A research report released by CSIRO and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has shown that the Australian red meat and livestock industry has reduced its net greenhouse gas emissions by 65% since 2005.
According to MLA’s Managing Director, Jason Strong, the reduction in red meat industry GHG emissions in 2020 was partly explained by reductions in livestock numbers following the years of drought leading into 2020.
“The number of livestock on the ground has an influence on industry’s overall emissions, and we know these numbers will fluctuate with seasonal and market conditions,” Mr Strong said.
The new research report examined the production of beef cattle, sheep for meat, and goats, as well as the domestic processing of these animals.
Emissions were attributed to the red meat industry based on animal numbers, feed intake, livestock processed, and resource use. It’s part of the industry’s work in annually benchmarking its GHG footprint, which has been occurring since 2015.
“MLA and the red meat industry are ready to further reduce emissions” Mr Strong said.