Livestock: Making climate count

Earlier this week, the new U.S. non-profit Climate Counts launched a website that ranks companies based on their commitment (or lack thereof) to curbing climate change. According to the New York Times, the group “wants consumers to think about more than taste or service” as they make their buying decisions. The site ranks 56 companies from 0 (worst) to 100 (best), and of the 17 food and food service companies listed, none scored higher than Unilever, with a 71. Even Stonyfield Farm, a well-known purveyor of organic yogurt, only came out with a score of 63, which CEO Gary Hirschberg (himself a committed environmentalist and a board member of Climate Counts) hopes to strengthen by investing more in renewable energy.

Perhaps not surprisingly, fast food giants Burger King and Wendy’s each received a 0 ranking, indicating that they’re investing very little in any technologies to reduce emissions. McDonald’s, on the other hand, was pleased with its ranking of 22. According to Bob Langert, the company's vice president for corporate social responsibility, the company reduced energy use in its domestic restaurants by 4 percent in 2006, and will begin ranking its own suppliers on their “environmental activities.”

But there’s quite a bit more that McDonald’s and other sellers of animal products can do to help the environment. A study released late last year by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), more than the share contributed by the entire global transportation sector. All the inputs that go into making modern meat increase GHG emissions—from high-protein grains that rely on energy-intensive fertilizer, to the energy required to heat and cool CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), to the petroleum necessary to transport live animals and animal products across the globe. And as meat production and consumption grow, particularly in the developing world, these energy costs will likely worsen.

While companies like Niman Ranch—the largest cooperative of sustainable meat producers in the U.S.—or the producers of grass-fed meat that sell at farmers markets all over the country, are not ranked on the Climate Counts website, they’re contributing to a healthier planet by raising their animals outside on pasture, by not using excessive amounts of fertilizer to produce grain, and by not transporting their animals long distances.