Is the rising demand for animal protein fuelling climate change?

Over the past recent months, I have received dozens of requests from various stakeholders, who were concerned about the carbon footprint of human food and particularly its animal-based portion. Most of us know that the discussion regarding the carbon footprint of animal protein has gained regional, national, and international momentum. For example, some of Sweden’s fastfood chains now offer information to their customers including not just prize and nutritional facts, but most recently, the carbon footprint of its tofu-, turkey-, or beef burgers. Since recent, the world’s largest supermarket retailer requests from its suppliers information regarding the carbon footprint of milk. Furthermore, a few months back, San Francisco was officially declared the first “Meatless Monday City” in an effort to protect the climate. While some scientists (especially in agriculture) remain climate change skeptics, it should be clear to everyone that animal agriculture is in midst of a considerable societal debate, which requires all of our attention.