We need to take bold action over the next decade in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This includes tackling the greenhouse gas emissions created by food production, including meat and other animal products.

The way we grow our food and raise livestock has changed significantly over the past several decades. Independent, small-scale family farms are increasingly giving way to industrial factory farms.

Factory farms have problems, one of which is their contribution to global climate change.

We need to take bold action over the next decade in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This includes tackling the greenhouse gas emissions created by food production, including meat and other animal products. The dominant system for producing food animals in the United States – on crowded factory farms – is incompatible with these climate goals, consuming an enormous amount of fossil fuels and generating significant greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that livestock production contributes 14.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions originating from human activity.