According to the report "Livestock's Long Shadow" published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock generates 18% of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As such, livestock is a frontline contributor to environmental degradation worldwide. It is heavily responsible for air and water pollution, deforestation, land degradation, loss of biodiversity and climate changes. The greenhouse gas emissions from beef production are particularly high: eating one kilogram of beef roughly equals the GHG emissions of flying 100 kilometres by jet, per passenger.

The driving force behind the destruction of the Amazon rainforest is the expansion of grazing land for cattle. Between 2000 and 2007, the Brazilian Amazon was deforested at an average rate of 20 000 km2 per year. A Greenpeace survey based on Brazilian governmental data, shows that cattle grazing is responsible for 80% of Brazilian Amazon deforestation; whilst agriculture, mining and infrastructures are responsible for most of the remaining 20%.

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