A review published in Food Science of Animal Resources argues that Western livestock production accounts for only 2.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The authors, led by Frédéric Leroy, say policy focused on meat consumption in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand suffers from carbon tunnel vision. They estimate that shifting to a plant-based diet cuts an average Western resident's total carbon footprint by just 1 to 6%, while a single long-haul flight or driving less has a much larger effect. The paper also warns against hard measures like meat taxes or mandatory herd reductions. Cutting herds in efficient Western systems could push production to regions with higher emission intensity, making the global total worse. The authors point to co-product allocation, soil carbon on grazing land, and nutritional risks of low-meat diets as factors often missing from climate accounting. They recommend using metrics like GWP* that distinguish short lived methane from long lived CO2.
