From Geoff Russell
The food balance sheets referenced in Mario Herrero’s letter on livestock and greenhouse gases (3 December, p 39), show that foods sourced from animals in their entirety, including fish, only supply 17 per cent of global food calories, with meat providing less than 8 per cent.
So it is worth repeating that livestock is responsible for the lion’s share of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture while providing the minnow’s share of the food. Cattle meat in particular is responsible for a large part of all enteric-fermentation methane, but it provides just 1.4 per cent of global food calories. Again, a large part of this meat goes to those countries that have the most obesity problems.
Adelaide, South Australia
