Protecting Food Security, the Rural Poor, and the Environment: The Case of Climate Change Mitigation in Animal Agriculture

Abstract

Climate change mitigation policies are in essence about equitable, sustainable, and humane development. Here the environmental and social impacts of a climate change policy focused on reduced methane emissions from animal agriculture are examined, with a particular focus on the implications of such a policy for low-income households in the developing world. Reductions in short-lived greenhouse gas species—especially methane, which has a much larger warming potential than the longer-lived carbon dioxide—offer an effective and relatively inexpensive option for mitigating climate change. Since animal agriculture is responsible for approximately 37 % of global anthropogenic methane emissions, this sector could be a central focus of near-term GHG reductions. Based on a systematic review of climate change and food security literature, this chapter shows that developing countries with large farm animal populations, such as India and Brazil, can achieve a reduction in farm animal populations, and thus reduced methane emissions, by supporting free-range, environmentally sustainable farm animal production by small farmers instead of industrialized farm animal production systems. Such a policy would maintain food security in poor households and may help protect them from climate-change-induced hunger and displacement.