Animal Production Responsible for Vast Majority of Air Quality-Related Health Impacts from U.S. Food
Published:17 May2021 Source:University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Poor air quality caused by food production in the United States is estimated to result in 16,000 deaths annually, 80 percent of which are related to animal production, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota. The research also found there are measures farmers and consumers alike can take to reduce the air quality-related health impacts of the food we eat.
In a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers measured how the production of various foods affects air quality, discovering that animal production is overwhelmingly responsible for agriculture’s air quality-related health impacts. The study —the first food-by-food accounting of the damage to air quality caused by agriculture— also shows how improving animal and crop management practices, as well as how eating more plant-rich diets, can substantially reduce mortality from food-related air pollution.