Climate-Friendly Land Use: Paths and Policies toward a Less Wasteful Planet

The report uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate two scenarios: a reduction in global beef consumption and a combined scenario of reduced beef and increased poultry/pork consumption. The findings indicate that reducing beef consumption leads to significant declines in cattle production and pasture land, particularly in the US, Latin America, and Australia. In the US, a beef-only reduction would decrease cereal grain acreage by 4% (3.5 million acres) and pasture land by 16% (100 million acres). The combined scenario shows that while beef production falls, poultry production increases significantly in regions like India (166%) and the US (36%), with global pasture land reductions totaling millions of acres across several regions.

• In a scenario focusing solely on reducing beef consumption to meet dietary guidelines, the United States would require the largest reduction in beef consumption at 64%, followed by Australia (58%), Latin America (41%), and the EU (24%).
• Under the beef-only reduction scenario, U.S. domestic beef production would decline by 40%, leading to a 37% drop in domestic cattle production.
• Reducing beef consumption leads to a decrease in cereal grain production and acreage in the US, with a 7% decline in production corresponding to a 4% decrease in acreage, or approximately 3.5 million acres.
• The beef-only scenario results in a global pasture land decline of 243 million acres (just under 100 million hectares), with the largest absolute reductions occurring in the US (100 million acres), Latin America (82 million acres), and Australia (29 million acres).
• In a combined scenario of reduced beef and increased poultry/pork consumption, U.S. beef production declines by 36% while chicken production increases by 36%, resulting in a cereal grain acreage decrease of over 5% (about 4.5 million acres).
• The combined beef and poultry scenario leads to a massive 166% increase in poultry production in India, driven by a 250% shock to domestic demand to meet protein requirements.
• In the combined scenario, pasture land declines across multiple regions, with the largest percentage declines in India (22%) and the US (16%). The decline in India is attributed to reduced milk production as consumers shift toward chicken protein.

APA

D., B. (2013). Climate-Friendly Land Use: Paths and Policies toward a Less Wasteful Planet. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Climate-Friendly-Land-Use-Appendix-1.pdf

Chicago

D., Boucher,. Climate-Friendly Land Use: Paths and Policies toward a Less Wasteful Planet. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2013. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Climate-Friendly-Land-Use-Appendix-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=D. |first1=Boucher, |title=Climate-Friendly Land Use: Paths and Policies toward a Less Wasteful Planet |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=2013 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Climate-Friendly-Land-Use-Appendix-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{d2013climatefriendly, author = {D., Boucher,}, title = {{Climate-Friendly Land Use: Paths and Policies toward a Less Wasteful Planet}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2013}, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Climate-Friendly-Land-Use-Appendix-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }