Livestock agriculture contributes approximately 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions — and the climate change this drives causes enormous and growing animal suffering, making food system decarbonisation a major animal welfare issue.
The greenhouse gas dimension of animal agriculture creates a moral connection between food choices and the welfare of billions of future animals. Every degree of warming that is avoided by reducing livestock-related emissions translates into reduced suffering for animals that will live through a less extreme climate. This makes food system decarbonisation — particularly reduction of ruminant livestock — a uniquely high-leverage animal welfare intervention whose effects extend far beyond the animals directly involved in the food system. The welfare case for dietary change is therefore not just about the animals consumed but about the animals whose climate is being determined by current food choices.