ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 6, 2023
Greenhouse gas emissions from the way humans consume food could add nearly 1 degree of warming to the Earth’s climate by 2100, according to a new study. Continuing the dietary patterns of today will push the planet past the 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit limit of warming sought under the Paris climate agreement to avoid the worst effects of climate change, according to the study published Monday in Nature Climate Change, and will approach the agreement’s limit of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The majority of greenhouse gas emissions come from three major sources: meat from animals like cows, sheep, and goats; dairy; and rice. Those three sources account for at least 19% each of food’s contribution to a warming planet, according to the study, with meat contributing the most, at 33%.