A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, reveals that improving animal health could become an important strategy in mitigating the climate footprint of livestock while supporting farmers and food security.
The study highlights that common, low-grade infections and production diseases, such as mastitis and lameness likely account for a significant portion of increased emissions. However, these issues are often overlooked in favour of more high-profile disease outbreaks. Current greenhouse gas accounting methods also fail to adequately represent the effects of these health issues, leading to a missed opportunity in emission reduction efforts.
Led by Professor Ilias Kyriazakis from Queen’s University Belfast’s Institute for Global Food Security, an international team of researchers examined the link between animal diseases and greenhouse gas emissions. Their findings suggest that animals with compromised health contribute more to emissions, and by extension, improving animal health could help combat climate change.
Co-author Dr. Frances Ryan, a researcher from SEBI-Livestock at the University of Edinburgh, highlighted the implications of this work:
Reducing emissions by improving animal health allows us to address environmental issues while protecting people who rely on livestock. We should seize this opportunity to get closer to a sustainable planetary future.
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Read the study
- Kyriazakis I et al. 2024 Improve animal health to reduce livestock emissions: quantifying an open goal. Proc. R. Soc. B 291: 20240675. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.0675