Big Meat and Dairy’s Big Emissions are Roasting the Planet

October 2025

The five biggest meat and dairy producers are generating more methane than the five largest oil and gas companies, according to a new report. While sheep and cattle are a prolific source of the highly potent heat-trapping gas, few countries have set targets to cut emissions from livestock.

For the report, the Dutch think tank Profundo gathered data on the number of animals handled by 45 leading producers of beef, pork, chicken, and milk.

This report reveals that:

ɤ These 45 meat and dairy companies together emitted an estimated 1.02 billion

tonnes CO2eq of GHG emissions in 2023/2223. If they were a country, they would

be the world’s ninth highest GHG-emitting nation24. In fact, the companies’

combined emissions are estimated to be more than those reported for Saudi

Arabia, reportedly the second largest oil producer in the world25.

ɤ The methane emissions from these 45 companies combined are estimated to be

more than the reported methane of all the EU27 countries and UK combinediii in

202326.

ɤ The top five emitters combined—JBS, Marfrig, Tyson, Minerva and Cargill—

emitted an estimated 480 MtCO2eq of GHG emissions in 2023, more than

reportediii for Chevron, Shell or BP27. The estimated emissions of these five

companies combined account for nearly half (47%) of the estimated GHG

emissions from the total of 45 meat and dairy companies analyzed.

ɤ JBS, here estimated to be the world’s highest-emitting meat corporation, alone

accounts for nearly one quarter (24%) of all estimated GHG emissions from

these 45 meat and dairy companies. Greenpeace Nordic has estimated in an

earlier publication that JBS emits more methane than reported for ExxonMobil

and Shell combined28.

 Unless otherwise stated, the key emissions estimates provided in this report are based on a dataset and analysis

commissioned from not-for-profit research firm Profundo. 

This analysis shows Big Meat and Dairy’s colossal, yet often overlooked, climate

footprint, which makes it one of the world’s highest-emitting sectors. The global

livestock sector is already estimated to be responsible for between 12% and 19%

of total human-caused GHG emissions29. Two new studies this year warn that the

Paris Agreement limit of 1.5°C might be breached earlier than previously thought30.

Alongside action on fossil fuels, reduction in livestock emissions is essential to limit

global heating, at a time when every fraction of a degree counts.

Rapid and ambitious methane cuts—including from livestock—offer a critical

climate “emergency brake” that is urgently needed in the short-term. That’s because

methane is a powerful but short-lived gas compared to carbon dioxide. But there

needs to be a rapid response: global methane emissions must drop by 40 – 45%

by 2030 to affordably achieve the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting global

temperature rise to 1.5°C, according to the UN Environment Program31.

The new data estimates show a small number of meat and dairy giants are

responsible for a disproportionately large share of the emissions. But

industrial meat and dairy companies are highly resistant to systemic change,

reportedly spending hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying against meaningful

action to prevent climate change around the world and promote false climate

solutions. These false solutions include limited technology-based fixes like biogas

and feed additives and pushing for the misuse of GWP* as a metric to distort and

greenwash methane’s heating impact. These false solutions are used by the meat and

dairy giants as justification against reducing livestock numbers. In fact, companies

like JBS have big plans to rapidly expand further, gunning for a 70% increase in global

animal protein consumption by 205032.

An estimated 83% of global meat production and 77% of global meat consumption

occurs in high and upper-middle income countries, while just 2% of meat production

and consumption occurs in low-income countries, according to a recent research

paper33. However, the impacts of the climate crisis are disproportionately

experienced by the world’s lowest-income people. Climate justice therefore demands

that a just transition to lower livestock production be focused in high and uppermiddle income countries, and new policies help reduce overconsumption in high and middle-income populations.

One of the biggest challenges in holding Big Meat and Dairy companies accountable

for their impact on rising global temperatures—and the associated extreme weather

and human suffering—is the significant lack of transparency and robustness when

it comes to corporate GHG emissions reporting. While the damning emissions

estimates in this report are based on the best publicly available data, they cannot

be fully comprehensive due to the scarcity of publicly published, company specific

production data.

Big Meat and Dairy companies—profiting from the status quo—are unlikely to reveal

the scale of their environmental impact, or to become more transparent, until they

are required to do so.

The research presented here demonstrates the need for Big Meat and Dairy

companies to urgently reduce livestock numbers to limit global heating. This

report outlines a comprehensive roadmap for change for policymakers, including

mandatory emissions reporting; strategies to eliminate overproduction and

overconsumption of animal products; binding reduction targets for agricultural

emissions; and policies to support a just transition to nature restoration and

agriculture systems rooted in agroecology, more plant-based food production, and

food sovereignty principles.

Every fraction of a degree matters to limit the worst impacts of climate change and

avoid disastrous tipping points. This is a global emergency and bold, decisive action

is needed. Governments must apply the brakes on global warming by taking on the

power of the global meat and dairy industry. Our future depends on it.