The Center for Biological Diversity and World Animal Protection unveiled a white paper yesterday, co-produced with more than 50 contributors, urging the phase-out of industrial animal agriculture to address its impact on climate change, humans, and animals at a panel during Food Day at Climate Week NYC.
According to the white paper, the industrial animal production system, including industrial fishing and aquaculture, is fundamentally inequitable, inefficient, and financially flawed. It is a leading driver of climate change, with experts agreeing that global emissions from animal production must decline by 50% by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement targets.
“There’s a growing movement uniting against industrial animal agriculture’s exploitation of workers, animals, and the environment”
In addition, industrial animal farming is a significant source of animal suffering and one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, contributing to habitat loss, water pollution, and pesticide use. Moreover, it favors high-quantity, low-quality products while maximizing corporate profits at the expense of workers, local communities, women, animals, public health, and the planet.
The paper proposes a global roadmap that includes over 100 policy recommendations to accelerate a just transition toward a climate-resilient food system with reduced food and agriculture emissions, harm, and inequity.
Stephanie Feldstein, population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity, commented, “There’s a growing movement uniting against industrial animal agriculture’s exploitation of workers, animals, and the environment. The roadmap provides direction on stopping the global food system from driving us toward climate catastrophe.”
Shared vision
Resulting from a shared vision of what a climate-resilient food system should be, the report calls on global leaders to take action on three key levers of change for a just transition: strengthening food system governance, promoting agroecological practices, and shifting to diets with planetary and social boundaries.
The Center for Biological Diversity says that the strategies provided can be adapted to local and regional contexts, considering local legislation, cultural sensitivities, community solutions, narratives on meat consumption and reduction, shifts to plant-based diets, and the local prominence of industrial animal agriculture.
The paper also outlines the role of alternative proteins in providing sustainable options, especially in high-meat-consuming countries. However, according to the report, relying solely on alternative proteins is not a comprehensive worldwide solution due to social, public health, and food sovereignty concerns tied to its industrial agriculture roots.
The authors emphasize that it’s crucial to avoid replicating harmful practices from industrial animal production, including the consolidation of power. According to the authors, the goal is to transition toward agroecologically-produced, humane, and sustainable foods, which also include animal-based foods.
A system of exploitation
The “Just Transition from Industrial Animal Production to Equitable, Humane, and Sustainable Food Systems” white paper and roadmap includes feedback from more than 120 individuals representing 72 organizations in 35 countries.
Cameron Harsh, US director of programs at World Animal Protection, shared, “Industrial animal agriculture is exacting a heavy toll on animals, ecosystems, our health, and our communities. It is a system that profits from the exploitation of billions of animals, millions of workers, and our limited natural resources.
“Its only beneficiaries are the immensely powerful meat, seafood, and dairy companies that wield incredible influence over political processes. We must put ourselves on a clear pathway away from factory farming before it’s too late.”
