Does meat consumption exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions? Evidence from US data

Muhammad Shafiullah, Usman Khalid, Muhammad Shahbaz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study empirically investigates the effect of meat consumption on greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) in the USA. The impact of meat consumption on greenhouse gas emissions is examined by controlling for economic growth and energy consumption. The empirical analysis finds that all these variables are cointegrated for the long run. Moreover, meat consumption aggravates greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, meat consumption (except for beef) has a U-shaped relationship with carbon emissions and an inverted U-shaped relationship with methane and nitrous oxide emissions. The causality analysis indicates a unidirectional causality running from meat consumption to greenhouse gas emissions. These empirical findings indicate that the US livestock sector has the potential to become more environmentally friendly with careful policy formulation and implementation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11415-11429
Number of pages15
JournalEnvironmental Science and Pollution Research
Volume28
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Animal agriculture
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Meat consumption
  • USA

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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