A new global report has revealed that the world’s largest meat and dairy producers are now emitting more methane than major fossil fuel companies, making them key drivers of the climate crisis.
The study, titled Roasting the Planet was released by Foodrise, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. It found that 45 of the biggest meat and dairy corporations together emitted about 1.02 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2023 more than the annual emissions of Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest oil producer. If these companies were a country, they would rank as the planet’s ninth-largest emitter.
Methane, a greenhouse gas more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, accounted for 51 percent of these emissions. The top five polluters Brazil JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva, along with US-based Tyson and Cargill together produced 480 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions, exceeding the totals of energy giants BP, Shell, or Chevron.
JBS alone was responsible for nearly a quarter of all emissions from the companies studied, releasing about 241 million tonnes in 2023 more than the annual emissions of 158 entire countries. Greenpeace Nordic previously estimated JBS’s methane output to be greater than that of ExxonMobil and Shell combined.
The report criticized these corporations for promoting “false solutions” such as biogas, carbon offsets, and feed additives while continuing to expand livestock production. JBS, for instance, projects a 70 percent rise in global animal protein consumption by 2050, and its net-zero 2040 goal remains a non-binding aspiration.
Animal agriculture already contributes between 12 and 19 percent of total human-caused greenhouse gases, mainly from cattle burps, manure, and feed-related deforestation. In 2023, the 45 companies studied slaughtered about 17 billion chickens, 242 million pigs, and 53 million cattle roughly one-fifth of all livestock worldwide. Cattle alone accounted for 80 percent of the sector’s emissions, with beef and dairy linked to 41 percent of tropical deforestation.
Scientists warn that cutting methane emissions from livestock offers one of the fastest ways to slow global warming. Reducing methane output by 45 percent by 2030 could prevent 0.3°C of warming, but government climate policies remain largely focused on fossil fuels, leaving agricultural methane largely unaddressed.
Oxford climate expert Paul Behrens, who wrote the report’s foreword, urged immediate action to curb global livestock numbers. “The sector that feeds humanity has the power to become its saviour rather than its destroyer,” he wrote, calling for high-income nations to lead a shift toward plant-based diets.
The report calls for mandatory emission disclosures, binding reduction targets, and an end to public subsidies for industrial livestock farming. It also advocates a just transition toward plant-rich diets and sustainable farming systems to protect both planetary and human health.
“Every fraction of a degree matters,” the authors concluded, warning that governments must act urgently against Big Meat and Dairy if the world hopes to stay within safe climate limits.