Meat Consumption and Green Gas Emissions: a Chemometrics Analysis

The aim of this study was to relate greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) from both livestock production (enteric) and agriculture emissions with the consumption of meat from meat producer and importer countries. Data for meat consumption and emission levels of agriculture and livestock production were sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) database statistics (1961 to 2013). This data is freely available to the public and research community from the FAO webpage. Statistical data was analysed using principal component analysis (PCA), and regression models between GHGE and meat consumption were developed using partial least squares regression (PLS) and validated using cross-validation. Results of this study confirmed observations and anecdotal evidence that enteric and green gas emissions contribute to the perception of meat consumption. Although the results presented in this study are based on the data collected by an international organisation, the authors believe that results from this study can be utilised and incorporated to climate change modelling systems, in order to better understand and define the effect of GHGE on the environmental and economical sustainabilities of the meat production.