Major 45 meat & dairy companies emit more methane than EU & UK combined: Report

The planet’s biggest meat and dairy producers are emitting more methane than leading fossil fuel corporations, a new global assessment has found.

The report, Roasting the Planet, published by Foodrise, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, revealed that 45 of the world’s largest meat and dairy companies released an estimated 1.02 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2023, more than the annual emissions of Saudi Arabia, which is the second-largest oil producer. If treated as a nation, the group would rank as the world’s ninth‑largest emitter.  

According to research led by Dutch think-tank Profundo using UN Food and Agriculture Organization data, methane accounted for 51 per cent of the companies’ combined emissions. The five top polluters — Brazil’s JBS, Marfrig and Minerva and US‑based Tyson and Cargill — produced roughly 480 million tonnes of CO2‑equivalent greenhouse gases, more than energy majors BP, Shell or Chevron.

Methane emissions from the 45 companies whose data was analysed exceeded that of all 27 European Union countries and the United Kingdom combined.  

JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, was found responsible for nearly a quarter of all emissions from the 45 firms analysed — around 241 million tonnes in 2023, surpassing the emissions of 158 countries. Greenpeace Nordic previously estimated JBS’s methane footprint as higher than those of ExxonMobil and Shell combined.  

The report accused the industry of using “false solutions” like biogas, feed additives and offset schemes to disguise systemic inaction, noting that many companies plan to expand herds rather than cut numbers. JBS, for instance, projects a 70 per cent growth in global animal protein consumption by 2050 and has admitted its “net‑zero 2040” goal is merely an “aspiration”, not a promise.  

Animal agriculture already accounts for between 12 and 19 per cent of all human‑caused greenhouse gases, driven mainly by cattle burps, manure and feed‑related deforestation. The 45 companies analysed slaughtered an estimated 17 billion chickens, 242 million pigs and 53 million cattle in 2023 — roughly a fifth of the global livestock total. Cattle made up  80 per cent of emissions, with beef and dairy production linked to 41 per cent of tropical deforestation worldwide.  

The authors warn that cutting livestock methane offers a powerful “emergency brake”, since reducing emissions of the gas by 45 per cent by 2030 could avoid 0.3°C of warming. Yet policy responses remain skewed toward fossil fuels; few government methane plans address agriculture comprehensively.  

Oxford climate scientist Paul Behrens, who wrote the report’s foreword, said global livestock numbers must begin falling immediately to meet the Paris Agreement. “The sector that feeds humanity has the power to become its saviour rather than its destroyer,” he wrote, urging high‑income nations to lead dietary change.  

The report called for binding agricultural emission‑reduction targets, mandatory Scope 1–3 disclosures, and an end to public subsidies for industrial livestock. It also advocates a just transition towards plant‑rich diets and agroecological farming systems, describing these as essential for both planetary and human health.  

“Every fraction of a degree matters,” the authors of the report concluded. They urged governments to take on Big Meat and Dairy with urgency since our future depends on it.