India has retained its position as one of the world’s largest beef exporters for four years now. It also continues to be amongst the top five countries rearing goats, sheep, poultry and fish for human consumption. With a steady increase in the population of India, there has been a notable rise in animal agriculture. The dairy industry is now estimated to grow at a rate of 15 per cent for at least the next two years. This drastic increase in rearing cattle is raising numerous concerns that are directly linked to global warming.

We must now grapple with the question of whether animal agriculture is sustainable. India is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and its carbon emissions directly impact the entire planet. Growing cattle for human purposes largely accounts for the amount of methane being released into earth’s atmosphere.

On an average, a single cow releases 70 to 120 kg of methane per year. Methane is a greenhouse gas with negative effects up to 23 times higher than that of carbon dioxide emissions. Similarly, other environmental impacts of animal agriculture cannot be overlooked. It takes approximately 15,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of beef; 8,000 litres for 1 kg of mutton; and 4,000 litres for 1 kg of chicken.

By contrast, the water needed to grow 1 kg of potato and wheat ranges from 300 to 500 litres. Deforestation is another adverse issue arising from the growing meat industry. To set up more spaces for these animals to grow in, forests must be converted to pasture. According to a survey done by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in 2014, 60.5 per cent of India’s land area is already being used for agricultural purposes. There’s been a sharp increase in demand for meat by citizens of India as well.

Over 71 per cent of the Indian population is non-vegetarian, and most of the vegetarians consume dairy products. In this scenario, the rising demands can only be met by expanding the scope of natural resources being used in agriculture. This will result in more trees being cut down, more clean water being diverted to rear these animals and a tremendous amount of methane and other greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere.

Owing to the fastpaced factory farming that is increasingly being practiced, the animal waste is being dumped in specified landfills, acting as pollutants that contaminate groundwater and emit greenhouse gases. The animal agriculture industry in India cannot be left unaccountable as we try to combat climate change. The recent report on global warming from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change paints a dire picture of increased climate change impacts. Thus, it is crucial that India steps up its policy implementations and brings in new laws to reduce the harm caused by the meat and dairy industries.

Since methane stays in the atmosphere for only a decade as compared to carbon dioxide emissions that may linger for 200 years, controlling the animal agriculture industry seems necessary and timely. Educating the public about the effect that their food habits have on our environment is also important.

Hidden from public view, most Indians are also unaware of the resources consumed in producing meat. In addition, the animals are kept in inhumane conditions and the people working in these industries are prone to a variety of health issues. By the very political nature of cattle and beef in India, the only real solution now is an increase in public awareness that can influence the government to carefully regulate animal agriculture.

The writers are, respectively, a final year law student and a professor of law at Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana.