Increasing world consumption of beef as a driver of regional and global change: A call for policy action based on evidence from Queensland (Australia), Colombia and Brazil

McAlpine, Clive; Etter, Andrés; Fearnside, Philip M.; Seabrook, Leonie; Laurance, William F.

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.10.008

Cited by 225 publications

(153 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…Although neither of the extreme scenarios we modeled for global protein consumption are realistic (either entirely livestock-or soy-derived), a variety of authors have previously called attention to the environmental gains associated with diets lower in livestock products (38)(39)(40)(41). Given the large differences in impacts associated with plant versus livestock protein-based diets, satisfying nutritional requirements through largely plant-based, regionally appropriate diets must be emphasized, while remaining sensitive to the developmental status and aspirations of the less advantaged, as well as the environmental implications of specific plant protein production strategies-for example, soybean agriculture in Amazonia (34,42,43).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forecasting potential global environmental costs of livestock production 2000–2050

Pelletier

Tyedmers

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

306

189

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Food systems—in particular, livestock production—are key drivers of environmental change. Here, we compare the contributions of the global livestock sector in 2000 with estimated contributions of this sector in 2050 to three important environmental concerns: climate change, reactive nitrogen mobilization, and appropriation of plant biomass at planetary scales. Because environmental sustainability ultimately requires that human activities as a whole respect critical thresholds in each of these domains, we quantify the extent to which current and future livestock production contributes to published estimates of sustainability thresholds at projected production levels and under several alternative endpoint scenarios intended to illustrate the potential range of impacts associated with dietary choice. We suggest that, by 2050, the livestock sector alone may either occupy the majority of, or significantly overshoot, recently published estimates of humanity’s “safe operating space” in each of these domains. In light of the magnitude of estimated impacts relative to these proposed (albeit uncertain) sustainability boundary conditions, we suggest that reining in growth of this sector should be prioritized in environmental governance.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forecasting potential global environmental costs of livestock production 2000–2050

Pelletier

Tyedmers

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

306

189

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“…There is, however, often a complementary relationship between degradation extent and its severity [55]. In the BDT and throughout the State of Queensland, there was extensive clearance of vegetation during the 2nd half of the 20th century [56] and 80% of all vegetation change in Australia has been attributed to the State from 1981 to 2000 [57], leading to its designation as a global deforestation hotspot [58]. Approximately 28% of inland dry tropics in Queensland have been cleared, and the remainder is mostly in small, isolated fragments [59].…”

Section: Degradation and Components Of Fractional Cover In The Bdtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of Non-Photosynthetic Vegetation in a Semi-Arid Rangeland

Jackson

Prince

2016

Remote Sensing

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Land degradation in drylands is the process in which undesirable conditions emerge due to human and natural causes. Despite the particularly deleterious effects of degradation, and it's potentially irreversible nature, regional assessments have provided conflicting extents, rates, and severities of degradation, both globally and regionally. Current monitoring of degradation relies upon the detection of green, photosynthetically active parts of vegetation (e.g., leaves). Less is known, however, about the effect of degradation on the non-photosynthetic components of vegetation (e.g., wood, stems, leaf litter) and the relationship between photosynthetic vegetation (PV), non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV), and bare soil under degraded conditions (BS). The major objective of the study was to evaluate regional patterns of fractional cover (i.e., PV, NPV, BS) under degraded and non-degraded NPP conditions in a managed rangeland in north Queensland, Australia. Homogenous environmental conditions were identified and each of NPP, PV, NPV, and BS were scaled according to their potential, reference values. We found a strong spatial and temporal correlation between scaled NPP with both scaled PV and scaled BS. Drastic differences were also found for PV and BS between degraded and non-degraded conditions. NPV displayed similarity to both PV and BS, however no clear relationship was found for NPV in all areas, irrespective of degradation conditions.

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“…Energy production generates more greenhouse gases globally than livestock raised for food, but extensive cattle grazing and intensive feedlots cause deforestation and are major drivers of regional and global change (McAlpine et al, 2009). Estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock globally vary greatly depending on methodology, ranging from approximately one fifth of global emissions to 51 % or more (Goodland, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Brazil, meat production, including soy for animal feed, is the biggest single source of its national emissions because it also is a key driver of land use (McAlpine et al, 2009). Leading Brazilian scientists have estimated that at least half of national emissions resulted from meat production, excluding consideration of emissions from transportation (Bustamante et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Buffers Against Inconvenient Knowledge: Brazilian Newspaper Representations of the Climate-Meat Link

Lahsen¹

2017

Desenvolv. Meio Ambiente

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Analyzing Brazilian newspapers' climate coverage leading up to 2010, this article shows that climate change was framed as an energy problem although energy is a small part of the country's emissions compared to emissions from land use change and agriculture. Linked to well over half of national emissions, meat production is the single largest cause of national emissions. Yet discussions of meat as a problem in the context of climate change were marginal, at best. During the years 2007-2008, only 0.14% of climate change-mentioning articles -0.02% of the total word count of climate change-mentioning articles -were dedicated to meat as a problem in the context of climate change. Counting also passages in articles not dedicated to the topic, the word count only rose to 0.13% of the total word flow of the articles. To the extent that the topic of meat as a problem appeared, it was underdeveloped and approached in ways that reduced attention, concern, and agency on the part of Brazilians to steer the country towards a new, more sustainable development path. This paper presents these findings and offers a preliminary political economic explanation for its existence.Keywords: media coverage; climate change; energy; meat; solutions. RESUMO:Analisando a cobertura sobre o clima nos jornais brasileiros nos anos 2002 até 2010, este artigo mostra que a mudança climática foi enquadrada como um problema de energia, apesar de ela ser uma pequena parte das emissões do país em comparação com as emissões de mudança no uso da terra e da agricultura. Enquanto a produção de carne é a maior causa das emissões nacionais, discussões sobre a carne como um problema no contexto das alterações climáticas foram marginais, na melhor das hipóteses. Na medida em que apareceu, o tema da carne era subdesenvolvido e abordado de tal forma que reduziu a atenção, a preocupação e o poder dos brasileiros para guiar o país para um novo caminho de desenvolvimento nacional mais sustentável. O artigo apresenta esses resultados e oferece uma explicação econômica e política preliminar.

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Increasing world consumption of beef as a driver of regional and global change: A call for policy action based on evidence from Queensland (Australia), Colombia and Brazil

Cited by 225 publications

References 93 publications

Forecasting potential global environmental costs of livestock production 2000–2050

Forecasting potential global environmental costs of livestock production 2000–2050

Degradation of Non-Photosynthetic Vegetation in a Semi-Arid Rangeland

Buffers Against Inconvenient Knowledge: Brazilian Newspaper Representations of the Climate-Meat Link

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