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One Man's Meat … 2050? Ruminations on Future Meat Demand in the Context of Global Warming

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  • Brian J. Revell

Abstract

This Address considers a range of issues relating to the contribution of meat consumption and livestock production to global warming, given the need highlighted by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) to reduce global GHG emissions by over 50% by 2050. The IPCC Climate Change 2014 report recognised that demand oriented measures may also contribute to GHG mitigation. The paper reviews a number of studies which examine demand‐led mitigation potentials, and concludes that such estimates ignore the market effects of changes in meat consumption habits or demand oriented policies. A simple partial equilibrium model of beef, poultry, pig and ovine meats is developed for the major regions of the world to explore the impact of a range of scenarios which might reduce meat consumption and GHG emissions. These include emissions taxation, long‐term trends in reduction of red meat consumption in developed economy regions, and supply side improvements in livestock emissions intensities. The paper discusses problems associated with many published demand elasticities suitable for incorporation into a market model, problems of selection from widely varying published estimates and their appropriateness for longer‐run projections. The dearth of published supply elasticity estimates is also highlighted. The modelling concludes that economic and population growth to 2050 without any mitigation measures will lead to a 21% increase in per capita meat consumption and a 63% increase in total consumption and GHG emissions by 2050. However, the mitigation projections from the scenarios explored only generate a 14% reduction in cumulative emissions from the baseline 2050 projections, insufficient to meet the CCC target.

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  • Brian J. Revell, 2015. "One Man's Meat … 2050? Ruminations on Future Meat Demand in the Context of Global Warming," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(3), pages 573-614, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jageco:v:66:y:2015:i:3:p:573-614
    DOI: 10.1111/1477-9552.12121
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    8. Bhagyashree Katare & H. Holly Wang & Jonathan Lawing & Na Hao & Timothy Park & Michael Wetzstein, 2020. "Toward Optimal Meat Consumption," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(2), pages 662-680, March.
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    14. Brian Revell, 2015. "Meat and Milk Consumption 2050: the Potential for Demand-side Solutions to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 14(3), pages 4-11, December.
    15. Maren Birkenstock & Nobert Röder & Silke Thiele & Michael Schmitz, 2019. "Eine moderne, umweltfreundliche und ethische Agrarpolitik – Ziele und Instrumente [The Reform of the Common European Agricultural Policy - An Opportunity for Effective Agri-environmental Policy Ins," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 99(10), pages 675-686, October.

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