A new report from World Animal Protection and Navius Research suggests Canada could meet emission reduction targets if residents move from a high-meat consumption diet to a low-meat consumption one.
A media release said the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions would be significant enough to put Canada back on track to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate targets.
"The findings of this report should be a wakeup call for governments and Canadians alike," said Lynn Kavanagh, Farming Campaign Manager with World Animal Protection Canada. "Our diets are largely something that we can control and by moving to a more sustainable plant-based diet, we can all do our part in achieving a net zero society."
The release pointed out the Government of Canada needs to promote the largely plant based Canada Food Guide, and acknowledge animal agriculture as a major source of GHG emissions.
This research is the first of its kind as it quantifies the true emissions from Canada's animal agriculture sector. Canada's emissions reporting accounts for emissions from feed production, fertilizer production and fertilizer use across various sectors, while these emissions should be attributed to animal agriculture to understand the true impact of this sector.
The report said researchers found if Canada's future animal consumption is lower, it will cost 11% less for the economy to comply with the 2030 emissions target compared to a future in which animal consumption remains at current levels. For the agriculture sector, that means $6.3 billion lower in 2030 and $12.5 billion lower in 2050.
World Animal Protection said the Animal-sourced food consumption and Canada's emissions targets report uses a customized version of Navius Research's existing energy economy model, gTech, which simulates the effects of energy and climate policy on technology adoption, energy use, GHG emissions and the economy. The model was used to explore the impacts of shifting consumer food consumption patterns and their impacts on Canada's climate goals.