…
Conventional livestock’s emissions come from their manure and, for cows and sheep, by burping methane. The grain they are fed can also result in high emissions, especially if it is associated with deforestation, such as in South America… Even the lowest impact meat, organic pork, is responsible for eight times more climate costs than the highest impact plants, conventional oil seeds…
Organic livestock are not fed imported fodder and are often grass-fed, but this means they produce less meat and grow more slowly, therefore spending longer emitting greenhouse gases before slaughter, the researchers said. Plants grown organically have half the climate costs of conventional produce as they do not rely on chemical fertilisers, but all plants have far lower emissions than animal products…
The researchers said the analysis showed an urgent need for policies, such as meat taxes, to ensure food prices reflect their true costs… The research calculated the increases required in prices paid to farmers to cover climate costs. These would lead to a rise of about 40% in shop prices for conventional meat. The price increase for organic meat would be about 25%, because it is more expensive to start with. Conventional milk would rise by about a third for shoppers and organic milk by a fifth, but the price of plant foods would barely change…
“This analysis confirms the high costs that animal-source foods have for the planet,” said Dr Marco Springmann, at the University of Oxford, UK, and not part of the study team… Research by Springmann and colleagues in 2018 calculated that a 20% tax on red meat would be needed to cover the associated healthcare costs, and a 110% tax on processed products such as bacon, which are more harmful. SOURCE…
RELATED VIDEO: