The Missing Target. Why Industrialized Animal Farming Must Be at the Core of the Climate Agenda

Credit: We Animals

A major new peer-reviewed scientific review co-authored by Dr. Fernanda Vieira, Animal Welfare and Research Director at Sinergia Animal, warns that industrialised animal farming is a critical, and largely overlooked - barrier to achieving global climate goals. The findings are clear: without urgent action to transform food systems, limiting global warming will remain out of reach.

Published in Animals in November 2025, “The Mis

sing Target: Why Industrialized Animal Farming Must Be at the Core of the Climate Agenda” examines 579 scientific publications, with a focused analysis of 47 key peer-reviewed studies on the environmental impacts of industrial livestock production. More than three-quarters of these studies (79%) report unequivocal evidence of severe environmental harm. The review concludes that industrial animal agriculture is a central driver of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation, yet it remains largely absent from climate policy discussions. The paper was released as the COP30 summit opened in Brazil, underscoring the urgency of this omission.

Animal agriculture’s climate impact

The review shows that industrial animal agriculture accounts for an estimated 12–20% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, with some of the most comprehensive analyses suggesting the true figure may be significantly higher. Critically, several studies conclude that even if fossil fuel emissions were eliminated immediately, global temperature targets of 1.5–2°C would still be missed unless emissions from animal agriculture are addressed.

Methane emissions from ruminants - particularly cattle - play a central role, alongside emissions linked to deforestation, feed production, manure management, and land-use change.

“To have any realistic hope of averting the unfolding climate and environmental catastrophes, a global transition toward a more sustainable, plant-based food system is urgently required,” said Professor Andrew Knight, study co-author.

Environmental damage beyond emissions

The impacts of industrial animal farming extend far beyond greenhouse gases. According to the review, animal agriculture is responsible for:

• 50% of food-related eutrophication, polluting rivers, lakes, and coastal ecosystems

• 32% of food-related soil acidification

• 76% of global food-related land use

This vast land footprint is a major driver of biodiversity loss, particularly through deforestation and habitat destruction. Land-use change linked to pasture expansion and feed crops, especially soy, is identified as a primary contributor to ecosystem collapse and reduced climate resilience.

Credit: We Animals

Brazil and COP30: a pivotal moment

The authors highlight the global relevance of these findings in the context of international climate negotiations, including COP30 in Brazil. Brazil is currently the world’s largest beef exporter and home to nearly 240 million cattle, a figure that has come at immense environmental cost.

“The Amazon, the planet’s largest tropical rainforest, has already lost 18% of its forest and seen a further 17% degraded, much of it linked to cattle ranching and soy production,” said Dr. Fernanda Vieira, co-author and representative of Sinergia Animal.

Environmental organisations stress that climate summits and national climate plans must no longer sideline food systems.

“Industrialised animal farming lies at the heart of some of our most pressing environmental and public health crises, from massive greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation to the growing threat of zoonotic diseases,” said Jacqueline Guzmán, Global Corporate Engagement Director at Sinergia Animal. “Any serious discussion about climate action must place food systems at its centre.”

Side Event at COP30

An inefficient system with global consequences

The review also underscores the inefficiency of animal agriculture as a means of feeding the world. While over 80% of global farmland is used for livestock and feed production, animal-based foods provide only 18% of global calories and 37% of global protein.

Research cited in the study further shows that meat-heavy diets are associated with dramatically higher biodiversity losses. One example found that Germany’s current meat-based food system results in biodiversity impacts approximately 3.5 times higher than a plant-based alternative.

What must change

The authors call for urgent policy action, including:

• The inclusion of explicit targets to reduce animal-based food production and consumption in all national climate plans and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

• Prioritising methane reduction from livestock as a core climate strategy

• Increased support for plant-based and alternative proteins, particularly in high-consuming countries

• Region-specific approaches that ensure transitions are equitable, culturally appropriate, and aligned with food security

Sinergia Animal is part of the  Stop Financing Factory Farming  coalition, campaigning to show that industrial farming is a public health threat, a climate risk, and a major barrier to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and should therefore not be financed by Multilateral Development Banks.  This research backs up a core argument of their campaign “We can’t solve the climate crisis while bankrolling the very system that fuels it,” said Ashley Schaeffer Yildiz, Agriculture & Climate Finance Program Manager at Friends of the Earth U.S. - also part of the coalition “Governments and development banks must end factory farm finance and invest in resilient, just food systems.” 

A clear message from science

The evidence is unequivocal, “Transforming our food systems is not optional, it's essential,” concluded Dr. Fernanda Vieira. “Without confronting the impacts of industrial animal farming, meaningful progress on climate, health, and sustainability will remain out of reach.”

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The Missing Target: Why Industrialized Animal Farming Must Be at the Core of the Climate Agenda was published in Animals (2025). The paper is a rapid systematic review of peer-reviewed research examining the environmental and climate impacts of industrialised livestock farming.

Authored by:

• Jenny L. Mace, Visiting Scholar, CEPPA, University of St Andrews

• Professor Andrew Knight, Adjunct Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University

• Dr. Fernanda Vieira, Animal Welfare and Research Director at Sinergia Animal,