SUSTAINABILITY 80 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE October 2024 “The global population increased by approximately 220%, from 2.5 billion in 1950 to 8 billion in 2023. In the meantime, estimates suggest that, in the 1950s, agri-food systems were responsible for approximately 2-3 billion metric tons of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) emissions per year. This figure includes emissions from livestock, rice paddies, fertilizer use, and land-use change (e.g., deforestation for agriculture).” As the global demand for animal products continues to rise, so do various claims about the impact of agriculture on greenhouse gas emissions. A study commissioned by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) concluded that, according to the most recent data, agri-food system emissions totaled 16.5 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent, representing 31% of global anthropogenic emissions. Of these 31%, the most important trend highlighted by FAO was the “increasingly important role of food-related emissions generated outside of agricultural land, in pre- and post-production processes along food supply chains”. The food supply chain (food processing, packaging, transport, household consumption and waste disposal) is thus set to become the top GHG emitter, above farming and land use. HOW BAD IS 31%? While 31% is a large figure, even this estimate represents a significant decrease from the 1950s, when agri-food emissions constituted approximately 58% of total anthropogenic emissions: “From 1850 until around 1950, anthropogenic CO2 emissions were mainly (>50%) from land use, land-use change and forestry”, states the latest IPCC report. As the IPCC graph in Figure 1 indicates, the percentage decrease is mostly due to the rising prevalence of oil and coal in CO2 emissions over the recent decades, as shown in Figure 2. TOTAL POPULATION AND AGRI-FOOD EMISSION CHANGES, 1950 – TODAY The global population increased by approximately 220%, from 2.5 billion in 1950 to 8 billion in 2023. In the meantime, estimates suggest that, in the 1950s, agri-food systems were responsible for approximately 2-3 billion metric tons of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) emissions per year. This figure includes emissions from livestock, rice paddies, fertilizer use, and landuse change (e.g., deforestation for agriculture). Assessments generally agree that today’s agrifood systems contribute approximately 9-10 billion metric tons of CO2e annually, a threefold SUSTAINABLE LIVESTOCK FARMING: PROGRESS SINCE 1950 Ilinca Anghelescu Global Director, Marketing Communications EW Nutrition
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