Mitigating Methane from Food and Agriculture

The report identifies livestock production, rice cultivation, and land use as primary methane sources in agriculture, highlighting that the sector accounts for approximately 42 percent of anthropogenic methane emissions. It argues that mitigating these emissions provides significant health co-benefits, such as reducing tropospheric ozone and respiratory illnesses caused by biomass burning and manure management. Proposed solutions include transitioning to plant-rich diets, implementing alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in rice farming, and adopting regenerative agricultural practices. The document emphasizes the need for systemic policy changes, including the reform of agricultural subsidies and the implementation of mandatory emissions regulations, while noting that livestock remains a critical nutritional and economic resource in the Global South.

• The agriculture sector is responsible for about 42 percent of human-caused methane emissions, with livestock enteric fermentation contributing 29 percent and livestock manure adding another 3 percent.
• Rice cultivation accounts for 8-10 percent of global methane emissions due to flooded paddies, though it is significantly more land-efficient per calorie than beef production.
• Methane mitigation in agriculture offers diverse health co-benefits, including reduced asthma attacks and headaches by lowering tropospheric ozone, and improved lung health by reducing the burning of crop debris and biomass.
• Dietary shifts toward plant-rich diets in high-income countries can reduce methane emissions and lower the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, although livestock remains essential for nutrition and income in many Global South regions.
• Technical solutions for rice production, specifically alternate wetting and drying (AWD), can reduce methane emissions by up to 48 percent and irrigation water use by 30 percent without reducing crop yields.

APA

Vegh-Gaynor, G., Rowland, A., Quintana, A., & Nguyen, L. (2023). Mitigating Methane from Food and Agriculture. Global Climate and Health Alliance. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/MethaneReport-Ag-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Vegh-Gaynor, Gabriel, Amy Rowland, Amanda Quintana, and Linh Nguyen. Mitigating Methane from Food and Agriculture. Global Climate and Health Alliance, 2023. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/MethaneReport-Ag-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vegh-Gaynor |first1=Gabriel |last2=Rowland |first2=Amy |last3=Quintana |first3=Amanda |last4=Nguyen |first4=Linh |title=Mitigating Methane from Food and Agriculture |publisher=Global Climate and Health Alliance |date=August 2023 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/MethaneReport-Ag-FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{veghgaynor2023mitigating, author = {Vegh-Gaynor, Gabriel and Rowland, Amy and Quintana, Amanda and Nguyen, Linh}, title = {{Mitigating Methane from Food and Agriculture}}, institution = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/MethaneReport-Ag-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }