Greenhouse Gas
Danielle Perkins
September 9, 2013
AAPSC 603
Discussion Paper
The Factors Affecting Greenhouse Gas Emission in the Livestock Industry
People around the world have become very aware of the changes our world is going through on a constant basis. One of the biggest subjects people are talking about is global warming and how the human race is the number one cause of it. In more than one way this is unmistakably true. From the daily activities of driving gasoline powered cars to the simple necessity of food, the human race has definitely taken years of the shelf life of our world. The surface temperature of the earth is at a steady rise. The cause of this detrimental occurrence is attributed to the developing emission of greenhouse gases in the world's atmosphere. Greenhouse gases (GHG) are the gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The four main gases that make up the GHG are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. The largest reason for the rise of these gases is the goings-on of human beings. The livestock industry is the largest of these activities. An article in World Watch magazine written by co-authors Goodland and Anhang reports that livestock and its byproducts account for 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. This can also be figured as fifty-one percent of worldwide GHG emission.
The main sources of GHG from agriculture and livestock production are numerous. The deforestation of rainforests to grow feed for livestock is in constant rise. An estimated one and a half acres of rainforest is lost per second. The livestock industry’s growth has created a market of refrigerating and transporting the meat around the world. The food sector is transport-intense; a lot of inputs to food production as well as food products themselves are transported in large volumes and sometimes long distances. This is also a measurable source of GHG. Raising, processing and slaughtering the animal are ongoing contributors of
September 9, 2013
AAPSC 603
Discussion Paper
The Factors Affecting Greenhouse Gas Emission in the Livestock Industry
People around the world have become very aware of the changes our world is going through on a constant basis. One of the biggest subjects people are talking about is global warming and how the human race is the number one cause of it. In more than one way this is unmistakably true. From the daily activities of driving gasoline powered cars to the simple necessity of food, the human race has definitely taken years of the shelf life of our world. The surface temperature of the earth is at a steady rise. The cause of this detrimental occurrence is attributed to the developing emission of greenhouse gases in the world's atmosphere. Greenhouse gases (GHG) are the gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The four main gases that make up the GHG are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. The largest reason for the rise of these gases is the goings-on of human beings. The livestock industry is the largest of these activities. An article in World Watch magazine written by co-authors Goodland and Anhang reports that livestock and its byproducts account for 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. This can also be figured as fifty-one percent of worldwide GHG emission.
The main sources of GHG from agriculture and livestock production are numerous. The deforestation of rainforests to grow feed for livestock is in constant rise. An estimated one and a half acres of rainforest is lost per second. The livestock industry’s growth has created a market of refrigerating and transporting the meat around the world. The food sector is transport-intense; a lot of inputs to food production as well as food products themselves are transported in large volumes and sometimes long distances. This is also a measurable source of GHG. Raising, processing and slaughtering the animal are ongoing contributors of