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Does meat consumption exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions? Evidence from US data

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Abstract

This study empirically investigates the effect of meat consumption on greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) in the USA. The impact of meat consumption on greenhouse gas emissions is examined by controlling for economic growth and energy consumption. The empirical analysis finds that all these variables are cointegrated for the long run. Moreover, meat consumption aggravates greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, meat consumption (except for beef) has a U-shaped relationship with carbon emissions and an inverted U-shaped relationship with methane and nitrous oxide emissions. The causality analysis indicates a unidirectional causality running from meat consumption to greenhouse gas emissions. These empirical findings indicate that the US livestock sector has the potential to become more environmentally friendly with careful policy formulation and implementation.

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Notes

  1. Results are provided in Table 9 of the Appendix.

  2. The remainder of the Granger causality analysis is provided in Table 10 (Appendix).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia

    Muhammad Shafiullah

  2. Department of Innovation in Government & Society, College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

    Usman Khalid

  3. School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

    Muhammad Shahbaz

  4. Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Muhammad Shahbaz

Authors
  1. Muhammad Shafiullah
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  2. Usman Khalid
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  3. Muhammad Shahbaz
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Muhammad Shafiullah and Usman Khalid; Methodology: Muhammad Shafiullah and Muhammad Shahbaz; Formal analysis and investigation: Muhammad Shafiullah and Usman Khalid; Writing and preparation of the original draft: Usman Khalid and Muhammad Shafiullah; Writing, reviewing, and editing: Usman Khalid, Muhammad Shafiullah, and Muhammad Shahbaz; Resources: Muhammad Shafiullah and Muhammad Shahbaz; Supervision: Muhammad Shahbaz.

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Correspondence to Muhammad Shafiullah.

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 9 ARDL bounds test for cointegration and diagnostic tests
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Table 10 Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality analysis and remaining directions
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Shafiullah, M., Khalid, U. & Shahbaz, M. Does meat consumption exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions? Evidence from US data. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 11415–11429 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11331-9

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