These are the top five meat companies in the world and top ten dairy companies, which together create methane emissions equivalent to 80% of the European Union’s total methane footprint.

Total methane emissions from 15 of the world’s largest meat and dairy companies exceed those of some of the world’s largest countries and account for more than 80% of the European Union’s total methane footprint. That was according to a survey by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), which estimated the influence of the top five meat companies and top ten dairy companies in the world, noting that if they were represented as a single country, those companies would be the tenth country the world for greenhouse gas emissions.

The report, relaunched by Guardian, recalls that these companies account for about 3.4% of all global anthropogenic methane emissions and 11.1% of global livestock methane. Leading the way is the American company JBS, whose methane emissions “exceed the combined methane emissions from cattle in France, Germany, Canada and New Zealand, or are comparable to 55% of the methane from American cattle”. The world’s second largest meat company, Tyson, instead produces methane emissions on par with Russia’s, while Dairy Farmers of America matches Britain’s.

Animal Methane Emissions of the World’s 15 Largest Meat and Dairy Companies / IATP

” Calculated on a 20-year timescale, the most relevant scale for climate action, these emissions are even larger, accounting for nearly half to three-quarters of these companies’ estimated greenhouse gas footprints, underscoring the urgency of action on methane – say the scholars –. Despite their huge impact, most of these companies do not report total greenhouse gases or specific methane emissions.“.

The 15 companies at the heart of the study are based in 10 different countries, five of which have seen increases in methane emissions from livestock over the past decade, the report says. Emissions from China, for example, rose 17%, much more than other countries.

While eating less meat and dairy would be beneficial for people, said Shefali Sharma, director of IATP’s European office, the real solution to reducing methane emissions would be to end industrial agriculture. ” We’re not saying people should be vegan or vegetarian – Sharma clarified -. We’re just saying we have to do better“.