Issues / Climate change
a warming planet, land and water
Climate change
How the way animals are farmed connects to emissions, land and water use, and a warming planet.
Quick answer
Animal agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, and freshwater consumption. The FAO attributes about 12% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to livestock, and livestock account for about 80% of the world's agricultural land. Farming also uses about 70% of the world's freshwater withdrawals, and habitat loss, driven mainly by the food system, is the most commonly reported threat to wildlife.
Last reviewed . Sources are listed below.
the basics
What this issue covers
Animal agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, and freshwater consumption. How animals are farmed and how the planet fares are not separate subjects. They never were.
At Humane Choices, we explain where food-system emissions come from, why land use matters, and how a changing climate affects animals and the people who farm them. Food is responsible for about 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and livestock alone account for about 12% of human-caused emissions, according to the FAO.
Because so much of the impact comes from how animals are raised, our food choices are one of the places where each of us can make a real difference.
rivers, oceans and open land
Land and water use
Every food needs land, water, or both. Farming shapes landscapes, rivers, and oceans, and the choices we make about food affect the places wild animals live. Land is part of the climate story too: clearing forests and other land for pasture and feed crops releases stored carbon and removes habitat.
Agriculture uses about 70% of the world's freshwater withdrawals, and livestock take up about 80% of agricultural land, counting grazing land and the cropland grown for animal feed.
When forests, wetlands, and grasslands are cleared for grazing and feed crops, wild animals lose their homes. Habitat loss, driven mainly by the food system, is the most commonly reported threat to wildlife, and monitored populations have fallen by an average of 73% since 1970.
dig in
Questions worth asking
Our guides on each question are being written. Every figure will come with a source.
- Which parts of the food system produce greenhouse gas emissions?
- What is land use change, and why does it matter?
- How does a changing climate affect animals and farmers?
- How does water use differ between foods?
- What happens to rivers and oceans near farms and fisheries?
- How does habitat loss affect wild animals?
- What can individuals, schools, and governments actually change?
follow the thread
Where animals come in
Climate change and animals are linked in both directions. Raising animals for food drives emissions and land clearing, and a warming planet in turn threatens wildlife, fish stocks, and farmed animals exposed to heat and extreme weather. The same fields, rivers, and coastlines feed farmed animals, shelter wild ones, and supply the fish we eat, so a change in one place ripples through all of them.
Farmed land animals
Livestock account for about 12% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and use about 80% of agricultural land.
Aquatic animals
Warming, acidifying oceans and the effects of farming and fishing put pressure on fish, and only 62.3% of marine stocks are fished within sustainable levels.
Wildlife and captive wild animals
Habitat loss, driven mainly by the food system, is the most commonly reported threat to wildlife, and climate change adds to the pressure.
by the numbers
What the evidence says
Every figure links to its source. See all of them on our facts and sources page.
12%
FAO report on livestock emissions, 2023, as reported by AFP 2023
80%
Our World in Data, Global land for agriculture (FAO data; Poore and Nemecek, 2018) Recent estimate
26%
70%
Our World in Data, Water Use and Stress Recent estimate
73%
WWF, Living Planet Report 2024 (with the Zoological Society of London) 1970 to 2020
quick answers
Frequently asked questions
How much of global emissions come from livestock?
The FAO's 2023 assessment attributes about 12% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to livestock. An earlier FAO estimate from 2013 was 14.5%. Estimates differ with the method used.
Why does land use matter for the climate?
Clearing forests and other land for pasture and feed crops releases stored carbon and removes habitat. The FAO counts this among the indirect emissions of livestock.
How can livestock emissions be reduced?
The FAO points to improving productivity along the production chain, adjusting animal feed, and improving animal health. It also suggests reducing meat consumption in wealthy countries, while noting the effect on its own would be limited.
How much of global emissions come from food?
About 26%, according to Our World in Data's analysis of Poore and Nemecek (2018). Livestock and fisheries account for 31% of food emissions on the farm alone, before land use and animal feed are counted.
How much fresh water does farming use?
Globally, about 70% of freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture, according to Our World in Data.
What is habitat loss?
When natural habitats such as forests, wetlands, and grasslands are cleared or degraded, leaving fewer places for wild animals to live.
How does food connect to wildlife decline?
WWF's Living Planet Report 2024 says habitat loss and degradation, driven primarily by the food system, is the most commonly reported threat to wildlife populations worldwide. Monitored wildlife populations have fallen by an average of 73% since 1970.
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