Taking a Bite Out of Climate Change: Why We Should Stop Harming the Planet and Ourselves by Eating Too Much Beef

Climate Focus’ Taking a Bite Out of Climate Change: Why We Should Stop Harming the Planet and Ourselves by Eating Too Much Beef – prepared for the Climate and Land Use Alliance – examines the impacts of beef production on the climate, human health, and tropical forests. After determining the environmental and human health impacts of the production and consumption of beef compared to that of other protein sources, Climate Focus, in cooperation by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, modelled the impacts of reduced beef consumption in Brazil and the U.S. and stabilized beef consumption in China. The three countries are the largest consumers of the commodity. Using the Global Biosphere Management Model, Climate Focus analyzed the benefits to the climate, health, and food security of reduced beef consumption, as well as the effect this would have on beef producers.