Carbon emissions of animal-based food can be reduced by adjusting production and consumption of residents in China
Yulong Chen, Le Qi
Abstract
China is a major consumer of animal-based food and contributes greatly to livestock greenhouse gas emissions. Adapting to the growing demand for animal-based food and reducing its carbon emissions is a major challenge in achieving sustainable food production. The life cycle assessment (LCA) and Logarithmic Mean Divisia index (LMDI) were conducted to assess the carbon emissions and drivers of major animal-food production in China in 2020. The results showed that mutton had the highest carbon footprint (CF) in animal-based foods, followed by beef, pork, chicken, egg, and milk. Shandong province exhibited the highest carbon emissions from animal-based foods among provinces in China in 2020. Reducing food supply and improving the production environment were the important factors contributing to the reduction of animal-food carbon emissions. In contrast, consumption intensity and population were the main contributing factors to the increase in carbon emissions from animal-based foods. China has a surplus in animal-based foods in 2020, especially in pork, eggs and milk, with Shandong province having the most marked food surplus at provincial level. Based on the surplus or deficit of animal-based food in different provinces, we proposed a production scheme under the premise of meeting the consumption demand of Chinese residents and incorporating the target of reducing emission potential, and the scheme may achieve a emission reduction potential of 231.3 million tons of CO 2 -eq in 2020, which accounts for 41.5 % of the carbon emissions before reducing production and cross-regional transport. This study provides a reference for achieving the goal of sustainable food production in China. The left graph represents the life cycle for calculating the CF of animal-based foods, from top to bottom are the feed stage (including 4 types: beans, maize, wheat bran and barley), the animal GHG emission stage (CH 4 and N 2 O emissions of 6 types of animal food: pork, chicken, beef, mutton, milk and egg), the energy consumption stage (electricity and fuel), and the processing stage. The intermediate graph represents the decomposition of four driving factors (LPN, LMS, LCI, AAP) for animal food carbon emissions in China. The right graph represents trans-regional transport by rail and road, the smiley face represents food is security in these regions, and the decline arrow represents CO 2 reduction achieved by reducing food production. • Mutton has the highest carbon footprint, and milk has the lowest. • Inner Mongolia was a key producer of mutton (22.9 %) and milk (17.8 %) in 2020. • Henan has made great progress in reducing GHG emissions from animal food due to a shift in production methods. • Production surplus decline has a significant impact on animal-food GHG emissions. • Chinese livestock GHG emission can be reduced by 41.5 % under the premise of food security.