11
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Westra et al. (eds.), Ecological Integrity in Science and Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46259-8_2
Animal Based Industries and Climate
Change
Virginia Zambrano
Abstract The present chapter focuses on the relation between climate change and
the animal-based industries. Firstly, the contribution of food production is analysed.
It is argued that the agriculture impacts on climate change in a very profound way,
not only by causing the loss of biodiversity, but also by polluting the land and the
air, with severe damages for the health and the environment. Secondly, will be analysed the contribution of livestock and the animal-based industries to the climate
change. It is argued that the livestock and the meat’s industries have big economic
interests in promoting meat consumption. This is why they credit the idea that eating meat is good for health. The aim of the present chapter is to stress the importance of a more responsive attitude towards meat’s consumption. The needed
changes claim for a collaboration amongst different actors, breeders, manifacturers,
retailers, in order to minimize the environmental damages.
1 The Contribution of Food to Climate Change
The IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels includes four illustrative pathways for mitigating GHG emissions,
all of which explicitly separate agriculture, forestry and other land use from fossil
fuels and industry. In spite of what is generally thought, one of the leading contributors to the environmental damage is agriculture. Agriculture impacts on climate
change in a very profound way causing water pollution, and damages to land and
biodiversity. According to Bellarby et al. (2008), agriculture is responsible for the
release of carbon dioxide due to deforestation, methane from livestock and rice
production, use of fertilizers (nitrous oxide) and fossil fuel energy, causing global
warming. The use of fertilizers (as reported by the IPCC 2007) has proved, for
V. Zambrano (*)
Capitol, Salerno, Italy
e-mail: vzambrano@unisa.it
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Westra et al. (eds.), Ecological Integrity in Science and Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46259-8_2
Animal Based Industries and Climate
Change
Virginia Zambrano
Abstract The present chapter focuses on the relation between climate change and
the animal-based industries. Firstly, the contribution of food production is analysed.
It is argued that the agriculture impacts on climate change in a very profound way,
not only by causing the loss of biodiversity, but also by polluting the land and the
air, with severe damages for the health and the environment. Secondly, will be analysed the contribution of livestock and the animal-based industries to the climate
change. It is argued that the livestock and the meat’s industries have big economic
interests in promoting meat consumption. This is why they credit the idea that eating meat is good for health. The aim of the present chapter is to stress the importance of a more responsive attitude towards meat’s consumption. The needed
changes claim for a collaboration amongst different actors, breeders, manifacturers,
retailers, in order to minimize the environmental damages.
1 The Contribution of Food to Climate Change
The IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels includes four illustrative pathways for mitigating GHG emissions,
all of which explicitly separate agriculture, forestry and other land use from fossil
fuels and industry. In spite of what is generally thought, one of the leading contributors to the environmental damage is agriculture. Agriculture impacts on climate
change in a very profound way causing water pollution, and damages to land and
biodiversity. According to Bellarby et al. (2008), agriculture is responsible for the
release of carbon dioxide due to deforestation, methane from livestock and rice
production, use of fertilizers (nitrous oxide) and fossil fuel energy, causing global
warming. The use of fertilizers (as reported by the IPCC 2007) has proved, for
V. Zambrano (*)
Capitol, Salerno, Italy
e-mail: vzambrano@unisa.it